literature Archives - News Center

Jess Gale stands outside her store, The Siren and the Sea: Books and Coffee.

Campus & Community

The Siren and the Sea: An odyssey, of sorts

September 2, 2026

For Rochester independent bookshop owner Jess Gale ’04, community is essential to both the journey and the destination.

László Krasznahorkai photographed looking outside with his arms crossed through paned windows.

On Nobelist László Krasznahorkai, the apocalypse, and the art of literary translation

October 10, 2025

Alumnus Declan Spring ’87 and Open Letter’s Chad Post reflect on the vision and voice of the newly minted Nobel laureate.

Thomas Perry holding up a book with his name and the title THE BURGLAR on the cover

Master of suspense: Thomas Perry ’74 (PhD) on the thrill of writing thrillers

September 23, 2025

The acclaimed author has penned more than two dozen novels.

Open Letter wins Republic of Consciousness Prize for English translation of Melvill

Rochester’s literary translation press published Rodrigo Fresán’s invented biography of Herman Melville, translated by alumnus Will Vanderhyden.

Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7, looks at the camera with his arms folded. Behind him is an extensive bookshelf and a framed movie poster for "Mickey 17."

From the Magazine

The magnificent Mickey7

Alumnus Edward Ashton’s sci-fi novel Mickey7 gets a Hollywood glow up with Bong Joon-ho’s film Mickey 17.

Diptych of the book cover art for "Melvill" by Rodrigo Fresán and "Muzzle for Witches" by Dubravka Ugresic, both translated and published by Open Letter Press and longlisted by the National Book Critics Circle translation prize.

Two Open Letter books nominated by National Book Critics Circle

December 21, 2024

Rochester’s literary translation press edited and published two of the longlisted books for the organization’s 2024 Barrios Book in Translation Prize.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang: A Nobel Prize, a Rochester press, and a translation controversy

October 11, 2024

The latest Nobel Prize in Literature laureate has unexpected ties to the University’s literary translation press.

A facsimile of “Astronomicum Caesaream” by Petrus Apianus opened to a spread that shows lots of text on the left page and a colorful compass-like illustration on the right.

Society & Culture

7 rare books to celebrate the solar eclipse

Although you can’t technically check out these volumes—ranging from a medieval anthology to a mid-20th century how-to guide—they’re still worth ‘checking out.’

Detail of Caravaggio's "The Conversion of Saint Paul" shows Saul sprawled on the ground beneath a horse's legs, blinded and with his arms raised. A crop of the painting serves as the cover art for Jennifer Grotz's "Still Falling: Poems."

A poet’s meditation on loss, light, and legacy

February 20, 2024

Still Falling, English professor Jennifer Grotz’s fourth collection of poems, illuminates the connection between art and time.

illustration of a book with a red tail of Satan hanging out of the book like a bookmark to represent the light verse of Melissa Balmain's latest collection.

Provoking and coping through light verse

December 12, 2023

Rochester English instructor ‘explores the lighter side of dark times’ with her latest collection of poems.