Marjorie Garber, The Use and Abuse of Literature (Pantheon, 2011).
1.
The first thing Marjorie Garber talks about in The Use and Abuse of Literature is the decline of reading. Or, rather, the first subject that Garber, a Harvard English professor and prolific Shakespearean and cultural studies scholar, seems to address in her book about the current state of “literature” is the general decline in “literary” reading.
That’s a plausible enough topic. After all, if readers of literature...
[Read more...]
Newest Articles
Letter from Berlin: Ashes to AshesAshes over Europe, ashes under Europe. From continental skies to Polish burial grounds.
Letter from Berlin: Secret GermanyThe dead of winter: a good time to look at Germany’s slippery past.
Is Mark Kingwell Getting Dumber?A “modest proposal” from philosophy professor Mark Kingwell is too clever by half.
Robin Blaser, 1925-2009: Death’s DutyRemembering poet Robin Blaser.
Letter from Berlin: The Twilight of the GodsBerlin goes to the polls to vote on, of all things, religion versus ethics.
Read all articlesNewest Reviews
Username: LiteratureMarjorie Garber’s book about literature isn’t a decade-defining work.
Naomi Klein’s Excellent AdventuresAn intrepid reporter covers the capitalist waterfront, from brand name bullies to the Chicago Boys.
Decline and DistractionOn the illusions of empire.
Homeland AloneReading the war books of a belligerent decade.
HeroesJavier Cercas’s story about a story asks, What is a hero?
Read all reviews