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Category: Literature

How to Write Compelling Fiction: A One-Act Play

How to Write Compelling Fiction: A One-Act Play

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Characters: Will Self Edger Allen Poe Hilary Mantel Kazuo Ishiguro Margaret Atwood Setting: A dark cellar. Will Self stands by a small bare bulb. He has just finished putting the final masonry on a walled up section of the cellar. Margaret Atwood floats 5 feet of the ground in a Jules Verne inspired dirigible. Kazuo Ishiguro stands somewhere in the room dressed as a knight. Hillary Mantel points a sniper rifle out the only window in the cellar, staring intently…

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Reading for Yourself

Reading for Yourself

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I was never much of an avid reader when I was young. Like most people, I didn’t like being assigned readings because that almost takes the fun out of fully exploring the realm of imagination that comes with reading. Don’t get me wrong, I could appreciate a good story, but I rarely read for my own entertainment. Most of the times that I tried to read a work of fiction, I would lose interest after only a short while. I…

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Do you know what you’re reading this summer?

Do you know what you’re reading this summer?

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Who wants to read?! Not you, probably, as you slog through to the last stretch before finals. And I get it, you’ve read hundreds of pages of theory, history, literature, science, etc., and if you’re a humanities major you’ve probably read more Freud than you think should be legal under the Geneva Convention. But whether you believe in it or not, there is life after finals and a whole summer stretched before you. Maybe you have an internship, a summer…

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Best of Assigned Reading: Intro Classes

Best of Assigned Reading: Intro Classes

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As preregistration descends upon us, wreaking panic and excitement in equal measures, students across Vassar interrogate friends and pore over catalogues to get a good idea of what classes might be like. Another good way to get a sense for classes, especially intro classes in a field that’s new to you, is to peruse their required reading. “But Elizabeth,” you say, “professors won’t send out reading lists until like August!” Fear not, friends, because I have taken a number of…

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Faculty Books Coming Soon, English Department Edition

Faculty Books Coming Soon, English Department Edition

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Vassar prides itself on the faculty’s commitment to teaching, as part of their claim to fame as a small, rigorous liberal arts school–despite the “science bridge,” we’re not a large research university, in case you haven’t noticed. But this emphasis on teaching doesn’t mean that faculty don’t write and publish. In fact, they do so constantly and with significant volume. Vassar professors are constantly publishing academic articles, studies, and books, as well as novels, other articles, and personal essays. You…

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The Three Most Approachable Books About Writing

The Three Most Approachable Books About Writing

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They say to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. And by “they,” I mean writers. Maybe this is why so many popular writers are writing books about writing, from how-to’s to memoirs. The genre is full of guides for specific audiences, e.g. Orson Scott Card’s How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. It’s also drowning in pretentious odes by writers to themselves—Stephen King’s On Writing sets the standard for condescension. Each proclaims to be open…

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Fifty Shades of NOPE

Fifty Shades of NOPE

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Trigger warning: This piece discusses sexual assault and domestic violence.     So, Fifty Shades of Grey is a thing again. I remember walking through Costco a few years ago and coming across hundreds of copies of the book on display. I had heard about how terrible it was, so apart from skimming through a few pages while waiting for my parents to get samples of artisanal cheese, I never actually read the series. And now there’s a movie. And maybe now…

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Books you probably read as a kid…but should read again now

Books you probably read as a kid…but should read again now

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Recently, a bunch of my friends and I started reminiscing about the most memorable books we read in elementary and middle school—some hilarious, some horrible, and some that really seemed to be better suited for an older audience. Interestingly, a lot of the same titles kept being mentioned over and over again, which inspired me to start compiling this list of books you probably read as a child, but should probably read again. After school ends, what better way to…

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A Summer Reading Resolution

A Summer Reading Resolution

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While I have grown past the allure of “starting over” at the beginning of a new year, I have to admit that I am prone to making unattainable goals for the summer. The tantalizing prospect of a few months away from school inspires in my mind all sorts of fantasies of productivity. They often have to do with reading for fun, filling in the gaps of my literary history. As this semester draws to a close, I find that this…

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The Stories Behind Famous Pen Names

The Stories Behind Famous Pen Names

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A few years ago, J.K. Rowling drew attention when she revealed that she had published a book, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Authors publishing under pen names is, of course, nothing new in the literature world, but the practice has no set source of inspiration. In Rowling’s case, she wanted to publish her first novel after Harry Potter without the intense pressure that would follow the beloved series. However, many other circumstances have brought writers to hide their true identities. Here are a few…

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