SOURCE: "Is Einstein's Work Relevant to the Study of Literature?" in After Einstein: Proceedings of the Einstein Centennial Celebration at Memphis State University, 14-16 March 1979, edited by Peter Barker and Cecil G. Shugart, Memphis State University Press, 1981, pp. 203-11.

In the following essay, which was originally presented at the Einstein Centennial Celebration at Memphis State University in 1979, Creed contends that Einstein's theories may be successfully applied to the study of literature; however, Creed stresses that Einstein's belief in the fundamental value of experience in understanding and interpreting reality runs counter to much literary theory that emphasizes the importance of knowing reality only through abstract constructs such as language.

I am going to give a positive answer to the question my title poses: Einstein's work is relevant to the study of literature. But before I do, I must make some negative remarks.

First, Einstein had very little to say...