A Return to Aristotle and Why
The Poetics, Mimesis, and the Justification for Genre Fiction All literary theory we currently have today originates at some point with Aristotle’s Poetics. From the time of its rediscovery in Europe after the Crusades to the mid-19th century, Aristotle’s mimetic theory held sway in the literary world as the golden standard for evaluating, analyzing, and appreciating literature. What…
Before There was Romance, There was the Epic
I wanted to take a slight step back this week from the discourse on Romance to focus on its literary precursor, the epic. If you get all your literature recommendations from social media, then the only two real examples you’ve seen of this art form are The Odyssey and The Iliad. These are not the…
The Charge That Never Changes
Romance and the Privilege of Literary Value Give me Emily Brontë over this. (Brown, “Why Generation Woke loves Romantasy”) Lara Brown’s recent Telegraph article hit social media like a hurricane this past week, making waves for not only her reductionist take, but with her labeling the entire genre as “fairy porn.” As reductionist as her article for…
The Poem We Were Afraid To Remember
A couple of years ago, I stumbled quite accidentally over what is a lost cinematic gem from 1924: Die Nibelungen. It’s a two-part silent movie directed by Fritz Lang and based on the medieval epic by the same name. Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work will already know the basics of the story, as…
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About Me
I am a life-long bibliophile. This blog began as an attempt to ket my love of great literature out into the world. After my own experience with classic literature and mental health, I wanted to give others the same opportunity to find that one piece of literature that gives them hope. When I’m not blogging, I’m writing great content for businesses, parenting a very rowdy Quaker parrot, knitting, and serving my faith community.
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