Portal:Literature

The Literature Portal

Introduction

Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed. Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment, and can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role.

Literature, as an art form, can also include works in various non-fiction genres, such as biography, diaries, memoir, letters, and essays. Within its broad definition, literature includes non-fictional books, articles or other printed information on a particular subject. (Full article...)

General images -

The following are images from various literature-related articles on Wikipedia.

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  Albert Edelfelt's illustration of Adalmina's Pearl, a Finnish fairy tale by Zachris Topelius. (from Fairy tale)

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  Illustration from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 pirate adventure Treasure Island (from Children's literature)

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  An early Mexican hornbook pictured in Tuer's History of the Horn-Book, 1896. (from Children's literature)

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  J. K. Rowling reads from her novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (from Children's literature)

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  The Violet Fairy Book (1906)

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  1900 edition of the controversial The Story of Little Black Sambo (from Children's literature)

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  The European fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in a painting Carl Larsson in 1881. (from Fairy tale)

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  Alfonso Reyes writer of influential pieces of Mexican surrealism. (from Latin American literature)

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  The Codex Manesse, a German book from the Middle Ages (from History of books)

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  Father Frost acts as a donor in the Russian fairy tale Father Frost, testing the heroine before bestowing riches upon her (from Fairy tale)

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  Hop-o'-My-Thumb and the ogre in an 1865 illustration (from Fairy tale)

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  Walter Crane's chromolithograph illustration for The Frog Prince, 1874. (from Children's literature)

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  Octavio Paz helped to define modern poetry and the Mexican personality. (from Latin American literature)

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  Goethe's Italian Journey between September 1786 and May 1788 (from Travel literature)

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  Newbery's A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, originally published in 1744 (from Children's literature)

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  Jikji, Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Seon Masters, the earliest known book printed with movable metal type, 1377. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. (from History of books)

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  The scene in Botticelli's Madonna of the Book (1480) reflects the presence of books in the houses of richer people in his time. (from History of books)

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  Beauty and the Beast, illustration by Warwick Goble (from Fairy tale)

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  Pages from the 1819 edition of Kinder- und Haus-Märchen by the Brothers Grimm (from Children's literature)

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  Galway Kinnell performing a poetic piece in Vermont (from Performance poetry)

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  Statuta Mutine Reformata, 1420–1485; parchment codex bound in wood and leather with brass plaques worked the corners and in the center, with clasps. (from Medieval literature)

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  Estimated medieval output of manuscripts in terms of copies (from Medieval literature)

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  Illustration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1865 (from Children's literature)

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  Ivan Bilibin's illustration of the Russian fairy tale about Vasilisa the Beautiful (from Fairy tale)

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  Calliope, the muse of heroic poetry (from History of poetry)

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  The first page of Beowulf (from Medieval literature)

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  Roberto Bolaño is considered to have had the greatest United States impact of any post-Boom author (from Latin American literature)

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  A picture by Gustave Doré of Mother Goose reading written (literary) fairy tales (from Fairy tale)

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  Folio from a manuscript of the Shanamah (Book of Kings) (from History of books)

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  The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore illus. by Nandalal Bose, Macmillan 1913 (from Children's literature)

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  Dresden Codex (page 49) (from History of books)

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  Gabrielle Roy was a notable French Canadian author. (from Canadian literature)

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  Photograph of a printing press in Egypt, c. 1922 (from History of books)

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  Cutlery for children. Detail showing fairy-tale scenes: Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel. (from Fairy tale)

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  Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on a Latin edition of The Travels of Marco Polo (from Travel literature)

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  French author Albert Camus was the first African-born writer to receive the award. (from Nobel Prize in Literature)

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  A late 18th-century reprint of Orbis Pictus by Comenius, the first children's picture book. (from Children's literature)

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  Page from a Jain manuscript depicting the birth of Mahavira, c. 1400 (from History of books)

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  Willy Wonka (from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and the Mad Hatter (from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) in London (from Children's literature)

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  A mother reads to her children, depicted by Jessie Willcox Smith in a cover illustration of a volume of fairy tales written in the mid to late 19th century. (from Children's literature)

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  A Tagore illustration of a Hindu myth (from Children's literature)

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  Gabriel García Márquez, the most famous of the Boom writers (from Latin American literature)

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  Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, c. 1620, depicting the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (from History of books)

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  12-metre-high (40 ft) stack of books sculpture at the Berlin Walk of Ideas, commemorating the invention of modern book printing (from History of books)

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  A poet with a few enraptured fans (from Performance poetry)

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  Charles G. D. Roberts was a poet that belonged to an informal group known as the Confederation Poets. (from Canadian literature)

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  Page from the Blue Quran manuscript, ca. 9th or 10th century CE (from History of books)

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  The Story of Mankind (1921) by Hendrik van Loon, 1st Newbery Award winner (from Children's literature)

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  The Book of the Dead of Hunefer, c. 1275 BCE, ink and pigments on papyrus, in the British Museum (London) (from History of books)

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  The character which means "poetry", in the ancient Chinese Great Seal script style. The modern character is 詩/诗 (shī). (from History of poetry)

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  Statue of C. S. Lewis in front of the wardrobe from his Narnia book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (from Children's literature)

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  H. O. Tanager performs at a bookstore in Boise, Idaho. (from Performance poetry)

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  European output of manuscripts 500–1500 (from History of books)

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  In 1901, French poet and essayist Sully Prudhomme (1839–1907) was the first person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect." (from Nobel Prize in Literature)

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  Statue of Minnie the Minx, a character from The Beano. Launched in 1938, the comic is known for its anarchic humour, with Dennis the Menace appearing on the cover. (from Children's literature)

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  The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) is a canonical piece of children's literature and one of the best-selling books ever published. (from Children's literature)

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  John Bauer's illustration of trolls and a princess from a collection of Swedish fairy tales (from Fairy tale)

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  A Sumerian clay tablet, currently housed in the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, inscribed with the text of the poem Inanna and Ebih by the priestess Enheduanna, the first author whose name is known

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  The New England Primer (from Children's literature)

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  European output of printed books c. 1450–1800 (from History of books)

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  Kings' Fairy Tale, 1909, by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (from Fairy tale)

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  Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, London (from Children's literature)

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  Short story writer Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. (from Canadian literature)

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  An author portrait of Jean Miélot writing his compilation of the Miracles of Our Lady, one of his many popular works. (from History of books)

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  A 15th-century Incunable. Notice the blind-tooled cover, corner bosses, and clasps. (from History of books)

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  A Chinese bamboo book (from History of books)

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  Peruvian poet César Vallejo, considered by Thomas Merton "the greatest universal poet since Dante" (from Latin American literature)

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  Woman holding wax tablets in the form of the codex. Wall painting from Pompeii, before 79 CE. (from History of books)

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  Postal stamp of Russia celebrating children's books. (from Children's literature)

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  European output of books 500–1800 (from History of books)

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  The former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke (2015) (from Canadian literature)

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