John Ruskin was the most influential art critic in mid- to late-19th century England. … Read the rest
This is the last installment of my three–part study of William James, a philosopher I find uniquely compelling. William James was born in New York City in 1842, spent most of his adult life at Harvard University, and died in 1910 at his home in New Hampshire. He … Read the rest
I admit to pleasures that some literary academics frown on. Sure, I love the classics, but I also like books about scandal and skullduggery. Bob Woodward’s Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi; Rudolph Grey’s Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Ed Wood; … Read the rest
Let’s take a moment for Ismail Merchant, co-creator of some of the best literary films of our time, who died yesterday, May 25, in a London Hospital at age 68.
From ‘Shakespeare Wallah‘ in 1965 to ‘The Golden Bowl‘ in 2000, the team of Ismail … Read the rest
Thanks to all of of you who responded to last week’s post about how Literature’s Final Table would play out. Here was the question I raised:
… Read the restIf William Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet, Miguel De Cervantes’ Don Quixote, William Makepeace Thackeray’s Becky Sharp, Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab, Henry James’ Isabel Archer, F.
“I live in the mist beyond time and place, where imagination and dreams meet, and music is born on golden wings destined to pierce the veils of mystery. It is I who whisper from the far reaches into a mortal’s thoughts. It is I who strikes the heart chords and … Read the rest
The Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi, 1798-1837, was a contemporary of the great English Romantic poets such as Shelley, Keats and Byron who lived in Italy, though he never had the chance to meet them. He was born in Recanati, a small town of the Marche region, then part of the … Read the rest
The novelist and short story writer Henry James was born on April 15, 1843 in a house on the north side of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, New York City. He was born into an almost incredibly intellectual and lofty family: his father was Henry James Sr., a member … Read the rest
Born in Bombay, India to John and Alice Kipling on the 30th of December, 1865, Rudyard Kipling had a luminescent early childhood and benefited greatly from his parents’ love of foreign cultures and arts. However, the young boy became unhappy when forced to leave the fascinating land of India and … Read the rest