Literary life after death
Posthumous publications fall into three distinct varietiesIn his study of late style, written shortly before his own death from leukaemia, Edward Said invoked a concept of lateness quite divorced from the traditional view. Rather than seeing it in the ...
Philosophy is supposed to be difficult
We complain about its thorny prose and technical intricacy – but should philosophy really be accessible to all?A piece by Cambridge philosopher Simon Blackburn in the current issue of the Society of Authors journal addresses the intractable question ...
My book cull: a loss of shelf esteem
Disposing of my personal library was painful, in more ways than one. But do we really need such a space-consuming resource?Do books furnish a room, as Anthony Powell's Bagshaw insists? Or are they just a massive encumbrance?It's a painful question, but...
Stefan Zweig? Just a pedestrian stylist
Stefan Zweig was the most translated author in the world, yet Michael Hofmann has called the Austrian's literary output 'just putrid'. A tad harsh, perhaps, but he has a point
A recent exchange of hostilities on the letters page of the London Review of Books has prompted a reassessment...
Fiction’s unsolved mysteries