Yale University Professor of English Catherine Nicholson authored a book review of “The Boundless Deep” by Richard Holmes published in The New York Times on February 11, 2026.
Nicholson, who specializes in early modern English literature and the history of reading, is currently working on a book titled “The Renaissance Before Reading,” which explores emergent literacy, according to Yale University and Southern Methodist University websites.
Her previous publications include “Reading and Not Reading The Faerie Queene” (2020) and “Uncommon Tongues” (2014). Nicholson’s research focuses on texts that challenge conventional notions of literary value, prompting readers to reconsider definitions of interest, meaning and purpose, according to her faculty profile at Yale.
In April 2025, Nicholson co-authored an opinion piece with Greta Lafleur published in the Yale Daily News criticizing Yale University’s decision to ban its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, Yalies4Palestine. The authors alleged a double standard in the university’s application of its policies.
Nicholson is also an occasional contributor to the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, and The Yale Review.
