Biography: writers Books

Book SynopsisDuring more than a half century at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Ralph McInerny’s legendary achievements include writing more than 50 non-fiction books in philosophy, medieval studies, and theology, as well as more than 90 novels, including the Father Dowling Murder Mystery series. This volume offers personal reflections on the man himself and what he meant to so many over his rich life of teaching, writing, and contributing to the life of the mind. Alasdair MacIntyre, Cardinal Francis George, Ralph’s brother D.Q. McInerny, Michael Novak, John Haldane, Joseph Bottum, Thomas De Konick, Jude P. Dougherty, Gerard V. Bradley, Fr. Marvin O’Connell, and many others (see below) aim to capture some of the ‘more’ that was McInerny, a more that cannot be captured by any curriculum vitae, even one as impressive as Ralph’s. The stories, anecdotes, and reflections in this volume give us various snapshots of the man that cannot be found in news accounts, press releases, or academic evaluations. A person as great as Ralph should not live merely in memory, so some record such as this volume written his friends, colleagues, and former students becomes appropriate. Also included is a full list of all the books – fiction and non-fiction – authored by McInerny as well as enumeration of his forty-eight doctoral students and their dissertations completed under his direction. Finally, the collection is rounded out by five contributions by McInerny himself: a poem about his late wife Connie, a scholarly article “Why I Am a Thomist,” a popular essay, “Mementoes Never Die,” an early Roger Knight mystery entitled “Dust Abhors a Vacuum,” as well as his last written words.

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Book SynopsisDuring the last months of the war, Josef Pieper saw the realization of a long-cherished plan to escape from the “lethal chaos” that was the Germany of that time, “plucked,” he writes, “as was Habakkuk, by the hair of his head . . . to be planted into a realm of the most peaceful seclusion, whose borders and exists were, of course, controlled by armed sentries.” There he made contact with a friend close-by, who possessed an amazing library, and Pieper hit upon the idea of reading the letters of Goethe from that library. Soon, however, he decided to read the entire Weimar edition of fifty volumes, which were brought to him in sequence, two or three at a time.The richness of this life revealing itself over a period of more than sixty years appeared before my gaze in its truly overpowering magnificence, which almost shattered my powers of comprehension – confined, as they had been, to the most immediate and pressing concerns. What a passionate focus on reality in all its forms, what an undying quest to chase down all that is in the world, what strength to affirm life, what ability to take part in it, what vehemence in the way he showed his dedication to it! Of course, too, what ability to limit himself to what was appropriate; what firm control in inhibiting what was purely aimless; what religious respect for the truth of being! I could not overcome my astonishment; and the prisoner entered a world without borders, a world in which the fact of being in prison was of absolutely no significance. But no matter how many astonishing things I saw in these unforgettable weeks of undisturbed inner focus, nothing was more surprising or unexpected than this: to realize how much of what was peculiar to this life occurred in carefully preserved seclusion; how much the seemingly communicative man who carried on a world-wide correspondence still never wanted to expose in words the core of his existence. It was precisely in the seclusion, the limitation, the silence of Goethe that made the strongest impact on Pieper. Here was modern Germany’s quintessential conversationalist intellectual, but the strength of his words came from the restraint behind them, even to the point of purposeful forgetting:The culmination is when the eighty-year-old sees forgetting not as a convulsive refusal to think of things, but as what could almost be termed a physiological process of simple forgetting as a function of life. He praises as “a great gift of the gods” . . . “the ethereal stream of forgetfulness” which he “was always able to value, to use, and to heighten.” However manifold the forms of this silence and of their unconscious roots and conscious motives may have been, is it not always the possibility of hearing, the possibility of a purer perception of reality that is aimed at? And so, is not Goethe’s type of silence above all the silence of one who listens? . . . This listening silence is much deeper than the mere refraining from words and speech in human intercourse. It means a stillness, which, like a breath, has penetrated into the inmost chamber of one’s own soul. It is meant, in the Goethean “maxim,” to “deny myself as much as possible and to take up the object into myself as purely as it is possible to do.” . . . The meaning of being silent is hearing – a hearing in which the simplicity of the receptive gaze at things is like the naturalness, simplicity, and purity of one receiving a confidence, the reality of which is creatura, God’s creation. And insofar as Goethe’s silence is in this sense a hearing silence, to that extent it has the status of the model and paradigm – however much, in individual instances, reservations and criticism are justified. One could remain circumspectly silent about this exemplariness after the heroic nihilism of our age has proclaimed the attitude of the knower to be by no means that of a silent listener but rather as that of self-affirmation over against being: insight and knowledge are naked defiance, the severest endangering of existence in the midst of the superior strength of concrete being. The resistance of knowledge opposes the oppressive superior power. However, that the knower is not a defiant rebel against concrete being, but above all else a listener who stays silent and, on the basis of his silence, a hearer – it is here that Goethe represents what, since Pythagoras, may be considered the silence tradition of the West.Pieper concludes his remarkable find with this summation:When such talk, which one encounters absolutely everywhere in workshops and in the marketplace – and as a constant temptation – , when such deafening talk, literally out to thwart listening, is linked to hopelessness, we have to ask is there not in silence – listening silence – necessarily a shred of hope? For who could listen in silence to the language of things if he did not expect something to come of such awareness of the truth? And, in a newly founded discipline of silence, is there not a chance not merely to overcome the sterility of everyday talk but also to overcome its brother, hopelessness – possibly if only to the extent that we know the true face of this relationship? I know that here quite different forces come into play which are beyond human control, and perhaps the circulus has to be broken through in a different place. However, one may ask: could not the “quick, strict resolution” to remain silent at the same time serve as a kind of training in hope?

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed British historian examines the layers of craft and insight in Tobias Smollett, and discusses the particular nature of his genius and influence on British culture. Once again, Black acquaints the reader with the full range of a prolific writer's works and offers a backstage tour of the meaning and context of Britain's most beloved stories and story-tellers.

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Book SynopsisIlluminating the parallel and overlapping careers and relationships of Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams, this catalogue juxtaposes the two poets with unique material on view for the first time. With essays by biographer Paul Mariani, poets Paul Muldoon and Daniel Halpern, and collector Alan Klein, it represents a remarkable opportunity for understanding the overlapping careers of Stevens and Williams, their development as poets, the progression of their reputations, and the development of American Modernism.

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Book SynopsisThe first full biography of Warren Lewis, brother and secretary of C. S. LewisDetailing the life of Warren Hamilton Lewis, author Don W. King gives us new insights into the life and mind of Warren's famous brother, C. S. Lewis, and also demonstrates how Warren's experiences provide an illuminating window into the events, personalities, and culture of 20th-century England. Inkling, Historian, Soldier, and Brother will appeal to those interested in C. S. Lewis and British social and cultural history.As a career soldier, Warren served in France during the nightmare of World War I and was later posted to Sierra Leone and Shanghai. On his retirement from the army, he became an active member of the household at the Kilns, the residence outside Oxford that he co-owned with his brother and Mrs. Janie Moore, and he played an important role in the relationship between his brother and Joy Davidman, the woman who became C. S. Lewis's wife. A talented writer and accomplished amateur historian, Warren also researched and wrote seven books on 17th-century French history.Inkling, Historian, Soldier, and Brother examines Warren Lewis's role as an original member of the Oxford Inklings—that now famous group of novelists, thinkers, clergy, poets, essayists, medical men, scholars, and friends who met regularly to drink beer; discuss books, ideas, history, and writers; and share pieces of their own writing for feedback from the group. Drawing from Warren Lewis's unpublished diaries, his letters, the memoir he wrote about his family, and other primary materials, this biography is an engaging story of a fascinating life, period of history, and of the warm and loving relationship between Warren and his brother, which lasted throughout their lives.Trade ReviewIndependent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) 2023 Bronze Medal Winner in World History "A consistently interesting and well-paced life story of Warren Lewis. …. To bring Warren out of the shadows, Don King's biography draws upon a wide range of sources, especially published and unpublished passages from his diary." —CSL: The Bulletin of the New York C.S. Lewis Society "Don W. King offers a consistently fact-filled and engaging account of Warren Lewis's life and times, providing as well an illuminating social history of 20th-century Britain. This work allows readers to view C. S. Lewis's life from a new perspective. Warren's story deserves to be told, and Don King is just the right person to tell that story." —David C. Downing, codirector, Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College "King gives us a richly detailed life of Warnie Lewis to make the case that he is interesting not only because of his famous brother but in his own right. We see Warnie with C. S. Lewis growing up, living at the Kilns, and as Inklings, but we also clearly see the complexities of Warnie himself, proud soldier and self-taught historian who yet was psychologically dependent on his brother and tragically diminished by alcoholism." —John Rosegrant, author of Tolkien, Enchantment, and Loss: Steps on the Developmental Journey "King offers a treasure trove of new information and at the same time succeeds admirably in engaging both the expert and someone new to Lewis studies. This book is a must have for any serious Lewis collection—as much for its insights and commentary as for the information it provides." —Devin Brown, professor of English, Asbury University, and author of A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis

