Short story by Katherine Anne Porter set during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Miranda, the protagonist, falls ill, and her emotions and sensations related to her illness are explored in the text. In the end, she recovers, but her lover Adam, who persumably caught the flu while caring for her, does not. The story is said to have been inspired by Porter's own experience catching the flu in 1918.
Essay written by Virginia Woolf on the topic of illness and its (lack of) coverage in literature, referring specifically to influenza throughout as an example of "illness." Woolf discusses, among others, themes like the mind as opposed to the body, the (in)capabilities of the English language, illness's connection to "incomprehensibility," and the role of the poet in society. The essay essentially argues that, though it doesn't seem to do so at the moment ("the moment" in this case being the early 20th century), illness should exist "among the prime themes of literature."
