Kenneth Burke on the Rhythm of Reading
In approaching rhetoric, Kenneth Burke teases out a theory of reading that incorporates rhythm and promotes a harmony of our experiences.
Kenneth Burke on Reading for Identification
Kenneth Burke considers every influence of a rhetorical act and develops a theory of identification that offers readers a new way to think about rhetoric.
Ralph Ellison and Kenneth Burke on Race, Writing, and Friendship
Ralph Ellison and Kenneth Burke were friends for more than 50 years and Bryan Crable chronicles the complex history of their friendship.
Big Data Danger and the Costs of Connection
Big data danger, according to Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejias in The Costs of Connection, is not just about information but life – and what represents life.
Kenneth Burke on Bad Readers
Kenneth Burke says bad readers stem from the spread of literacy through compulsory education and the culture’s inability to pay attention.
How Time and Space Converge to Evoke Walter Benjamin’s Aura
“The concept of aura which was proposed above with reference to historical objects may usefully be illustrated with reference to the aura of natural ones. We define aura of the latter as the unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be. If, while resting on a summer afternoon, you follow with your eyes […]
A Thousand Eyes of Curiosity With Alberto Manguel
“Now open in my eyes a thousand eyes of curiosity.” Virginia Woolf, The Waves ALBERTO MANGUEL (BORN 1948) Alberto Manguel is a proliferate writer and reader. His world travels both in and out of books converge in everything he writes. His writings explore an intimate love of reading that is arguably unparalleled by anyone alive. […]
The Rhetorics of Reading With Wonder
Keywords Rhetorics of Reading, William Covino, Wonder, Paul de Man “Camerado, this is no book, who touches this, touches a man, (Is it night? Are we here alone?) It is I you hold, and who holds you, I spring from the pages into your arms…” Walt Whitman, So Long! What happens when we read? Do […]
The Best Books for Studying Literary and Critical Theory
Critical theory is not hard for students to grasp when it is explained well. These are the best books to introduce students to literary theory and criticism.
Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami
“No matter what they wish for, no matter how far they go, people can never be anything but themselves.” ~Haruki Murakami, Birthday Girl Before diving into Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, I have students read this fun short story, “Birthday Girl,” by Haruki Murakami in my freshmen composition course. It’s a little […]