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Book SynopsisAn homage to the life of poet, writer, and teaching artist Judith Tannenbaum and her impact on incarcerated and marginalized students. The Book of Judith honors Judith Tannenbaum but also reflects, through both form and content, on the complexities of seeing both the parts and the whole. The book presents different aspects of Judith—poet, teaching artist, friend, mentor, colleague—through a collection of original poetry, prose, essay, illustration, and fiction from 33 contributors. In so doing, it echoes her own determination to perceive contradiction without judgment. For the next generation of teaching artists in Corrections and elsewhere, the book serves as an inspiration on the qualities needed to survive and thrive in a multi-faceted, ever-changing environment. The book is divided into four sections, separated by riveting black and white pencil drawings inspired by the lives of those serving life in prison without possibility of parole. In Unfinished Conversations, contributors share their bond with Judith Tannenbaum through prose and excerpts from letters both real and imagined. In the second section, After December, poets reflect on the life, artistry, and legacy of Judith. The third section, Looking and Listening, focuses on the truth-seeking qualities that Judith brought to her work. The fourth section, Legacy, features work from winners of an award and a fellowship bestowed in her name.Trade ReviewThe ecosystem left in Judith Tannenbaum's wake is a colorful network of creative minds, burning hearts and artists who walk through walls: literally, and metaphorically. To be dropped into The Book of Judith is to understand what it means to be an artist-in-motion: oozing with creativity, taking risks, and crossing lines of difference to kindle the flame of connection. Judith set the path for many of us working in prisons: her legacy is a gift, inspiration, and teacher. Bless this book, and Judith's comrade Spoon for compiling it. May we all become richer teachers and learners, mentors, and friends. May we become more like Judith. -- Caits Meissner, writer and Director of Prison and Justice Writing, PEN AmericaClosing love's circuits and facilitating its flow was truly Judith's thing. All too often, women who nurture and bring forth the beauty in the world go unsung. Thank goddess, in this book, that is not the case. -- Ani DiFranco, singer, songwriter, founder of Righteous Babe Records and author of No Walls and the Recurring DreamThe Book of Judith contains remembrances of someone who gave so much to so many. And it is more—a call to action, a call to community, and a call, in so many ways, to our soul-making. The people who were touched by Judith Tannenbaum give testimony to what one person can do —with persistence, patience, and passion. It is a diverse record with poetry, memoir, storytelling, and love letters. As Spoon Jackson said, Judith waited and ‘found wisdom in silence’ and then ‘she ignited our fire.’ The giant of California literature, Luis Rodriguez, was enlisted by Judith, in the work of prison arts and finally knew ‘I am in her revolution, a rhyme warrior, who also teaches the forgotten …’ This book is in many ways a map to our own change as well as to transforming a brutal world. -- Laurie Brooks, Executive Director and Arts Administrator, William James Association

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Book SynopsisAn homage to the life of poet, writer, and teaching artist Judith Tannenbaum and her impact on incarcerated and marginalized students. The Book of Judith honors Judith Tannenbaum but also reflects, through both form and content, on the complexities of seeing both the parts and the whole. The book presents different aspects of Judith—poet, teaching artist, friend, mentor, colleague—through a collection of original poetry, prose, essay, illustration, and fiction from 33 contributors. In so doing, it echoes her own determination to perceive contradiction without judgment. For the next generation of teaching artists in Corrections and elsewhere, the book serves as an inspiration on the qualities needed to survive and thrive in a multi-faceted, ever-changing environment. The book is divided into four sections, separated by riveting black and white pencil drawings inspired by the lives of those serving life in prison without possibility of parole. In Unfinished Conversations, contributors share their bond with Judith Tannenbaum through prose and excerpts from letters both real and imagined. In the second section, After December, poets reflect on the life, artistry, and legacy of Judith. The third section, Looking and Listening, focuses on the truth-seeking qualities that Judith brought to her work. The fourth section, Legacy, features work from winners of an award and a fellowship bestowed in her name.Trade Review""The ecosystem left in Judith Tannenbaum's wake is a colorful network of creative minds, burning hearts, and artists who walk through walls, literally and metaphorically. Judith set the path for many of us working in prisons—her legacy is a gift, inspiration, and teacher."" -- Caits Meissner * writer and Director of Prison and Justice Writing, PEN America *""Closing love's circuits and facilitating its flow was truly Judith's thing. All too often, women who nurture and bring forth the beauty in the world go unsung. Thank goddess, in this book, that is not the case." " -- Ani DiFranco * singer, songwriter, founder of Righteous Babe Records and author of No Walls and The Recurring Dream *"“The Book of Judith contains remembrances of someone who gave so much to so many. And it is more— a call to action, a call to community, and a call, in so many ways, to our soul-making. The people who were touched by Judith Tannenbaum give testimony to what one person can do — with persistence, patience, and passion. It is a diverse record with poetry, memoir, storytelling, and love letters. As Spoon Jackson said, Judith waited and ‘found wisdom in silence’ and then ‘she ignited our fire.’ The giant of California literature, Luis Rodriguez, was enlisted by Judith, in the work of prison arts and finally knew ‘I am in her revolution, a rhyme warrior, who also teaches the forgotten ...’ This book is in many ways a map to our own change as well as to transforming a brutal world.” " -- Laurie Brooks * Executive Director and Arts Administrator, William James Association *"The Book of Judith is a series of prose and poetic remembrances of Judith Tannenbaum, a California-based poet who taught poetry to prisoners—to much acclaim—at San Quentin, just north of her Bay Area home. Importantly, Tannenbaum was also a national voice on the methods and values of her teaching, and a mentor, often from a distance, for many men and women who were also teaching at prisons across the country. The Book of Judith enticingly sketches aspects of her holistic (“larger picture”) approach." * Journal of Community Justice *

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Book SynopsisFirst revised edition of interviews with 14 prominent activists whose writings influenced the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution and help us understand present-day Nicaragua Margaret Randall presents a dynamic collection of personal interviews with Nicaragua's most important writer-revolutionaries who played major roles in the 1979 revolution and the subsequent reconstruction. This revised first edition includes a new preface and additional notes that frame the narrative in high relevance to the present day. The featured writer-activists speak of their work and practical tasks in constructing a new society. Among the writers included are Gioconda Belli, Tomás Borge, Omar Cabezas, Ernesto Cardenal, Vidaluz Menéses, Julio Valle-Castillo, and Daisy Zamora. The work also features 50 evocative photographs from the era by Margaret Randall.Trade ReviewThis is a book that encourages and empowers those of us who are poets, those of us who write – and those of us who work to change society to fit the hopes and dreams of the common people. -- Alice WalkerThis new collection of fourteen interviews with Nicaraguan writers is a fascinating testament to basic human possibilities despite the harshly political determinations we have forced upon them. Once again it is Margaret Randall’s unique power as a listener that can make a bridge to this complex place we must finally recognize as our common world. -- Robert CreeleyThe wonder of some of these interviews – I’m thinking of Giocanda Belli and Vidaluz Meneses particularly – the truthfulness as they tell their lives as women and literary workers in a revolutionary time … the happiness, the toll, the sacrifice that’s part of the process. And most interesting to an American woman and writer – the pride of being heard, your next poem waited for – your trade “poet” respected and emulated by the young. -- Grace Paley‘We’re all poor and we’re all poets here,’ said one of the leaders of the Revolution that’s making a nation out of a colony. In Nicaragua, a country under constant attack, a country searching for itself, there isn’t a word worthy of being spoken or written if it hasn’t first been celebrated and suffered. These interviews by Margaret Randall bear witness to that literature standing on its own two feet.” -- Eduardo Galeano

