Talking About Books

  1. The accidental cartoonist grows up

    Artist-turned-author Cathy Guisewite, BA ’72, pivots from comics to prose with a collection of wry and relatable essays about the absurdities of adulthood.

  2. Tongue-tied and illiterate?

    A Moroccan encounter with the ancient Berber alphabet leaves novelist Nicholas Delbanco feeling tongue-tied.

  3. What goes up

    What goes up must come down, states the law of gravity. Nicholas Delbanco asks: Does that apply to literature too?

  4. The road not taken

    Nicholas Delbanco asks: How does one ensure the road not taken is the road to creative freedom?

  5. Vision and revision

    H.D. Thoreau once said, ‘Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written.’ Really?

  6. A Hall of mirrors

    Nicholas Delbanco memorializes late author, poet, essayist, and longtime U-M professor Donald Hall.

  7. In defense of writing

    Nicholas Delbanco explains why the pen is mightier than the sword — not to mention the spoken word.

  8. The writers' workshop

    Creativity soars when novice and novelist give and take, says Nicholas Delbanco

  9. The welcome table

    New James Baldwin bios inspire personal memories of the writer, host.

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