<!doctype html public «-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en»> http-equiv=content-type> The idea of human rights is not new. But the importance of taking human rights seriously has never been more urgent than it is today. The eighteen essays which comprise Literature and Human Rights are written in a spirit of interdisciplinarity, and are intended to make a signficant contribution to this vital and enduring debate.