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Book SynopsisFirst revised edition of interviews with 14 prominent activists whose writings influenced the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution and help us understand present-day Nicaragua Margaret Randall presents a dynamic collection of personal interviews with Nicaragua's most important writer-revolutionaries who played major roles in the 1979 revolution and the subsequent reconstruction. This revised first edition includes a new preface and additional notes that frame the narrative in high relevance to the present day. The featured writer-activists speak of their work and practical tasks in constructing a new society. Among the writers included are Gioconda Belli, Tomás Borge, Omar Cabezas, Ernesto Cardenal, Vidaluz Menéses, Julio Valle-Castillo, and Daisy Zamora. The work also features 50 evocative photographs from the era by Margaret Randall.Trade Review"This is a book that encourages and empowers those of us who are poets, those of us who write – and those of us who work to change society to fit the hopes and dreams of the common people." -- Alice Walker"This new collection of fourteen interviews with Nicaraguan writers is a fascinating testament to basic human possibilities despite the harshly political determinations we have forced upon them. Once again it is Margaret Randall’s unique power as a listener that can make a bridge to this complex place we must finally recognize as our common world." -- Robert Creeley"The wonder of some of these interviews – I’m thinking of Giocanda Belli and Vidaluz Meneses particularly – the truthfulness as they tell their lives as women and literary workers in a revolutionary time … the happiness, the toll, the sacrifice that’s part of the process. And most interesting to an American woman and writer – the pride of being heard, your next poem waited for – your trade “poet” respected and emulated by the young." -- Grace Paley"‘We’re all poor and we’re all poets here,’ said one of the leaders of the Revolution that’s making a nation out of a colony. In Nicaragua, a country under constant attack, a country searching for itself, there isn’t a word worthy of being spoken or written if it hasn’t first been celebrated and suffered. These interviews by Margaret Randall bear witness to that literature standing on its own two feet.”" -- Eduardo Galeano

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Book SynopsisAs a novelist who has spent years crafting and refining his intense and oft outrageous ""Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction"" persona, James Ellroy has used interviews as a means of shaping narratives outside of his novels. Conversations with James Ellroy covers a series of interviews given by Ellroy from 1984 to 2010, in which Ellroy discusses his literary contribution and his public and private image.Born Lee Earle Ellroy in 1948, James Ellroy is one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary writers of crime and historical fiction. Ellroy's complex narratives, which merge history and fiction, have pushed the boundaries of the crime fiction genre: American Tabloid, a revisionist look at the Kennedy era, was Time magazine's Novel of the Year 1995, and his novels L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia were adapted into films. Much of Ellroy's remarkable life story has served as the template for the personal obsessions that dominate his writing. From the brutal, unsolved murder of his mother, to his descent into alcohol and drug abuse, his sexual voyeurism, and his stints at the Los Angeles County Jail, Ellroy has lived through a series of hellish experiences that few other writers could claim.In Conversations with James Ellroy, Ellroy talks extensively about his life, his literary influences, his persona, and his attitudes towards politics and religion. In interviews with fellow crime writers Craig McDonald, David Peace, and others, including several previously unpublished interviews, Ellroy is at turns charismatic and eloquent, combative and enigmatic.

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Book SynopsisConversations with William Maxwell collects thirty-eight interviews, public speeches, and remarks that span five decades of the esteemed novelist and New Yorker editor's career. The interviews collectively address the entirety of Maxwell's literary work--with in-depth discussion of his short stories, essays, and novels including They Came Like Swallows, The Folded Leaf, and the American Book award-winning So Long, See You Tomorrow--as well as his forty-year tenure as a fiction editor working with such luminaries as John Updike, John Cheever, Eudora Welty, Vladimir Nabokov, and J.D. Salinger. Maxwell's words spoken before a crowd, some previously unpublished, pay moving tribute to literary friends and mentors, and offer reflections on the artistic life, the process of writing, and his Midwestern heritage. All retain the reserved poignancy of his fiction. The volume publishes for the first time the full transcript of Maxwell's extensive interviews with his biographer and, in an introduction, correspondence with writers including Updike and Saul Bellow, which enlivens the stories behind his interviews and appearances.

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Book SynopsisTo read these interviews given between 1969 and 1996 is to gain insights into William Kennedy's high seriousness in pursuing the craft of fiction and to witness the artistic growth of this remarkable writer. The twenty-four interviews in this collection reveal how the opportunities and challenges in Kennedy's writing life parallel those other contemporary writers have faced in the last years of the century.""The high drama of imagined worlds,"" he says, ""becomes a Rosetta Stone, the key that unlocks the very real mysteries and complexities of our daily lives.""""You're inventing out of a confluence of known facts and random ideas,"" he says about the process of writing, ""juxtaposing reality and abstractions, and then wham! You've got something brand new in your head, and on the page. You're functioning on a plane of existence you didn't know was possible. That's creation, and it's profound pleasure. It's what you live for.""Readers of these interviews will be privy to another process as well, the arduous but exciting process by which Kennedy has emerged as a major voice in contemporary letters. His meteoric rise to fame in 1983 and his continuing popularity since are the stuff of drama and folklore. In that year his novel Ironweed, rejected earlier by thirteen publishers, was finally published by Viking. It earned him a MacArthur Award, the New York Book Critics Circle Award, and a Pulitzer Prize. Governor Mario Cuomo honored him with the New York State Governor's Arts Award and declared that in Kennedy ""Albany [had] found its Homer."" Hollywood came calling and secured screen rights to Ironweed, Legs, and Billy Phelan's Greatest Game. With Francis Ford Coppola, Kennedy co-wrote the screenplay of The Cotton Club.The career that lifted off with such dramatic momentum has shown no signs of flagging. With steady regularity, Kennedy continues to add to his Albany Cycle of novels, as he experiments boldly with the craft of fiction.

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Book SynopsisThe life of William Apess (1789--1839), a Pequot Indian, Methodist preacher, and widely celebrated writer, provides a lens through which to comprehend the complex dynamics of indigenous survival and resistance in the era of America's early nationhood. Apess's life intersects with multiple aspects of indigenous identity and existence in this period, including indentured servitude, slavery, service in the armed forces, syncretic engagements with Christian spirituality, and Native struggles for political and cultural autonomy. Even more, Apess offers a powerful and provocative voice for the persistence of Native presence in a time and place that was long supposed to have settled its ""Indian question"" in favor of extinction.Through meticulous archival research, close readings of Apess's key works, and informed and imaginative speculation about his largely enigmatic life, Drew Lopenzina provides a vivid portrait of this singular Native American figure. This new biography will sit alongside Apess's own writing as vital reading for those interested in early America and indigeneity.

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Book SynopsisIn the spring of 1871, Ralph Waldo Emerson boarded a train in Concord, Massachusetts, bound for a month-and-a-half-long tour of California—an interlude that became one of the highlights of his life. On their journey across the American West, he and his companions would take in breathtaking vistas in the Rockies and along the Pacific Coast, speak with a young John Muir in the Yosemite Valley, stop off in Salt Lake City for a meeting with Brigham Young, and encounter a diversity of communities and cultures that would challenge their Yankee prejudices.Based on original research employing newly discovered documents, The California Days of Ralph Waldo Emerson maps the public story of this group's travels onto the private story of Emerson's final years, as aphasia set in and increasingly robbed him of his words. Engaging and compelling, this travelogue makes it clear that Emerson was still capable of wonder, surprise, and friendship, debunking the presumed darkness of his last decade.

