The Literary Mind

Life, literature, and politics, from the inside out.

Ilana Simons, Ph.D., is a literature professor at The New School as well as a practicing therapist. See full bio

March 29, 2009

Genius: The Right Mix of Rebel

The most rebellious minds aren't the ones who change the world. Utterly submissive ones don't either. The highly rebellious and highly submissive can be equally unoriginal. A true original thinker usually manages some mix of those two styles.

March 25, 2009

You Look Nasty in that Dress

What you say is not as important as how you say it. Shakespeare knew this. So does HBO's David Milch.

March 20, 2009

D.H. Lawrence Loved to Fight

Some people love tension more than others do. They think that a struggle or fight gives meaning to life. Read More

March 17, 2009

Stop Complaining and Saying "I'm Sorry"

It's cheap to say "I'm sorry." It's supposed to absolve a person of blame, but it doesn't cost anything.

Changing behavior is a bigger investment, because it takes real energy. Read More

March 8, 2009

On Fetishes and Clean Pencil Tips

There is a deep connection between phobias, fetishes, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In each, someone has an emotion that threatens to overwhelm her. Or, she has a complex brain--so her own racing thoughts threaten to derail her.

In response, she compartmentalizes things in the outside world. Read More