The most significant events in the history of books on the 14th of November 1851: Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick is published in the United States, nearly a month after it had gone on sale in the UK. The novel sold badly (it now sells more copies in a year than it sold during […]
Some tips for the close reading of poetry, by Dr Oliver Tearle ‘Close reading’ is not as straightforward as it may appear. Many readers of poetry, for instance, may have encountered ‘close readings’ of poems which are anything but. They’re not so much ‘close’ as ‘at arm’s length’. How do […]
The most significant events in the history of books on the 13th of November 1850: Robert Louis Stevenson is born. However, as we’ve revealed elsewhere he legally renounced all rights to the 13th of November as his birthday, in a characteristic act of kindness (for more of which, see below). […]
The most significant events in the history of books on the 12th of November 1615: Richard Baxter is born. This English Puritan theologian and poet was a noted hymn-writer – he wrote the words for the hymn ‘Ye Holy Angels Bright’ among others, and is mentioned by George Eliot in The […]
Interesting William Burroughs facts: concerning his life, his work, and his links with other writers 1. Before he became a famous novelist, William S. Burroughs worked in pest-control as an exterminator. Many writers started out in somewhat surprising jobs. Douglas Adams was a bodyguard to a Middle Eastern family of […]