Mary Poovey, a professor of English and director of the Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge at New York University, examines a parallel between the foundations of contemporary ...

“C riticism” is a curiously protean word. In academic discourse, as in ordinary speech, it can refer simply to the act of appraisal, sometimes with a censorious edge. It’s used to describe reviews, ...

I strain nowadays to read the so-called literary criticism by self-glorified critics. Their criticism — more of personal attacks — is puzzling! They have perfected the art of slamming everyone ...

THERE are five groups interested in literary criticism: publishers of books, authors, publishers of reviews, critics, and, finally, the reading public. An obvious interest of all the groups but the ...

Andrea Long Chu and the crisis in criticism. Andrea Long Chu and the politics of critical life. The first time you publish a review, once the temporary excitement of the byline wears off, you are ...

In 1966, Roland Barthes published a short book—a pamphlet, really—called Criticism and Truth, in response to Raymond Picard, a distinguished professor and the biographer of the French classical ...

Lovers of long-form literary criticism have a little less to lament today. The Nation is bringing Bookforum back from the dead. Six months after the beloved literary magazine Bookforum announced its ...

I WANT to talk about the historical interpretation of literature — that is, about the interpretation of literature in its social, economic, and political aspects. To begin with, it will be worth while ...