For most of the eighteenth century, automata were deemed a celebration of human ingenuity, feats of science and reason. Among the Romantics, however, they prompted a contradictory apprehension about mechanization and contrivance: such science and engineering threatened the spiritual nature of life, the source of compassion in human society. A deep dread of puppets and the machinery that propels them consequently surfaced in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century literature. Roman...

Local and international writers converge to create emerge 19, a powerful anthology now in its 19th year, filled with intrepid and haunting stories. Explore a tiny universe within a shard of glass, find lullabies for insomniacs and follow the kidnapping of a magical cat. In this collection, you will find prose and poetry that lay new ground, whether it be uncovering hidden jawbones in walls, bearing witness to childhoods in raging war zones, or examining one’s paradoxical relationship with ...