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World Literature Today

journal

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ2364419
Source-derived summary

World Literature Today (WLT) is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book reviews for a non-academic audience. It was founded under the name Books Abroad in 1927 by Roy Temple House, a professor at the University of Oklahoma. In January 1977, the journal assumed its present name, World Literature Today.

History

The first issue of World Literature Today (WLT) was published in 1927 and was 32 pages in length. By the magazine's fiftieth year, the issues were more than 250 pages long. In 2006, WLT switched from a quarterly to a bimonthly publication.

House served as editor from 1927 until his retirement in 1949. Todd Downing, a Choctaw author and former student of House's, worked for the publication in varying capacities between 1928 and 1934. House was succeeded as editor by the German critic and novelist Ernst Erich Noth, who went on to edit the journal for ten years.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “World Literature Today” is journal. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through World, Literature and Today, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1927, 1977, 2006, 1949—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1927-01-01. For this dossier, World, Literature and Today is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “journal” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2364419. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1927, 1977, 2006 and 1949.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “World Literature Today”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow World Literature Today primary sources, World Literature Today archive and World research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “World Literature Today”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from World Literature Today” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.