From his 1899 novel Dom Casmurro. Widely regarded by critics as one of the greatest writers of all time, Machado remains less well known than the luminaries he is so often compared to (Shakespeare, Dante, Cervantes, etc.). This particular novel...
From his short, surrealist story, A Country Doctor. Although he died over a century ago, Kafka's novels and short stories predicted our modern alienation. The nameless, faceless, oppressive bureaucracies of The Trial and The Castle had the power to distort...
From her first short story collection, Monday or Tuesday, which explores the challenge creatives face trying to capture something truthful through artifice, and striving towards the sublime with imperfect tools such as language and memory. Anyone who's struggled to express a...
Apparently, long before it had become a quaint cultural cliché, the can-can was absolutely shocking. Twain gasped! He protested! He clutched his pearls! But he wasn't fooling anyone. We know it was all in good fun, and that deep down he loved it. Deep down,...
From his poem Chapter Heading. In his earlier work, Hemingway experimented with the lean, muscular writing style he eventually distilled to what he referred to as "iceberg theory." That is, leave your meaning mostly beneath the surface. We love this...
