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The Ultimate Guide to Russian Literature
Want to love Russian literature but don't know where to start? You've come to the right place.
Feb 23
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Liza Libes
87
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When Literature Lost Its Way
How the Literary Academy Abandoned Humanistic Inquiry
Feb 16
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Liza Libes
117
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What the Ivy League Is Really Selling
Not a better education, but elite social formation.
Feb 12
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Liza Libes
53
27
10
I Did Everything Wrong—and It Worked
How I Reached Six-Thousand Subscribers as a No-Name Writer (And a Thank You to Pens and Poison Readers)
Feb 10
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Liza Libes
56
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5
January 2026
“Sex-Positivity” Broke Contemporary Literature
Contemporary Literature Can No Longer Speak Honestly About Sex
Jan 26
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Liza Libes
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Harry Potter Changed My Life
What Harry Potter Understands that Modern Literature Does Not
Jan 22
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Liza Libes
75
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The Rise of the Soulless Novel
MFA Programs Have Colluded with the Publishing Industry to Strip Literature of Character, Personality, and Soul
Jan 19
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322
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What Literary Agents Actually Want from Your Opening Pages
What I Learned After 50+ Manuscript Requests, Two Unrealized Offers, and Obsessively Rewriting the Opening Pages of My Third Novel
Jan 15
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Liza Libes
14
6
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Sign Up to Beta Read My Newest Novel, Blue Snow
I wrote a novel I never thought I'd write. Here's how it happened—and how you can be the first to read it.
Jan 5
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12
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How Postmodernism Killed Great Literature
University English departments have made books that don’t matter
Jan 2
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128
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December 2025
Merry Christmas from Pens and Poison
And some exciting updates about my work!
Dec 25, 2025
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Liza Libes
21
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The Strange Death of Literary Women
Women are reading—but not for the reasons you think
Dec 22, 2025
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Liza Libes
107
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