Not a mere anthology but a learned, critical exploration of China’s great literary works and the history and culture that surround them. Celebrated scholar and writer Yu Qiuyu provides a personal touch as he illuminates the history of... Read More

Marcus offers sundry lessons and incites a new appreciation for Japan’s culture, history, and literature. “Compared with its ubiquitous commercial products,” Marvin Marcus writes, “the literature of Japan is little... Read More

Contextualizing Dickinson’s work, Gilpin reveals both a reverence for her poetry and a skill in exploring new meaning. W. Clark Gilpin’s new take on the enigmatic giant of American poetry, Emily Dickinson, eruditely weaves literary... Read More

Heer has a knack for making anything interesting, which might be the best praise a writer can garner. Jeet Heer displays the leisurely wit and wisdom of a polymath, writing about everything from Canadian culture and politics at large, to... Read More

Gorham’s insights into perfection expand and clarify vision—for individuals’ lives and the world at large. There are questions that plague both mind and heart: What does “perfect” really mean? How is it manifested or... Read More

Pick up this book if you want to see beyond a worshipping view of the historical period that shaped the modern world with all its glories and horrors. "The Renaissance", with nineteen essays plus photo explorations, changes the... Read More

Love, sex, and the minotaur meet in a fascinating collection of essays. In what ways do the themes of classical mythology and folklore inform people, both in the modern world and antiquity, of the nature of love and sex? What began as a... Read More

Using humor, sarcasm, allegory, metaphor—and a little time travel—Guriel shows how poems succeed. The Pigheaded Soul: Essays and Reviews on Poetry and Culture offers thoughtful and critical analyses of some of North America’s most... Read More