A genderless society, a utopian anarchy, a copper-skinned hero: Ursula K Le Guin’s subversive worlds

For the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author who died on this day, January 22, four years ago, writing was a revolutionary act.

Thalluri Divya Aslesha

· Jan 22, 2023 · 02:30 pm

In praise of Stephen King, the eternal ‘horror master’ of serious light reading

King may or may not be a great, or even good, writer.

Ari Mattes, The Conversation

· Oct 31, 2022 · 05:30 pm

Salman Rushdie may not have won the Nobel Prize this year, but his novels are far from outdated

They are a serious investigation into the power of narratives, how they are shaped and what happens when they cross borders.

Sanjay Sipahimalani

· Oct 08, 2022 · 08:30 am

Five myths about Shakespeare’s contribution to the English language

The Bard of Avon did not coin as many words as he is said to.

Jonathan Culpeper, The Conversation

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Mathew Gillings, The Conversation

· Sep 09, 2022 · 05:30 pm

Ranajit Guha, India’s oldest living historian, starts his 100th year with a dazzling legacy

Guha, who retired from teaching in 1988 but didn’t stop writing, is one of the most influential south Asian historians today.

Somak Mukherjee

· May 23, 2022 · 08:30 am

How should Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy be read during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

They cannot expunge the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. But they’re embedded within the Russian cultural fabric, and how their books are read matters.

Ani Kokobobo, The Conversation

· Apr 08, 2022 · 05:30 pm

Born 200 years ago, what is Fyodor Dostoevsky telling us today through his novels?

November 11 marks Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 200th birth anniversary.

Richard Herrett

· Nov 11, 2021 · 05:30 pm

Foundation: an introduction to five major themes in the work of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov

The new TV series has rekindled interest in one of the ‘big three’ of science fiction.

Mike Ryder, The Conversation

· Sep 29, 2021 · 05:30 pm

Walter Scott at 250: So much more than a great historical novelist

Fortunately for the casual reader, Walter Scott, born in 1771, was more than a novelist. He was also a master of the short story.

Daniel Cook, The Conversation

· Jun 24, 2021 · 05:30 pm

Tagore at 160: ‘People are urged to deeds of frightfulness by the goadings of manufactured panics’

‘The Spirit of Freedom’: A letter from New York to the author’s own countrymen. May 9, 2021 marks Rabindranath Tagore’s 160th birth anniversary.

Rabindranath Tagore

· May 09, 2021 · 12:30 pm

Nawal El Saadawi’s intellectual life reflected eight decades of Arab society and culture

The Egyptian feminist writer and activist (who was also a physician and psychiatrist) died on March 21 at the age of 89.

Amal Amireh, The Conversation

· Apr 06, 2021 · 05:30 pm

How music shaped Virginia Woolf’s writing

Music provided the author with a vocabulary to imagine and describe her creative practice and formal innovations.

Emma Sutton, The Conversation

· Apr 05, 2021 · 05:30 pm