Literary Hub
Craft and Criticism
Literary Criticism
Craft and Advice
In Conversation
On Translation
Fiction and Poetry
Short Story
From the Novel
Poem
News and Culture
History
Science
Politics
Biography
Memoir
Food
Technology
Bookstores and Libraries
Film and TV
Travel
Music
Art and Photography
The Hub
Style
Design
Sports
Become A Member
Lit Hub Radio
The Lit Hub Podcast
Awakeners
Fiction/Non/Fiction
The Critic and Her Publics
Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
Memoir Nation
Beyond the Page
First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
Thresholds
The Cosmic Library
Culture Schlock
Reading Lists
Reading Challenge
Book Marks
Best Reviewed Books
CrimeReads
True Crime
The Daily Thrill
Log In
Craft and Criticism
Fiction and Poetry
News and Culture
Lit Hub Radio
Reading Lists
Reading Challenge
Book Marks
CrimeReads
Log In
Jason Guriel
On the Art of Literary Name-Calling: The Best and Most Baroque Insults Are Micro-Poems for the Ages
Jason Guriel on the Evolution of Stylized Insults, from “Turdsworth” to “Tru-Anon”
By
Jason Guriel
| August 13, 2021
After Lord Byron: poetic advice for the modern poet (in couplets).
By
Jason Guriel
| August 6, 2021
Hepburn and Grant: On the Funniest Comedy—and Comedic Heroine—of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Jason Guriel Reconsiders
Bringing Up Baby
As It Heads to the Criterion Collection
By
Jason Guriel
| July 1, 2021
In Praise of a Brazen Poet: On the Essays of Kay Ryan, Outsider
Jason Guriel Considers the Legacy of a Literary Maverick
By
Jason Guriel
| April 28, 2021
Bio-Waste: How Important Are Author Bios Anyway?
Jason Guriel Finds Major Meaning in Minor Texts
By
Jason Guriel
| April 12, 2021
How to Write a Sci-Fi Rock 'N' Roll Novel in Rhyming Couplets
Jason Guriel Pairing the Conventions of Rhyme with Science Fiction
By
Jason Guriel
| October 19, 2020
Best Reviewed
Books of the Week
What is the extent of Sherlock Holmes's random scientific knowledge?
August 7, 2026
by
Olivia Rutigliano
Olesya Lyuzna on the 1920s Cults of Positive Thinking That Shaped Her New Mystery
August 7, 2026
by
Olesya Lyuzna
What Should You Watch This Weekend? (August 7-9)
August 7, 2026
by
Dwyer Murphy
The Best Reviewed Books of the Week
"Confident and unsettling I m forced to be coy because there s a mystery at…"