In addition to the editor's introduction, which discusses contemporary literary criticism’s vexed attachment to the idea of the author as a means of organizing knowledge about literature, Taking Liberties with the Author: Selected Essays from the English Institute features five essays that explore the place of the author in literary discourse.  Essays by Rita Copeland, Ian Duncan, Adela Pinch, Jean Howard, and Jerome Christensen range from an analysis of authorial disavowal in ancient and medieval rhetorical traditions to an account of corporate authorship as articulated in the Disney-Pixar merger.  Published as an ACLS Humanities e-book.