"The art of losing isn't hard to master," wrote poet Elizabeth Bishop. Perhaps she meant that we will all face loss at some point in our lives. In this collection, we have brought together texts that take up the universal experience of grief.
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Fathers, Natural World: Food, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Food
Publication year 1986
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Food
Tags Education, Education, History: U.S., American Literature, History: World, Chinese Literature, Grief / Death, Food
Publication year 1965
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Depression / Suicide, Confessional, Free verse, Grief / Death
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Indigenous, Relationships: Family
Tags Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, LGBTQ, Magical Realism, Action / Adventure, Grief / Death, Race / Racism, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 450
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Fate, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Play: Tragedy, Mythology, Grief / Death, Ancient Greece, Drama / Tragedy, Classical Period, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1751
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Lyric Poem, Grief / Death, Classical Period, Education, Education, Romanticism / Romantic Period, British Literature, Gothic Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Grandparents, Relationships: Mothers, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality
Tags Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Southern Literature, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism
Ellen Foster is a work of adult fiction by US novelist Kaye Gibbons, first published by Algonquin Books in 1987. The novel was Gibbons’s debut, and it won the Sue Kaufman Prize for literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a notable citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Critics praised the novel for its unsentimental outlook and the wry, distinct voice of its protagonist. Ellen, a young girl living in the American... Read Ellen Foster Summary
Publication year 1717
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, Religion / Spirituality, Age of Enlightenment, British Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, Gothic Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Classic Fiction
“Eloisa to Abelard” is a poem published in 1717 by Alexander Pope. The poem discusses the ill-fated love affair of a real-life couple from 12th-century France: Heloïse d’Argenteuil, a gifted 18-year-old student, and Peter Abelard, a renowned French scholar, philosopher, and poet of the Medieval era who was 20 years older than Heloïse. The poem is a heroic verse epistle, which is a genre first made famous in Ovid’s Heroides. Pope adopts Eloisa’s persona and... Read Eloisa to Abelard Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Magical Realism, Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Religion / Spirituality
Elsewhere is a coming-of-age story and work of magical realism—a genre in which fantastical elements (e.g. talking animals) are woven into an otherwise ordinary setting. First published in 2005, it was writer Gabrielle Zevin’s first novel for a YA audience, and was a 2006 Bank Street Best Children’s Book; it is also an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book. All page numbers in this guide refer to the Farrar, Straus, and Giroux edition. Plot SummaryElsewhere begins... Read Elsewhere Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Class, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community, Life/Time: Mortality & Death
Tags Realistic Fiction, Poverty, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Grief / Death, Urban Development, Arts / Culture
Emako Blue is a novel for young adults written by Brenda Woods. Set in Los Angeles, California, Emako's friends and schoolmates relay the events leading up to Emako Blue’s gang-related murder in alternating first-person narration, primarily through flashbacks. The text explores the effects of poverty, gang violence, guns, and how these issues have far-reaching impacts on each member of a community. As the events of the story unfold, each narrator must consider what they want... Read Emako Blue Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Society: War, Society: Colonialism
Tags History: Asian, WWII / World War II, Politics / Government, Military / War, Asian Literature, History: World, Japanese Literature
Publication year 1995
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Natural World: Environment
Publication year 2018
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Race, Society: Class
Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Publication year 1847
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Romance, American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1904
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism
Tags Irish Literature, Modernism, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
“Eveline” is the fourth short story in James Joyce’s Dubliners collection, completed in 1907 and published in London in 1914. This story, like the others in Dubliners, reveals Joyce’s view of Ireland, then a British colony, as existing in a state of paralysis. Alongside this broader theme, “Eveline” also explores topics like duty versus freedom, English imperialism, and individual autonomy. Nearly a story of a young woman escaping the confines of her abusive and lonely... Read Eveline Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Values/Ideas: Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness
Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy
Ted Chiang’s Exhalation is a collection of nine science fiction short stories. Published in 2019, the stories feature time travel, robots, artificial intelligences, and human beings grappling with an everchanging world. Seven of the nine stories appeared in previous publications, going on to win multiple Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. Through the science fiction/dystopian genre, Exhalation explores forgiveness, parenting, technology ethics, free will, and climate change. This is Ted Chiang’s second collection, following Stories of... Read Exhalation Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Relationships: Family, Society: War
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Drama / Tragedy, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, September 11 Attacks, Modern Classic Fiction
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a realistic fiction novel written by Jonathan Safran Foer and based on the September 11 terrorist attacks that occurred in New York City in 2001. The novel was originally published in 2005. Its characters grapple with Fear of Death and Loss as an Obstacle to Living, The Complex Nature of Relationships, The Importance of Little Things, and The Influence of the Past on the Present. This guide uses the... Read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Summary
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Disability, Identity: Gender, Society: War
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, WWII / World War II, Military / War, History: World
The Eye of the Needle is an espionage thriller by best-selling author Ken Follett. Originally published in 1978 under the title, Storm Island, the novel follows the hunt for German spy and assassin Henry Faber. Faber has obtained information that will influence Adolf Hitler’s decision on whether to send reinforcements to Erwin Rommell’s army in Normandy in anticipation of a joint British and American attack. The Eye of the Needle is Ken Follett’s first commercially... Read Eye of the Needle Summary
Publication year 1988
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Emotions/Behavior: Grief
Tags Lyric Poem, History: U.S., Vietnam War
The poem “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa is a meditation on the first time Komunyakaa visited the US Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Komunyakaa served in the Vietnam War as an Army journalist for the military newspaper, Southern Cross, until he was discharged in 1966. He began writing about the war approximately 14 years after coming home from Vietnam.Prior to this, he had only written one poem about his experience in the war, and... Read Facing It Summary
Publication year 1996
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Natural World: Food
Tags Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature
Set in Canada, American author Will Hobbs’s young-adult novel Far North (1996) follows Gabe Rogers, who lives with his grandparents in Austin, Texas. When Gabe tells his father that he wants to live with him in Canada, his father tells him he may on two conditions. First, Gabe must travel up north to experience the severe cold of the Northwest Territories for one year. Second, he must attend boarding school. While flying through Canada with... Read Far North Summary