The Literary Agenda is a series of short polemical monographs about the importance of literature and of reading in the wider world and about the state of literary education inside schools and universities. The category of 'the literary' has always been contentious. What is clear, however, is how increasingly it is dismissed or is unrecognised as a way of thinking or an arena for thought. It is sceptically challenged from within, for example, by the sometimes rival claims of cultural history, contextualized explanation, or media studies. It is shaken from without by even greater pressures: by...

Filled with characters that are often delicately caught in moments of defiance, disregarding their age, their family, or the prevailing political winds, this collection finds a space for resistance and taking an honest delight in it. Alphonse, having broken out of an old people's home, changed his name, and fled the country, pedals down the length of the Rhone despite knowing he has barely six months to live. Meanwhile, a clergyman chooses to spend Christmas Eve--and the last few hours in his job--in a frozen, derelict school, dancing a wild jig with a vagrant called Goat. Holding real life...