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Book SynopsisIn the spring of 1871, Ralph Waldo Emerson boarded a train in Concord, Massachusetts, bound for a month-and-a-half-long tour of California—an interlude that became one of the highlights of his life. On their journey across the American West, he and his companions would take in breathtaking vistas in the Rockies and along the Pacific Coast, speak with a young John Muir in the Yosemite Valley, stop off in Salt Lake City for a meeting with Brigham Young, and encounter a diversity of communities and cultures that would challenge their Yankee prejudices.Based on original research employing newly discovered documents, The California Days of Ralph Waldo Emerson maps the public story of this group's travels onto the private story of Emerson's final years, as aphasia set in and increasingly robbed him of his words. Engaging and compelling, this travelogue makes it clear that Emerson was still capable of wonder, surprise, and friendship, debunking the presumed darkness of his last decade.

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Book SynopsisAfter years of studying piano as a young woman in her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson curated her music book, a common practice at the time. Now part of the Dickinson Collection in the Houghton Library of Harvard University, this bound volume of 107 pieces of published sheet music includes the poet's favorite instrumental piano music and vocal music, ranging from theme and variation sets to vernacular music, which was also enjoyed by the family's servants.Offering a fresh historical perspective on a poetic voice that has become canonical in American literature, this original study brings this artifact to life, documenting Dickinson's early years of musical study through the time her music was bound in the early 1850s, which tellingly coincided with the writing of her first poems. Using Dickinson's letters and poems alongside newspapers and other archival sources, George Boziwick explores the various composers, music sellers, and publishers behind this music and Dickinson's attendance at performances, presenting new insights into the multiple layers of meaning that music held for her.

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Book SynopsisIn the 1960s, Charles Wright’s (1932–2008) star was on the rise. After dropping out of high school and serving in the Korean War, the young Black writer landed in New York, where he was mentored by Norman Mailer, signed a book deal with a leading publisher, and was celebrated by the likes of Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. Over the decades to follow, Wright would lead a peripatetic and at times precarious life, moving between Tangier, Veracruz, Paris, and New York, penning a regular column for the Village Voice, living off the goodwill of his friends, and battling addiction and, later, mental health issues. As W. Lawrence Hogue shows, Wright’s innovative fiction stands apart, offering a different vision of outcast Black Americans in the postwar era and using satire to bring agency and humanity to working-class characters. This critical biography—the first devoted to Wright’s significant but largely forgotten story—brings new attention to the writer’s impressive body of work, in the context of a wild, but troubled, life.Trade Review “This fascinating biography of Charles Wright covers Morocco, Mexico, Europe, and points in the United States where he encounters sections of society rarely attended to. Hogue does an excellent job of making us understand Wright’s importance, his failures, his struggles, and the major contribution of his work to American and African American literary culture.”—Mary Helen Washington, author of The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural Left of the 1950s “Though Charles Wright left little in the way of papers behind, Hogue’s dogged pursuit of leads has given us the most complete documentary record of this important Black writer—someone whose queer, surreal, and satirical fiction no doubt anticipates the main currents of Black studies in the second decade of the twenty-first century.”—Kinohi Nishikawa, author of Street Players: Black Pulp Fiction and the Making of a Literary UndergroundTable of Contents Preface Chapter One: The Missouri Years Chapter Two: Arriving in New York City Chapter Three: The Messenger Chapter Four: The Years in Tangier Chapter Five: The Return to New York and the publication of The Wig Chapter Six: The Seventies and the Village Voice Chapter Seven: After Absolutely Nothing to Get Alarmed About and the Hodenfields Chapter Eight: The Eighties Chapter Nine: The Nineties Chapter Ten: The Two Thousands Works Cited Notes

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Book SynopsisIn the 1960s, Charles Wright’s (1932–2008) star was on the rise. After dropping out of high school and serving in the Korean War, the young Black writer landed in New York, where he was mentored by Norman Mailer, signed a book deal with a leading publisher, and was celebrated by the likes of Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. Over the decades to follow, Wright would lead a peripatetic and at times precarious life, moving between Tangier, Veracruz, Paris, and New York, penning a regular column for the Village Voice, living off the goodwill of his friends, and battling addiction and, later, mental health issues. As W. Lawrence Hogue shows, Wright’s innovative fiction stands apart, offering a different vision of outcast Black Americans in the postwar era and using satire to bring agency and humanity to working-class characters. This critical biography—the first devoted to Wright’s significant but largely forgotten story—brings new attention to the writer’s impressive body of work, in the context of a wild, but troubled, life.Trade Review “This fascinating biography of Charles Wright covers Morocco, Mexico, Europe, and points in the United States where he encounters sections of society rarely attended to. Hogue does an excellent job of making us understand Wright’s importance, his failures, his struggles, and the major contribution of his work to American and African American literary culture.”—Mary Helen Washington, author of The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural Left of the 1950s “Though Charles Wright left little in the way of papers behind, Hogue’s dogged pursuit of leads has given us the most complete documentary record of this important Black writer—someone whose queer, surreal, and satirical fiction no doubt anticipates the main currents of Black studies in the second decade of the twenty-first century.”—Kinohi Nishikawa, author of Street Players: Black Pulp Fiction and the Making of a Literary Underground

