This in-depth critical assessment of the work of French psychoanalyst and literary theorist, Julia Kristeva, gathers readings both classic and new. Kristeva’s writing on literature and psychoanalysis, language and social issues, as well as her fiction, are all considered. Each reading confronts questions raised by Kristeva’s thought and contributes to giving an overview of her concerns. Chapters written especially for this volume take the reader into the most recent work of this most eminent thinker of the post-War era. Topics covered in the essays include: Kristeva’s writings in the 1960s and 1970s on the semiotic and on poetic language; the implications for feminism, art, psychoanalysis and cultural difference of the works of the 1980s; and Kristeva’s theory of revolt and the feminine genius in the writings of the 1990s.