Portal:Literature
Introduction
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed. Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment. It can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role.
The term is sometimes used synonymously with literary fiction, which encompasses fiction written with the goal of literary merit.Literature, as an art form, can also include works in various non-fiction genres, such as biography, diaries, memoirs, letters, and essays. Within its broad definition, literature includes non-fictional books, articles, or other written information on a particular subject. (Full article...)
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The Man in the Moone is a book by the English divine and Church of England bishop Francis Godwin (1562–1633), describing a "voyage of utopian discovery". Initially considered to be one of his early works, it is now generally thought to have been written in the late 1620s. It was first published posthumously in 1638 under the pseudonym of Domingo Gonsales. The work is notable for its role in what was called the "new astronomy," the branch of astronomy influenced especially by Nicolaus Copernicus, the only astronomer mentioned by name, although the book also draws on the theories of Johannes Kepler, William Gilbert, and Galileo Galilei.
The work tells the story of Gonsales, a Spaniard who discovers a species of wild swan able to carry substantial loads, the gansa, and contrives a device that allows him to harness many of them together and fly around an island, and eventually, to the moon and back.
Some critics consider The Man in the Moone, along with Kepler's Somnium, to be one of the first works of science fiction. Although the book was well known in the 17th century, and even inspired parodies by Cyrano de Bergerac and Aphra Behn, modern literary critics do not consider it to be very important.
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“ | Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded. He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about. He didn’t mind how he looked to other people, because the nursery magic had made him Real, and when you are Real shabbiness doesn't matter. | ” |
— Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit |
More Did you know
- ... that though Amir Hamzah was a Muslim, analyses of his poem "Padamu Jua" have found Christian influences?
- ... that Claude Houghton's novel I Am Jonathan Scrivener may have influenced the film Citizen Kane?
- ... that in one of his 75 poems, Chairil Anwar predicted his place of burial?
- ... that the first edition of the Star Trek novel Killing Time included overtones of Kirk/Spock slash fiction?
- ... that publication of one of Adam Mickiewicz's first poems, "Ode to Youth", was delayed due to censorship?
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the 1985 manga series Tomoi contains the first depiction of HIV/AIDS in any literary medium in Japan?
- ... that Imagining Mars: A Literary History "presents a compelling case that 'Mars matters'"?
- ... that Alexandre Dumas's travel book Le Corricolo, published in 1843, contains one of the earliest literary accounts of Neapolitan pizza?
- ... that Galadriel's gift of some of her hair to Gimli in The Lord of the Rings has echoes in both English literature and Norse legend?
- ... that the cultural scholar Hermann Bausinger wrote a book about the history of literature from Swabia from the 18th century to the present, published for his 90th birthday?
- ... that Robert Weiner taught AP English Literature while coaching football at Henry B. Plant High School?
Today in literature
- 1844 - Robert Bridges, English poet born
- 1865 - Neltje Blanchan, American writer born
- 1872 - Théophile Gautier, French writer died
- 1923 - Aslam Farrukhi, Pakistani scholar and poet born
- 1939 - Zane Grey, American author died
- 1942 - Michael Crichton, American writer born
- 1949 - Nick Tosches, American writer born
- 1965 - Augusten Burroughs, American writer born
- 1969 - Trudi Canavan, Australian writer born
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