History in literature: a reader's guide to 20th century history and the literature it inspired

Edward Quinn, "History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th Century History and the Literature It Inspired" Facts on File | 2004-01 | ISBN: 081604693X | 368 pages | PDF | 1,2 MB

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Ancient literary criticism

Andrew Laird, “Ancient Literary Criticism” Oxford University Press, USA | 2006-10-19 | ISBN: 0199258651 | 512 pages | PDF | 1,65 MB

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On Creative Writing

by Linda Lavid

There are several aspects to writing fiction. Rendering what John Gardner in The Art of Fiction describes as a ‘vivid and continuous dream’ is a complicated affair. Story is created from the imagination of a writer, who in turn must translate it onto a page of symbols so that another person can read, absorb, and experience the story in a similar fashion. It’s a remarkable process when you think about it. So, are you up for the challenge or is the writer’s quintessential question nipping away inside: Do I have the talent?

We imagine talent as some huge reservoir of subconscious knowledge that some lucky people are born with. We think of Shakespeare and Mozart and Einstein. But the truth is we all have talents of many kinds and measures. Think of your family and friends, and assuredly you can name many of their strengths unique to them. Talent is nothing more, or less, than an individual ability. And while there are gifted writers, I do not believe that having an innate talent is imperative to become an author.

Fiction demands a working knowledge of many points of craft that can be taught and learned. And while mastering craft can be daunting, each one of us has skills to meet the challenge. In fact, the quality most needed is neither talent nor knowledge but the mad, unrelenting desire to tell a story. And with this passion, walk to the end of the diving board, loosen your shoulders, and take the plunge.

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What is Literature?

Jim Meyer

Most definitions of literature have been criterial definitions, definitions based on a list of
criteria which all literary works must meet. However, more current theories of meaning
take the view that definitions are based on prototypes: there is broad agreement about
good examples that meet all of the prototypical characteristics, and other examples are
related to the prototypes by family resemblance. For literary works, prototypical
characteristics include careful use of language, being written in a literary genre (poetry,
prose fiction, or drama), being read aesthetically, and containing many weak
implicatures.

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