literature

literature

Much Ado about Shakespeare

Much Ado about Shakespeare

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Programs
More than 450 years after William Shakespeare’s birth, the Bard of Avon remains one of the most indelible and influential authors of all time.  His works continue to find relevance and meaning today; as their subtlety and wit and understanding of human drives and foibles offer a mirror which still cogently reflects society (as seen in numerous adaptions that easily translate the action to modern settings).  His writings – principally plays, sonnets, and poems – remain among the most widely reproduced writings in history, and modern literature is full of allusions to his texts.  His unparalleled literary influence supports contemporary poet Ben Jonson’s analysis that Shakespeare was “not of an age, but for all time”. Shakespeare’s rich, colorful language is … Continued
Coming Back to the Classics

Coming Back to the Classics

, , , Research
Don’t know your Ares from your Aries?  Or Circe from Ceres?  And who did Aristotle teach, again?  No problem!  This month, we’ll look at resources here at IU East that address the Classics – Greek and Roman mythology, culture, society, politics and philosophy.  Once considered the foundation for any young person’s education, the Classical world continues to influence popular culture throughout the Western world to modern times.  Literature The Iliad and The Odyssey, two epic poems in blank verse, were first written down between 2500 and 3000 years ago, likely from the memory of bards who had been reciting them for years previous.  While both poems are historically considered the work of a single person known as Homer, his or … Continued
To the monster that started it all: Frankenstein

To the monster that started it all: Frankenstein

, , , , Library Resources
There is no monster more iconic, perhaps, than Frankenstein’s monster. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s classic novel and the IU East Campus Library currently has lots of Frankenstein and Mary Shelley related resources on display and all available for checkout. If you’re looking for some spooky reads to get you through the Halloween season, we have several different versions of Frankenstein in graphic novel form, including Victor LaValle’s Destroyer No. 1, which is a modern update of the Frankenstein story that reflects today’s current events in the United States. However, if you want to read a graphic novel that stays the most true to Shelley’s original text, then Gris Grimbly’s Frankenstein is the book for you. … Continued
A Modern Prometheus

A Modern Prometheus

, , , books, Programs, Website
On January 15, 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her first book. Subtitled “A Modern Prometheus,” this book began as part of a storytelling contest among herself, her then-boyfriend Percy Bysshe Shelley, their host Lord Byron and Byron’s physician, John Polidori. In Geneva, Switzerland, on a particularly dreary summer night, the four precocious thinkers and authors began to compose ghost stories. Percy Shelley wrote about an incident from his childhood. Rumor has it that Byron’s work was about a vampire. But the other two people in this group, neither of them accomplished authors in 1816, launched the modern horror tale with their works: John Polidori’s The Vampyre, and Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. At the IU East Campus library, we are putting … Continued
English Questions

English Questions

, , , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Research
If you’ve been following this blog, you know we’ve been examining how to do in-depth research in each of the major academic disciplines IU East offers.  There’s a lot that is the same for any type of scholarly research, and we started off looking at those general techniques.  But every field of study has its own, unique needs, and to be a great researcher, you need to learn them.  This week, we’ll look at English and literature. Obviously, we have a lot of great general purpose databases for locating research articles – some of these include MLA International Bibliography and ProQuest Language and Literature.  But another great source is JSTOR, a database that has journal articles dating back more than … Continued