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Book SynopsisThis first biography of Susan Sontag (1933-2004) is now fully revised and updated, providing an even more intimate portrayal of the influential writer's life and career. The authors base this revision on Sontag's newly released private correspondence - including emails - and the letters and memoirs of those who knew her best. The authors reveal as never before her early years in Tucson and Los Angeles, her conflicted relationship with her mother, her longing for her absent father, and her precocious achievements at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. Papers, diaries, and lecture notes, many accessible for the first time, spark a passionate fire in this biography.The authors follow Sontag as she abruptly ends an early first marriage, establishes herself in Paris, and embraces the open lifestyle she began as a teenager in Berkeley. As a single mother she struggled with teaching at Columbia University and other colleges while aiming for a career as a novelist and essayist. Eventually she made her own way in New York City after acquiring her one and only publisher, Farrar, Straus & Giroux.In her later years Sontag became a world figure, a tastemaker, dramatist, and political activist who risked her life in besieged Sarajevo. Love affairs with men and women troubled her. Diagnosed with cancer, she responded with determination, and her experience with illness inspired some of her best writing. This biography shows Sontag always craving ""more life"" at whatever cost and depicts her harrowing final decline even as she resisted terminal cancer. Susan Sontag: The Making of an Icon, Revised and Updated presents in candid and stark relief a new assessment of a heroic and controversial figure.Trade ReviewRollyson and Paddock's determined research, especially the interviews they conducted...make this book a valuable resource." - The Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisMichael Gorra asks provocative questions in this historic portrait of William Faulkner and his world. He explores whether William Faulkner should still be read in this new century and asks what his works tell us about the legacy of slavery and the American Civil War, the central quarrel in America’s history. Born in 1897 in Mississippi, Faulkner wrote such iconic novels as Absalom, Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury, creating in Yoknapatawpha County the richest gallery of characters in American fiction, his achievements culminating in the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. But given his works’ echo of "Lost Cause" romanticism, his depiction of black characters and black speech, and his rendering of race relations in a largely unreconstructed South, Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Interweaving biography, absorbing literary criticism and rich travelogue, The Saddest Words recontextualises Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today.Trade Review"Michael Gorra is one of the finest critical minds at work in literature today, and this masterly reassessment of William Faulkner could not be more timely. Faulkner is a central figure in American fiction and, indeed, in American history, a voice as resonant in today's troubled world as it was in his own time. Gorra asks hard questions about the novelist and the man, and is unflinching in answering them. This is a momentous and thrilling book." -- John Banville"Gorra’s complex and thought-provoking meditation on Faulkner is rich in insight, making the case for the novelist’s literary achievement and his historical value — as an unparalleled chronicler of slavery’s aftermath, and its damage to America’s psyche." -- 100 Notable Books of 2020 - The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisCombining a breadth of scholarship, insightful critical thinking, and an engaging personal interaction with Mary Hallock Foote's substantial collection of illustrations and writings, Megan Riley McGilchrist provides a significant contribution to western literature and the lives of western writers. Exile, Nature, and Transformation in the Life of Mary Hallock Foote opens a window into the remarkable, little-known nineteenth-century personal history of accomplished American author and illustrator, Mary Hallock Foote, a woman both of her time, and ahead of it. When Mary gave up a successful career as an illustrator in New York to follow her husband, a mining engineer, to the West, she found herself in a new, unfamiliar, and often challenging world—sometimes feeling like an exile. The thousands of pages of her unpublished letters, which form the foundation of this book, give rare insight into the process of acculturation and eventually the transformation that she experienced. This wide-ranging analysis also examines the role that nature and Mary's lifelong connection with the natural world played in her adaptation to the western mining towns where she spent much of the rest of her life. In many ways, Mary's life mirrored that of author Megan Riley McGilchrist, whose parallel exile began in 1977 when she left America for England. Drawing equivalences with Mary's life as an exile and her own life as an expatriate American woman, Megan provides a meditation on her own transformation, as much as on Mary's. Megan demonstrates what it has been like to be a twenty-first-century American expatriate, Californian-turned-Londoner—to find common ground in the life of a nineteenth-century woman.Comprising elements of biography, literary analysis, history, and personal history, and containing many unpublished excerpts from Mary's voluminous correspondence, Exile, Nature, and Transformation in the Life of Mary Hallock Foote offers insight into the ways Mary perceived the world around her. It also provides insight into the experiences of exiles of any time—people who have left a familiar environment to embark on a new life in a new and not necessarily comfortable setting.Trade ReviewThis is the kind of book more literary and cultural critics should be writing: A book that offers rich and deep analysis but in a novelistic way, a book that fully demonstrates how reading-whether novels, letters, illustrations-fully enriches our understanding of our own lives." - Melody Graulich, professor of English and American studies, Utah State UniversityTable of Contents The Backstory Correspondences Transformation CHAPTER ONEIn Exile Seeing Landscape: a personal view Reflection Nature in Exile The Nostalgia of the Exile: A personal view Understanding Exile Reflections on Transformation: An interpretation Transformation Interpretation of Landscape What If? CHAPTER TWONew Almaden Echoes of Ancient Greece Parallels CHAPTER THREELeadville CHAPTER FOURMexico Mary in Mexico CHAPTER FIVEIdaho Mary and Helena: a retrospective view Reflection Living in a New Landscape Mirror Images CHAPTER SIXGrass Valley Mary and Angle of Repose Resolution EPILOGUE WORKS CITED ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Book SynopsisTimothy Findley (1930-2002) was one of Canada's foremost writers--an award-winning novelist, playwright, and short-story writer who began his career as an actor in London, England. Findley was instrumental in the development of Canadian literature and publishing in the 1970s and 80s. During those years, he became a vocal advocate for human rights and the anti-war movement. His writing and interviews reveal a man concerned with the state of the world, a man who believed in the importance of not giving in to despair, despite his constant struggle with depression. Findley believed in the power of imagination and creativity to save us. Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley is the first full biography of this eminent Canadian writer. Sherrill Grace provides insight into Findley's life and struggles through an exploration of his private journals and his relationships with family, his beloved partner, Bill Whitehead, and his close friends, including Alec Guinness, William Hurt, and Margaret Laurence. Based on many interviews and exhaustive archival research, this biography explores Findley's life and work, the issues that consumed him, and his often profound depression over the evils of the twentieth-century. Shining through his darkness are Findley's generous humour, his unforgettable characters, and his hope for the future. These qualities inform canonic works like The Wars (1977), Famous Last Words (1981), Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984), and The Piano Man's Daughter (1995).Trade Review"Written with great sensitivity and attention to detail, Grace’s comprehensive biography succeeds in giving a complete picture of its subject as an individual and an artist." - Publishers Weekly"A meticulously researched deep dive into a troubled and fascinating life—passionate, engaged, often messy, vastly rewarding." - Margaret Atwood"Memory and remembering were central to Timothy Findley’s life and work—and equally to Sherrill Grace’s outstanding biography of the celebrated Canadian author. Drawing impressively and insightfully on a vast archive of letters, photos, journals, diaries, and interviews, and on her own towering talents as one of Canada’s foremost literary scholars, Grace presents a compelling portrait of a complex man and brilliant multifaceted writer—himself a master of auto/biography—whose professional and personal experiences tracked the far-reaching changes of late-20th-century Canada’s social and cultural landscape." - - Christl Verduyn, Mount Allison University"A tactful, sensitive, generous, storyteller, Sherrill Grace recounts the life of one of Canada’s greatest storytellers, illuminating his life and work, the people he knew and the cultural times in which he performed that life so passionately. We follow him as he learns his craft through writing and through living that intense, well-examined, if often tormented, life. At once learned and elegant, this immensely readable biography is a glorious summing up of all the themes of his work and life." - Linda Hutcheon, University of Toronto, author of The Canadian Postmodern"A powerful, eye-opening portrait of the artist as an anguished man who tried desperately to live by his motto: Against despair." - Jerry Wasserman, Emeritus Professor of English and Theatre, UBC, editor of Modern Canadian Plays"Sherrill Grace brings thoughtful attention to both the man and the work, the latter of which notably marked the national literature by its particular obsessions and inventions." - Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Homecoming

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Book SynopsisMahala's biography gives insight into the life and writing of Can Themba (1924–1967), an iconic figure of the South African literary world and Drum journalist who died in exile Can Themba: The Intellectual Tsotsi, a Biography brings to life the iconic South African writer and journalist, Can Themba, (21 June 1924 – 8 September 1967) who died while exiled in Swaziland in 1967. Best known for his classic short story, ‘The Suit’, Themba has been somewhat of an enigma, with very little known about his personal life. This biography brings forth the voices of those who had personal interactions with him, shining the light on different aspects of his life including education, literature, journalism and political fraternities. It features interviews with prominent individuals including his former students, Abdul Bham, Pitika Ntuli, and Mbulelo Mzamane; journalistic mentees Juby Mayet and Joe Thloloe; as well as friends, colleagues and contemporaries Parks Mangena, Peter Magubane, Jurgen Schadeberg, Don Mattera, and Nadine Gordimer; in addition to artists and academics Mothobi Mutloatse, Muxe Nkondo and Njabulo S. Ndebele. Also featured in this biographical text are veteran political figures such as Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Lindiwe Mabuza and Ahmed Kathrada. Themba’s intellectual acumen, scholarly aptitude and witticism are some of his most revered characteristics amongst those who had interactions with him either in person or through comprehensive reading of his works. Mahala is a master storyteller and deftly weaves together the threads of Themba's dynamic life. In this edifying biography Mahala recreates the sparkle and pathos of Sophiatown of the 1950s and the Drum era. Can Themba’s successes and failures, as well as his triumphs and tribulations reverberate on the pages of this long-awaited biography.Table of Contents Introduction Part I: Death and Birth of a Scribe Chapter 1 A Knock on the Door Chapter 2 The Poet Laureate of Fort Hare Chapter 3 The Teacher of Life and Letters Chapter 4 From Marabastad to Sophiatown and beyond Part II: Living Fast, Dying Young Chapter 5 The Drum Seduction Chapter 6 Occasions for Loving Chapter 7 Drumming Up a Storm Chapter 8 Destruction and Demise Chapter 9 The Road to Swaziland: A Kind of Suicide Part III: The ‘Intellectual Tsotsi’: The Identities, Politics and Intellectual Legacy of Can Themba Chapter 10 Black Englishman or Detribalised African? A Quest for Shared Identities Chapter 11 A Politico in a Poet Chapter 12 The People’s Intellectual Part IV: Dances with Texts: the Writings of Can Themba Chapter 13 No Ordinary Storyteller Chapter 14 Intertextuality and the Making of Mr Shakespeare Chapter 15 ‘The Suit’ For All Seasons Part V: The Immortality of Can Themba Chapter 16 Re-Membering the Fragments Postscript: The Three Burials of Can Themba Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this new interpretation of the life and work of the American poet, short-story writer and novelist "Charles Bukowski", David Stephen Calonne examines Bukowski's writings, colourful life and the desperate conditions of his lifestyle, looking at the literary traditions that influenced him and discussing his unique place in world literature. Bukowski was born in Germany and raised in the United States, a schism that Calonne shows to be crucial in the writer's development. From the influence of Germany's literary and intellectual traditions to the writer's traumatic childhood, this book explores the effect the writer's hybrid identity had on the themes and content of his work. Exploring several unknown works of fiction and poetry created in the early years of his career, the many volumes of poetry published with Black Sparrow Press, major works of fiction like "Post Office" and "Factotum", as well as feature films such as the Mickey Rourke-starring "Barfly", Calonne catalogues and dissects the many versions of Bukowski created by the writer and his followers. A concise yet comprehensive new account, "Charles Bukowski" will interest the wide audience already familiar with this prolific, influential figure, as well as being an invaluable introduction to those new to Bukowski's work and who wish to know more.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a fresh and unbiased account of the life and work of an enigmatic, challenging writer who continues to polarize opinion today.

