Literature is literally "acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning "an individual written character (letter)"). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry. In much, if not all of the world, texts can be oral as well, and include such genres as epic, legend, myth, ballad, other forms of oral poetry, and the folktale.

Introduction

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Nations can have literatures, as can corporations, philosophical schools or historical periods. Popular belief commonly holds that the literature of a nation, for example, comprises the collection of texts which make it a whole nation. The Hebrew Bible, Persian Shahnama, Thirukural, Beowulf, the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Constitution of the United States, all fall within this definition of a kind of literature.

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L.A. Times - Religious News

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Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The L.A. cathedral plays host to young musicians learning the upbeat Mexican genre. Joacim Naranjo plays the trumpet pretty well. But the 16-year-old from East Los Angeles found himself flapping his sore lips like a horse as he and a half dozen other boys tried to master the rapidly cascading sounds of a mariachi song.
How to spot counterfeit True Religion jeans
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
How to spot true blues Want to know if your new dungarees are truly True Religion? Here are some tips to help you separate the bona fide jeans from the fakes:
Retired judge's recusal will delay release of L.A. clergy sex-abuse files
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Plaintiffs' attorneys have requested that a new judge be appointed to decide which L.A. Archdiocese personnel documents will be released to the public. A year-old legal agreement requiring the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to release confidential personnel records of priests accused of sexual abuse has been thrown into limbo by the departure of a retired judge selected to vet the documents.

RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY | PBS

2008 Campaign: Update on the Candidates and Religion
Obama and McCain step up efforts to meet religious leaders and reach religious voters.
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Young American doctors are going to Africa to treat patients and train local providers.
Interfaith Wedding
The wedding rituals of a Hindu-Sikh couple honor the religious traditions of both.

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