Books & Literary Life


A New Chapter for Harvard Arts

The Office for the Arts turns 50, and its longtime director steps down.

by Lydialyle Gibson

A Book by Its Cover

Embroidery fit for a prince

by Christy Gordon Baty , Erin Harvey Moody

Back-to-School Bookshelf

Derek Bok and other scholars weigh in on improving universities and colleges—and why that’s hard to do.

by John S. Rosenberg

Life Beyond Sight

On Earth, microbes run the show.  

by Jonathan Shaw

Leaders Born in Darkness

The Business School’s Nancy Koehn analyzes the personal stakes that propel leaders.

“Patchwork Futures”

Sci-fi meets the political thriller.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

Off the Shelf

John Kenneth Galbraith’s letters, Linda Greenhouse, color in art, and more

Tracy K. Smith ’94 Named U.S. Poet Laureate

The announcement comes at a busy time for the writer, who is at work on two operas and will soon publish her fifth verse collection, Wade in the Water.

by Sophia Nguyen

Poetry, Voiced

In the Woodberry Poetry Room, a landmark audio collection waits to be heard.

by Sophia Nguyen

A Postmodern Youth

Tahmima Anam’s Bengal trilogy finds a resting place.

by Marina N. Bolotnikova

1760s Extracurriculars

The diary of a “unexceptional collegian”—attending class, or not