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Book SynopsisSamuel Langhorne Clemens, born on 30 November 1835 in Monroe County, Missouri, was never one to let the facts get in the way of a good story. A natural-born storyteller, Mark Twain freely adapted the incidents of his life and the stories he heard as a youth to embellish his fiction, as well as his travel writing and autobiography. However, this presents a problem to the modern biographer: in accounts of Twain's life, how does one tell what is true and what is just a colourful yarn? In this new account of a gifted, charismatic character, Kevin J. Hayes reviews Twain's life, from his early journalism to his masterpiece Huckleberry Finn, from the travelogue Life on the Mississippi to his final work, the sprawling, episodic Mark Twain's Autobiography and the public-speaking engagements that took him around the world. Synthesizing new information and sifting through the evidence, Mark Twain is a fresh, clear-sighted account of a crucial American writer.

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Book SynopsisBefore he had turned 21, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) upended the house of French poetry and left it in shambles. What makes Rimbaud's poetry important, argues Seth Whidden, is part of what makes his life so compelling: rebellion, audacity, creativity and exploration. Almost all of Rimbaud's poems were written between the ages of fifteen and twenty. Against the backdrop of the crumbling Second Empire and the tumultuous Paris Commune, the poet took centuries-old traditions of French versification and picked them apart with an unmatched knowledge of how they fitted together. Combining sensuality with pastoral, parody, political satire, fable, eroticism and mystery, Rimbaud's works range from traditional verse forms to prose-poetry and the two first free-verse poems written in French. By situating Rimbaud's writing in Africa as part of a continuum that spans his entire life, this book offers a corrective to the traditional split between his life as a poet and his life afterwards. Written for general readers and students of literature alike, Arthur Rimbaud presents the original damned poet who continues to captivate readers, artists and writers all over the world.

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Book SynopsisA quiet chat with Casanova turns into a catalogue of racy encounters set in 18th-century Venice and other cities … and we can even ask questions! You’ll find out just how he got himself both in and out of some extremely sticky situations, from debt and imprisonment, to confrontations with jealous husbands and even heartbreak. Renowned as a great lover and seducer, Casanova was far more than a bed hopping rake. He founded the world's first national lottery, discussed theories of taxation with Frederick the Great, debated the merits of the Gregorian calendar with Catherine the Great, talked theology with Pope Clement XIII, lectured on Horace and Homer, and gave a public recital of his own poem on the Passion of the Christ. He was also an accomplished swindler, an extraordinary wit, a brilliant philosopher, a formidable duellist, and a notable spy. The impressive scale of Casanova's many gifts – and vices – is brought brilliantly to life in this innovative biography. A concise biographical essay is followed by a scintillating dialogue that is as historically rigorous as it is entertaining. As Dita Von Teese says in her Foreword: "In my most amorous fantasies, I spend languid days and glittering nights with a true 'Casanova'— a man with a heartfelt passion for life, a thirst for knowledge and adventure, and of course a lust for refined romance." Be seduced by this brilliant book.

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Book SynopsisA brilliant new biography of the mystic poet and artist William Blake - and the first to explore both his struggle to make a name for himself in a society unable to appreciate his genius and his startlingly original quest for spiritual truth.'And did those feet in ancient time ...' The hymn 'Jerusalem', with its famous words by William Blake, stirs our hearts with its evocation of a new holy city built in 'England's green and pleasant land'. Equally popular, and adored by children, is the address to 'Tyger Tyger burning bright,/ In the forests of the night.' Writing of this calibre - heartfelt, vivid and profound - makes Blake one of the best-loved poets writing in English. Yet he was also a visionary artist. To follow Blake into his fascinating labyrinth of thought and feeling you need a guide who not only is deeply knowledgeable about Blake's life and times, but also shares Blake's values. That guide is Tobias Churton. Until now, Blake the guru has been lost under a myriad of inadequate biographies, college dissertations and arts commentaries, by people who have missed the luminescent keys to Blake's symbolism and liberating spirit and the essence of his titanic spiritual effort. In Jerusalem Churton creates an enthralling tapestry out of the threads of Blake's spiritual quest, as well as his struggle to put bread on his table. He conjures a superb portrait of Blake's London, and in particular the rivalries of the cultural community in which the poet-artist was usually misunderstood, and often cruelly abused. For some, Blake is a 'romantic poet' whose plain language, simple verse forms and sympathy with everyday humanity is deeply moving. To others, he is a revolutionary, an angry Cockney rebel with ideas about free sex. This biography, the first to show Blake in all his glory, is essential for those who seek spiritual awakening and an antidote to both materialism and to the commercialization of wonder.

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Book SynopsisAs the first black author in America to make his living exclusively by writing, Langston Hughes inspired a generation of writers and activists. One of the pioneers of jazz poetry, Hughes led the Harlem Renaissance, while Martin Luther King invoked his signature metaphor of dreaming in his speeches. In this new biography, W. Jason Miller illuminates Hughes’s status as an international literary figure through a compelling look at the relationship between his extraordinary life and his canonical works. Drawing on unpublished letters and manuscripts, Miller addresses Hughes’s often ignored contributions to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and his complex and well-guarded sexuality, and repositions him as a writer, rather than merely the most beloved African American poet of the twentieth century.Table of ContentsPrologue 1 Motherless Child, 1901-19 2 I, Too, am America, 1919-24 3 A Bone of Contention, 1924-30 4 In the USSR, 1930-33 5 Let America Be America Again, 1933-40 6 Aimee B. Simple, 1940-45 7 F. B. Eyes, 1945-50 8 Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1950-53 9 Seeing Red, 1953-60 10 Bright Tomorrows, 1960-62 11 I Dream a World, 1962-7 Epilogue References Further Reading Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThe first popular biography of a pioneering feminist thinker and writer of medieval Paris. The daughter of a court intellectual, Christine de Pizan dwelled within the cultural heart of late-medieval Paris. In the face of personal tragedy, she learned the tools of the book trade, writing more than forty works that included poetry, historical and political treatises, and defenses of women. In this new biography-the first written for a general audience-Charlotte Cooper-Davis discusses the life and work of this pioneering female thinker and writer. She shows how Christine de Pizan's inspiration came from the world around her, situates her as an entrepreneur within the context of her times and place, and finally examines her influence on the most avant-garde of feminist artists, through whom she is slowly making a return into mainstream popular culture.

