Archive - Woman of Letters

Now that I'm a Hindu, I probably have to post about the caste system.

In my posts about Uncle Tom's Cabin and about sentimental literature, I made several statements that commenters disagreed with.

19 hrs ago •

I've learned to respect my comments section

When I first started on Substack, I tended to avoid my comments.

Mar 22 •

Literary short stories don't perform well online. There's a reason for that.

Last year I wrote a series of posts about my dissatisfaction with contemporary literary fiction: I wrote about the literary hype-machine, about literary…

Mar 20 •

The most overrated writer in America

There is a large contingent of people in America who occasionally read classic literature for fun.

Mar 18 •

Uncle Tom's Cabin is the Great American Novel

Most countries take their popular novelists more seriously than America has — Not preachy or overdetermined — Reads like the offspring of Dickens and…

Mar 11 •

Most commercial fiction relies on the reader's belief in the spiritual power of goodness

Between 2012 and 2014, I was enrolled in a graduate program for fiction-writing, even though my background and my subject-matter made me a fairly poor…

Mar 6 •

I am fond of sentimental literature

ALSO, every book I read in February 2025

Mar 4 •

February 2025

Making a literary career during Trump's second term

For the first time in her life, Johanna is part of a literary clique.

Feb 27 •

Moby-Dick is a novel that is mostly about whales

According to my records, I read Moby-Dick for the first time in April of 2010.

Feb 25 •

What is real reading?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks.

Feb 15 •

Rob Vlock is driving new readers to an often-overlooked Melville title

After reading James Fenimore Cooper, I had some vague thoughts that I should look into Melville again.

Feb 13 •

Social class in American literature

Reading Richard Henry Dana’s memoir of life as a sailor in the 1830s — Confused by the class politics of early 19th-century America — Not sure Melville…

Feb 11 •

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