Literary Hub » influences

Actually, It’s Ok to Steal Your Ideas. Sort Of... (Or: Learning to Love My Literary Influences)

Actually, It’s Ok to Steal Your Ideas. Sort Of... (Or: Learning to Love My Literary Influences)

Bryan VanDyke Ponders Inspiration Versus Plagiarism, Ursula Le Guin, and AI Hallucinations

By Bryan VanDyke | May 19, 2025

In Praise of the Dark and Innovative Genre-Bending of <em>Twin Peaks</em>

In Praise of the Dark and Innovative Genre-Bending of Twin Peaks

Lauren Haddad Shares the Lynchian Influences That Shaped Her Debut Novel

By Lauren Haddad | May 1, 2025

Channeling Curiosity Into Language: How a Diverse Array of Influences Feeds Poetic Development

Channeling Curiosity Into Language: How a Diverse Array of Influences Feeds Poetic Development

Mónica de la Torre Discusses the Artists, Writers and Performers Who Inspire Her Creative Process

By Mónica de la Torre | October 29, 2024

From <em>Beowulf</em> to Foucault: On the Literary Influences of Cormac McCarthy

From Beowulf to Foucault: On the Literary Influences of Cormac McCarthy

Michael Lynn Crews Investigates the Inspiration Behind “Blood Meridian,” “Suttree” and Other Novels

By Michael Lynn Crews | October 10, 2024

Hero of a Cult of One: On Loving Cormac McCarthy’s Early Work

Hero of a Cult of One: On Loving Cormac McCarthy’s Early Work

Jason K. Friedman Considers the Enduring Creative Influence of a Now-Beloved American Writer

By Jason K. Friedman | May 1, 2024

Summoning Literary Witches: Intan Paramaditha Rethinks Her Personal Canon

Summoning Literary Witches: Intan Paramaditha Rethinks Her Personal Canon

“In actively reshaping our coven, we reclaim our literary lineage and stitch a tapestry of defiant voices.”

By Intan Paramaditha | March 25, 2024

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Exploring the Richard Brautigan Universe of Bubblegum Minimalism That Inspired Harry Styles

By Matt Mitchell | June 30, 2022

Lit Hub Asks: 5 Authors, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers

By Teddy Wayne | September 14, 2021

How Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Taught Me to Write

By Lucie Britsch | July 23, 2020

Kate Elizabeth Russell Takes the Book Marks Rapid-Fire Books Quiz

Kate Elizabeth Russell Takes the Book Marks Rapid-Fire Books Quiz

The Author of My Dark Vanessa on the Books She Loves...
and Does Not

By Book Marks | March 9, 2020

Robert Polito on the Art of Iconoclastic Film Critic Manny Farber

Robert Polito on the Art of Iconoclastic Film Critic Manny Farber

“Much as his criticism resists paraphrase, Manny’s paintings after 1972 elude ready description.”

By Robert Polito | November 18, 2019

The Biggest Influence on My Novel Is... McDonald's?

The Biggest Influence on My Novel Is... McDonald's?

Ryan Chapman Worries It Is a Bad Idea to Compare
Your Writing to a Big Mac

By Ryan Chapman | May 21, 2019

Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, and Barbara Smith <br>on Their Literary Influences

Alexander Chee, Masha Gessen, and Barbara Smith
on Their Literary Influences

A Conversation with the Special Honorees at the Lambda Literary Awards

By William Johnson | May 2, 2019

Cormac McCarthy's <em>Blood Meridian</em> Was Almost a Plain Old Western

Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian Was Almost a Plain Old Western

The Sneaky Literary Influences Behind a Modern American Classic

By Michael Lynn Crews | September 6, 2017

How a Book About Grover Revealed to Me the Wide World of Literature

How a Book About Grover Revealed to Me the Wide World of Literature

From Joyce to Kafka to The Monster at the End of the Book

By David Burr Gerrard | July 18, 2017

On Don DeLillo's Deep Italian-American Roots

On Don DeLillo's Deep Italian-American Roots

On the Rich Artful Paranoia of the Son of a Jesuit

By Nick Ripatrazone | May 3, 2016