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Book SynopsisHenry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867) earned his place in literary history as a perceptive diarist from 1811 onwards. Drawing substantially on hitherto unpublished manuscript sources, this book discusses his formal and informal engagement with a wide variety of English and European literature prior to this point. Robinson emerges as a pioneering literary critic whose unique philosophical erudition underpinned his activity as a cross-cultural disseminator of literature during the early Romantic period. A Dissenter barred from the English universities, Robinson educated himself thoroughly during his teenage years and began to publish in radical journals. Godwin’s philosophy subsequently inspired his first theory of literature. When in Germany from 1800 to 1805, he became the leading British scholar of Kant, whose philosophy informed his discussions of Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, and August Wilhelm Schlegel. After his return to London, Robinson aided Hazlitt’s understanding of Kant and, thus, Hazlitt’s early career as a writer. His distinctive comparative criticism further enabled him to draw compelling parallels between Wordsworth, Blake, and Herder, and to discern ‘moral excellence’ in Christian Leberecht Heyne’s Amathonte. This also prompted Robinson’s transmission of Friedrich Schlegel and Jean Paul in 1811, as well as a profound exchange of ideas with Coleridge. In this new study, Philipp Hunnekuhl finds that Robinson’s ingenious adaptation of Kantian aesthetic autonomy into a revolutionary theory of literature’s moral relevance anticipated the current ‘ethical turn’ in literary studies.Trade Review'The study of Romantic criticism has gained new dimension with Philipp Hunnekuhl’s stunning exposition of Henry Crabb Robinson’s early reviews, essays, and translations. Robinson wrote with profound insight into Kantian transcendentalism, attended Schelling’s lectures, and even met with Goethe. Hunnekuhl demonstrates how Robinson established himself as the first true comparatist among the Romantic critics.'Frederick Burwick, Emeritus Professor at the University of California Los Angeles'The genre of Hunnekuhl's superbly researched monograph is hard to pin down: it is a historical as well as a biographical work that is simultaneously a study of the development of Romantic philosophy and the study of a genuinely Romantic theory of literature that combines German aesthetic autonomy and English political ethics. What is more, Hunnekuhl unearths archival material – manuscripts such as letters and diaries – and makes it available in an appendix. Thus, this important study provides material for future investigations of early 19th-century literature at the same time that it paints a complex picture of the way that key cultural concepts are generated and disseminated in the period of European Romanticism.'Ralf Haekel, Anglistik'This monograph uses Robinson’s extensive published works to unpick the influence he had on his contemporaries and further into the nineteenth century. Through the study of an author whose interests bridged languages, this is an exceptional case study of comparative literature. This monograph leaves us excitedly awaiting future opportunities to continue exploring the complexities of not just Robinson’s critical role as literary intermediary and disseminator in the Romantic period, but also comparative literature studies.'Charlotte May, The Charles Lamb Bulletin'Henry Crabb Robinson’s diary, 1811–67, is familiar terrain for British and German Romantic scholars. Philipp Hunnekuhl’s goal in Henry Crabb Robinson, Romantic Comparatist is instead to review Robinson’s life and work in the years 1790 to 1811, thereby retracing Robinson’s emergence as a comparatist and his formative impact on British and German Romantic authors. This task covers Robinson’s publications and manuscripts as well as his social interactions.'John Claiborne Isbell, European Romantic ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction. Henry Crabb Robinson: Romantic Comparatist, 1790–1811 1. Radical Self-Education and First Authorship 2. The Godwinian Critic 3. Kant, Aesthetic Autonomy, and Literary Ethics 4. Moral Discourse in A.W. Schlegel, Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing 5. Hazlitt, Napoleon, and Literary Disinterestedness 6. ‘Matters of Religion & Morality’: Herder, Wordsworth, and Blake 7. Friedrich Schlegel, Coleridge, and the Ethics of Amathonte Conclusion: Or, a New Outlook for Nineteenth-Century Comparatism

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Book SynopsisAn Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and through Knowledge Unlatched.The Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most sophisticated writers of the twentieth century, suffered from sexual impotence. This emotionally overwhelming condition shaped his literary experience in ways that have not been understood. Until now Borges has largely been considered an asexual author who could not read, think, or write about desire and sex, but in this book historian Ariel de la Fuente shows that sexuality was a major preoccupation for him, both as a reader and as an author. De la Fuente has conducted an extensive literary investigation in Borges’s figurative erotic library and presents for the first time a study of the relationship between Borges’s sexual biography, his erotic readings, and the writing of desire and sex in his work. The author explores relevant literary questions while employing a historical method and the book is truly an interdisciplinary study at the intersection of history with Latin American, European, and Eastern literatures, poetry, philosophy, and sexuality. Argued with clarity, Borges, Desire, and Sex offers an unexpected perspective on the literature and figure of a world-wide influential author.Trade Review'It is remarkable that there remains under-explored an area of Borges scholarship, yet the central questions posed here are important, original, and compelling.'William Rowlandson, University of Kent'This is a work of exceptional originality. The historical rather than literary perspective has brought to the fore entirely new readings, both regarding the interplay between Borges’s life and his work, and between his reading and creative output. At the moment it stands almost alone in its approach and methodology. This work will become a mandatory tool in the development of future research.'Evelyn Fishburn, University College London, author of A Dictionary of Borges'The author offers a detailed argument…assembling strong evidence for his case, while opening new avenues of investigation of Borges’s life and works…For [its] novel investigations of key [Borges’s] works, for highlighting the erotic focus of some of Borges’s readings, for offering a timely reminder of the importance of Stoic philosophy in the Argentine writer’s thinking, as well as for its exposition of the sexual dimensions of Borges’s poetry on the arrabal, among other merits, the book is very valuable. In the end, it serves to bring to light the important role that sex and desire played in [Borges’s] life and work.' Bill Richardson (National University of Ireland), Variaciones Borges'De la Fuente makes a compelling argument not merely for the importance of sexuality in Borges’s work, but for its extent. The author marshals his evidence and presents it clearly… Borges, Desire, and Sex makes a major contribution to our better, more complete understanding of the man and his work. I recommend it highly.' Earl Fitz (Vanderbilt University), Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y El CaribeTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: On Borges’s SexualityChapter 2: Biography in Literature and the Reading of Desire and Sex in BorgesChapter 3: Borges’s Erotic Library: The Poetry ShelfChapter 4: Sir Richard Burton’s Orientalist Erotica: The Thousand Nights and a Night and The Perfumed GardenChapter 5: Schopenhauer and Montaigne, Philosophy and SexChapter 6: Desire and Sex in Buenos Aires: Borges’s Poetry on the ArrabalChapter 7: Stoicism and Borges’s Writing of WomenChapter 8: Emma Zunz: Sex, Virtue, and PunishmentChapter 9: La intrusa: Incest and Gay ReadingsWorks Cited

