Literature Archives

Social Justice

The Heirs of Steinbeck: Who Are the Fiction Writers Taking on Poverty and Inequality Today?

Seventy-five years after its first publication date, The Grapes of Wrath is still a staple in most American classrooms. Is that because we haven’t yet written anything that does a better job of portraying the devastation of not having enough?

Anna Clark

Social Justice

Are Picture Books Warping How Kids Understand Animals?

Anthropomorphizing animals is a bad strategy for education, a new study suggests.

Paul Bisceglio

Social Justice

4 Conferences Happening in March and April That Are Worth Attending

From Literature and Physical Culture to Banknote 2014, academic gatherings you should be aware of.

Pacific Standard Staff

Social Justice

Retweeting the Classics

Bookish joke-accounts—and the serious people behind them.

Ted Scheinman

Social Justice

You’re Missing Out on Great Literature

Only three percent of everything published in the U.S. each year is translated from another language—and the majority of that is computer manuals and other technical material. Why don’t Americans read beyond their borders?

Anna Clark

Social Justice

Fan Fiction: The Next Great Literature?

At its best, fan fiction blurs the lines between reading and writing and consuming and creating, and makes pop culture speak to a greater range of experiences.

Laura Miller

Education

What Kills Creativity?

Many American writers fear that standardized testing could be destroying our children. They might be right.

Daniel Luzer

Social Justice

‘Fifty Shades’ of Sexual Abuse?

An analysis of Fifty Shades of Grey finds the novel perpetuates the notion that intimidation and emotional abuse are acceptable in intimate relationships.

Tom Jacobs

Education

Want to Learn How to Think? Read Fiction

New Canadian research finds reading a literary short story increases one’s comfort with ambiguity.

Tom Jacobs