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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Liked "Ask TLS: is non-access to published literature a problem for those who have reviewed manuscripts? It never..." http://ff.im/d6nWA
kshameer (Khader Shameer) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:45:49 -0000
Liked "Ask TLS: is non-access to published literature a problem for those who have reviewed manuscripts? It never..." http://ff.im/d6nWA
@Liberalviewer1 Not sure my poor, neglected blog qualifies as literature...
SandiBehrns (Sandi Behrns) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:45:38 -0000
@Liberalviewer1 Not sure my poor, neglected blog qualifies as literature...
Was the Bible just a collection of contemporary literature? - Being Human: http://bit.ly/8O27o4
alecwisner (Alec Wisner) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:42:33 -0000
Was the Bible just a collection of contemporary literature? - Being Human: http://bit.ly/8O27o4
@SandiBehrns You're more than welcome! I see you're a writer too. I guess I'll add you to my literature list!
Liberalviewer1 (Liberalviewer1) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:42:09 -0000
@SandiBehrns You're more than welcome! I see you're a writer too. I guess I'll add you to my literature list!
Is there such a thing as men's literature? Mysteries and Spy books and Hemingway?
Khurzad (Brandon) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:39:24 -0000
Is there such a thing as men's literature? Mysteries and Spy books and Hemingway?
Flash Latest News and Information on Diabetic Diet: Latest news, video, and literature on Diet in the treatment of ... http://bit.ly/86HMhr
VANews0verviews (Virginia News) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:35:40 -0000
Flash Latest News and Information on Diabetic Diet: Latest news, video, and literature on Diet in the treatment of ... http://bit.ly/86HMhr

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