Required Reading Lists

Our Required Reading Lists Collection features poems, fiction, short stories, and other texts frequently studied in academic contexts. With texts spanning from the ancients, such as Plato, through contemporary literary giants, this well-rounded Collection represents the breadth and enduring appeal of literature and its study.

This Be the Verse

by Philip Larkin

Publication year 1971

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Literature, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Fate

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Arts / Culture, Heinemann African Writers, African Literature

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Those Winter Sundays

by Robert Hayden

Publication year 1962

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers

Tags Lyric Poem, Parenting, American Literature, Education, Education

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Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet

by Margaret Atwood

Publication year 2009

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Natural World: Place, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Objects, Life/Time: The Future

Tags Allegory / Fable / Parable, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Climate Change, Science / Nature, Finance / Money / Wealth

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To a Mouse

by Robert Burns

Publication year 1786

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Natural World: Animals

Tags Science / Nature

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To an Athlete Dying Young

by A. E. Housman

Publication year 1896

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fame

Tags Grief / Death

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To My Dear and Loving Husband

by Anne Bradstreet

Publication year 1678

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Love / Sexuality

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To One Coming North

by Claude McKay

Publication year 1922

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Science / Nature

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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

by Kwame Mbalia

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Fantasy, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Children's Literature, History: African , Race / Racism, African American Literature, Action / Adventure

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Trumpet

by Jackie Kay

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Music, Identity: Sexuality

Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Music, Grief / Death, Race / Racism, Love / Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction

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Ulysses

by James Joyce

Publication year 1922

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Society: Nation

Tags Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modernism, Irish Literature, History: World

Ulysses is a 1922 novel by Irish author James Joyce. The story is a loose adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, portraying a day in the lives of several characters who live in Dublin, Ireland, in June 1904. Ulysses proved controversial on release due to accusations of obscenity but is now celebrated as one of the most important and influential works in the English language and considered a classic.This guide is written using the... Read Ulysses Summary

Utopia

by Thomas More

Publication year 1516

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Satire, Philosophy, Politics / Government

Originally published in 1516, Utopia is a short work of political and social satire. It was written by Sir Thomas More, an English attorney and the Lord High Chancellor in the court of King Henry VIII. Famously, More was executed in 1535 for refusing to publicly support Henry’s break from the Catholic Church.Utopia describes an ideal island nation from which the novel receives its name. More combines various elements from philosophical dialogues (such as Plato’s... Read Utopia Summary

Valentine for Ernest Mann

by Naomi Shihab Nye

Publication year 1994

Genre Poem, Fiction

Tags Lyric Poem, Humor, Arts / Culture

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Waiting for the Barbarians

by J. M. Coetzee

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Historical Fiction

Waiting for the Barbarians is a 1980 novel written by John Maxwell Coetzee, a South African and Australian novelist who was winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. Penguin chose the book for its Great Books of the 20th Century series, and the novel won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. Waiting for the Barbarians was influenced by the 1904 poem of the same name written by... Read Waiting for the Barbarians Summary

Walker Brothers Cowboy

by Alice Munro

Publication year 1972

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Fathers, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Great Depression, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

“Walker Brothers Cowboy” by Alice Munro is a short story set during the Great Depression. The story uses the themes of The Disillusionment of Fading Childhood, The Bittersweet Effects of Nostalgia, and Finding Solace in Companionship to implicitly explore larger issues of poverty and social class. The story was published in Munro’s debut collection, Dance of the Happy Shades, in 1968. The stories in this collection are set in and around a variety of fictional... Read Walker Brothers Cowboy Summary

Walking Down Park

by Nikki Giovanni

Publication year 1996

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Race / Racism, Black Lives Matter, History: U.S., Black Arts Movement, Afrofuturism

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War Brothers

by Sharon McKay

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Military / War, Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Realistic Fiction, History: World

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We Are Displaced

by Malala Yousafzai

Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Society: War, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Femininity, Society: Politics & Government, Relationships: Family, Society: Education, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Politics / Government, Social Justice, History: World, Immigration / Refugee, Gender / Feminism, Education, Biography

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We Grow Accustomed to the Dark

by Emily Dickinson

Publication year 1935

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Free verse, American Literature

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