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1986: The Year Comic Books Became Literature
1986: The Year Comic Books Became Literature
By Kevin Cortez
September 23, 2014

Released the same year, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen transformed comic books into graphic novels.

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Philip Roth vs. Saul Bellow
Philip Roth vs. Saul Bellow
By Mike Mariani
September 23, 2014

What can the differences between the two teach us about post-World War II American literature?

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Behind the Lit: Edgar Allan Poe Marries His 13-Year-Old Cousin
Behind the Lit: Edgar Allan Poe Marries His 13-Year-Old Cousin
By Freddie Moore
September 22, 2014

179 years ago today, it was OK to marry your underage first cousin — and Poe did exactly that with Virginia Eliza Clemm.

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H. G. Wells’s Predictions: The Right, the Wrong and the Ugly
H. G. Wells’s Predictions: The Right, the Wrong and the Ugly
By Benjamin Welton
September 19, 2014

As a founder of science fiction, Wells got a surprising share the future right. He also got some things very, very wrong.

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Flash Boom
Flash Boom
By Mike Meginnis
September 19, 2014

Experiencing the atomic bombing of Japan through the short animated film Pikadon.

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What a Dying Poet Taught Me
What a Dying Poet Taught Me
By Steve Neumann
September 18, 2014

Denise Levertov teaches an aspiring poet that it’s more important to know how to live than to know how to write.

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How Roald Dahl Prepares Us for the Hardships of Adulthood
How Roald Dahl Prepares Us for the Hardships of Adulthood
By Nicholas Laskin
September 18, 2014

The renowned children’s author undoubtedly has a way with words, but he’s also a master of confronting the difficulties of life.

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The Reanimation Library: A Home for Misfit Books
The Reanimation Library: A Home for Misfit Books
By Robert Tutton
September 17, 2014

Beginning in Brooklyn and branching off around the world, Andrew Beccone’s eclectic library is making art out of outdated books.

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Charles Dickens on "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Charles Dickens on "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
By Cath Murphy
September 17, 2014

The classic Victorian novelist reviews the recent YA best-seller.

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Ken Kesey’s Exhausted Heroes
Ken Kesey’s Exhausted Heroes
By J. Francis Wolfe
September 17, 2014

Randle Patrick McMurphy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Hank Stamper of Sometimes a Great Notion: two men of incredible strength whom Kesey brings to their knees. Why?

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