Reading for Democracy

Is literature of political use, and if yes, how might this use be defined? "e;Reading for Democracy"e; addresses this question in a series of essays, with topics ranging from 'reading as a political practice' to 'the relational aesthetics of literary engagement', from 'the public sphere as a space of appearance' to 'public intellectuals and the predicament of popularity', from 'Jesmyn Ward's poeti...