Courses Quote by Jorge Luis Borges

“The ambition of much of today's literary theory seems to be to find ways to read literature without imagination.”

— Charles Simic

No work of literature is the product of only one or two conscious ideas. A story is mysteriously dense of meaning.

— Carol Bly

Literature takes a habit of mind that has disappeared. It requires silence, some form of isolation, and sustained concentration in the presence of an…

— Philip Roth

“Enjoyment of literature is achieved only by reading without expectation but with anticipation.”

— David McDonald

“Prior to any generalization about literature, literary texts have to be read, and the possibility of reading can never be taken for granted. It…

— Paul De Man

When we read a literary work (or, in some instances, listen to music) our imagination is stimulated, we feel various emotions, and we arrive…

— Philip Kitcher

“Don't be amazed if you see my eyes always wandering. In fact, this is my way of reading, and it is only in this…

— Italo Calvino

Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic…

— Ann Patchett

My books deliberately provide no answers or messages. I'm drilled in the habit of objectivity and also aware that the steady drip of fiction…

— Karen Traviss

Literary theory has become a parody of science, generating its own arcane jargon. In the process, tragically, it discourages love of literature for its…

— Nancy Pearcey

Converse with a mind that is grandly simple, and literature looks like word-catching.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Literature is the expression of a feeling of deprivation, a recourse against a sense of something missing. But the contrary is also true: language…

— Octavio Paz