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Book SynopsisDown to the Sunless Sea explores the time Coleridge spent in Gibraltar, Malta, Sicily and mainland Italy, where he had planned to recover his health, escape the clutches of opium and gain inspiration from the landscape; however, the reality would prove very different. After his short sojourn in Gibraltar, Coleridge arrived in Malta, where he became acquainted with the British Governor, Alexander Ball. He settled into Maltese life, initially taking on the role of acting Under-Secretary. Travelling to Sicily, Coleridge embraced the island's landscapes but was shaken to find the opium poppy was an important local crop. The Mediterranean would not prove the solution to his addiction. He visited the Consul, G. F. Leckie, and was invited to stay with him at a house on the site of Timoleon's Greek villa. The poet visited the antiquities of Syracuse and at the opera house encountered the soprano, Anna-Cecilia Bertozzi, nearly succumbing to her charms. Back in Malta, he was offered rooms in the Treasury building (now the Casino Maltese) and took up the post of Public Secretary. Legal pronouncements in Italian bear Coleridge's signature. Leaving behind these matters of state, he drifted through the Italian peninsula, engaging with a coterie of artistic ex-pats when in Rome. His listless, half-hearted, and financially embarrassed attempts at the Grand Tour included a narrow escape from French troops. Coleridge's Mediterranean sojourn impacted on his life and writing, not to mention his health, which saw a marked decline, leading to his final years in Highgate under the roof of a friendly doctor. Down to the Sunless Sea is a literary reflection on the fact that the sun-filled Mediterranean was not the tonic he had first imagined.Table of ContentsThe Illustrations. ONE: Departure on the Speedwell. TWO: Strategising for Nelson in Malta. THREE: Sicily and the Prima Donna. FOUR: A Hand in Maltese Affairs. FIVE: The Grand Tourist Returns Home. SIX: Lectures and Legacy. Notes. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisRupert Brooke died in April 1915, on the eve of the Gallipoli landings. During the First World War Brooke was the iconic poet-soldier, adored and mimicked by readers and would-be writers—both in and out of uniform—with an international following that has neither been examined nor explained since. The general shift in attitudes toward war and the manner in which the war poets are presented meant that Brooke was recast as the exemplar of pre-war innocence, forever swimming in faintly saccharine, nakedly patriotic streams born of his famous poems. Rupert Brooke in the First World War takes a celebrity of the war who became an idol for fellow writers, politicians, literary elites and the general public, and tells the story of his life and famously romantic death, providing readers a fuller sense not only of the human being and his singular life and circumstances, but also of the world he inhabited, and the passions and tastes of men and women living through a period of great upheaval.Trade Review‘Miller is an expert guide to the journalistic efflorescence of war writing… Miller’s book is a valuable reminder of his [Brooke’s] continuing significance for students of the period.’ Roger Ebbatson, Dymock Poets and Friends‘Miller's succinct study both evokes and deconstructs the myth of "England's poet-soldier." Her narrative is supported and enlivened by relevant quotations and illustrations. Though she espouses no allegiance to a specific critical school, her work is close in spirit to Pierre's Bourdieu's Rules of Art...especially in its investigation of the factors that led to Brooke's immediate and long-lasting canonization. Students and scholars of either the life and poetry of Rupert Brooke or World War I will find Alisa Miller's book to be discerning and instructive.’ Yann Tholoniat, Michigan War Studies 'Miller states in conclusion that her book ‘is an attempt to assess and understand a particular cult figure in the context that created him. And it tries to collate and consider the language, people, and institutions that encouraged them – and him – to be read in the way that they were’ (p. 225). She succeeds admirably in this task, and her book should be of interest to anyone interested in not only Brooke or poetry more generally but also the cultural and institutional underpinnings that helped make the war possible and take the precise form it did.' Tim Dayton, First World War StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionI. LifeChapter 1: YouthChapter 2: The IdyllChapter 3: Self-mobilisationChapter 4: EnlistmentChapter 5: War and WaitingChapter 6: The War SonnetsChapter 7: TransportII. AfterlifeChapter 8: Patriotic PoetryChapter 9: Public DeathChapter 10: SyndicationChapter 11: ImageChapter 12: PatronsChapter 13: ReadersChapter 14: Poet-soldiersChapter 15: Careful CriticsChapter 16: ExportConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisT. S. Eliot and Organicism provides the first comprehensive account of Eliot’s preoccupation with agrarianism, organicism and the environment. Jeremy Diaper elucidates and contextualizes several facets of Eliot’s organic thinking, ranging from composting and soil fertility, to regionalism, nutrition and culinary skills. Through detailed examination of Eliot’s engagement with organic issues, this book offers environmental readings of Eliot’s poetry and plays and demonstrates that agrarian concerns emerge as a notable theme in his literary output – from his earliest notebook of poems known as Inventions of the March Hare to Murder in the Cathedral. This book also analyzes Eliot’s prose to illuminate his engagement with the key environmental debates which were taking place during the 1930s-50s. Diaper offers a thorough analysis of Eliot’s social criticism and explores his perturbation regarding the decline of agriculture in After Strange Gods, The Idea of a Christian Society and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture. T. S. Eliot and Organicism breaks new ground by demonstrating that a thorough understanding of Eliot’s engagement with environmentalism is vital to our interpretation of both his poetry and prose. It establishes that one of the twentieth century’s most eminent literary figures should be remembered for his important role in the emergence of the organic husbandry movement and for his wide-ranging comments on a variety of environmental and organic issues. Trade Review‘The most valuable part of T. S. Eliot and Organicism is its thorough trawling through the files of the New English Weekly and the Christian News-Letter, two publications which Eliot supported and contributed to, especially once the Criterion had closed. This yields ample evidence of parallels between that of Eliot's work and a number of prominent writers on agriculture and its place in a good society.’ Stefan Collini, The Times Literary Supplement‘Jeremy Diaper's lucid and detailed study locates Eliot at the heart of the early organic movement ... this book will prove essential reading not only for students of organicism, but for all those with a general interest in the culture of mid-twentieth-century England as reflected in the work of its greatest modernist poet.’ Richard Moore-Colyer, Rural History‘Jeremy Diaper’s argument in T. S. Eliot and Organicism goes way beyond such circumstantial considerations, though, presenting a wealth of evidence to show that Eliot attached great importance to farming and to a thriving rural culture and economy… Diaper’s monograph offers a convincing case for T. S. Eliot’s major role in propagating the organicist philosophy.’ Philip Conford, Agricultural History Review‘T. S. Eliot and Organicism’s profound reconsideration of Eliot’s organic thinking will undoubtedly inspire future approaches to ecocriticism and Eliot Studies.’ Clint Wilson, Time Present'Jeremy Diaper has drawn a meticulous portrait of Eliot as ecocritic avant la lettre... His work establishes a solid historical basis for future environmental readings of Eliot – the poet of soil, air, and water.'Frances Dickey, Essays in Criticism'Certain readers may be unfamiliar with the relevant contexts that shaped Eliot's 'agricultural sensibility' and in this respect one of the delights of the book, as well as the lucidity of Diaper's prose, is the meticulous positioning of the author in relation to various agrarian, agricultural and environmental concerns... Overall, Diaper's book is written with sharp clarity, is logically structured and meticulously historicised, and, even though some of the close readings may induce further questions and critical responses, the implications are far reaching'.Scott Freer, The Journal of The T. S. Eliot Society (UK)'Diaper’s meticulously researched exploration of Eliot’s engagements with the organicist movement of the 1930s invites us to reconsider the author many still associate with modernism at its most anthropocentric. We find instead a poet invested in the practicalities of food, dirt, sustainable human habitation, and the webs of politics and economics in which it is all entangled. Diaper compellingly argues that it is impossible to understand Eliot’s social criticism and poetics, and even his faith, aside from his concern for the fate of actual, living loam... This touchstone work will be referenced in any future ecocritical study of Eliot. Beyond this, the book is an important contribution to the ongoing greening of modernist studies. The last decade produced several works on the more-than-human investments of modernism, each of which has had to argue vigorously for the validity of combining modernism and ecocriticism. One hopes that we’re finally now in a moment when we can do away with the anxious justifications tucked into our prologues and intros. Indeed, Diaper’s book perhaps signals that such a moment is here'.Julia E. Daniel, ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment'T.S Eliot and Organicism is a valuable contribution, not simply because of its original take on Eliot's legacy, but also due to its highlighting an early-twentieth-century movement that is rarely considered at length"Karina Jakubowicz, Journal of Modern LiteratureTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Formation of Eliot’s Agricultural Sensibility 2. The Criterion: A Platform for Agricultural Perspectives 3. The Material and Spiritual Soil of the New English Weekly 4. A Christian Community: T. S. Eliot and the Christian News-Letter 5. The Cultivation of Culture Conclusion: Organic Eliot Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe Dinner at Gonfarone’s is organised as a partial biography, covering five years in the life of the young Nicaraguan poet, Salomón de la Selva, but it also offers a literary geography of Hispanic New York (Nueva York) in the turbulent years around the First World War. De la Selva is of interest because he stands as the largely unacknowledged precursor of Latino writers like Junot Díaz and Julia Álvarez, writing the first book of poetry in English by an Hispanic author. In addition, through what he called his pan-American project, de la Selva brought together in New York writers from all over the American continent. He put the idea of trans-American literature into practice long before the concept was articulated.De la Selva’s range of contacts was enormous, and this book has been made possible through discovery of caches of letters that he wrote to famous writers of the day, such as Edwin Markham and Amy Lowell, and especially Edna St Vincent Millay. Alongside de la Selva’s own poetry – his book Tropical Town (1918) and a previously unknown 1916 manuscript collection – The Dinner at Gonfarone’s highlights other Hispanic writing about New York in these years by poets such as Rubén Darío, José Santos Chocano, and Juan Ramón Jiménez, all of whom were part of de la Selva’s extensive network.Trade Review'Peter Hulme’s The Dinner at Gonfarone’s is a masterful, well-written literary history of the origins of modern literary pan-Americanism that offers the first in-depth biography in English of the early life and work of its seminal figure, Salomón de la Selva.' Jonathan Cohen, author of A Pan-American Life: Selected Poetry and Prose of Muna Lee'The Dinner at Gonfarone’s is a brilliant pioneering study of the transcultural origins of literary Nueva York. Hulme is able to recreate and delineate an important community of American writers in the continental sense of the word, thereby illuminating a relatively unknown aspect of New York’s cultural history.' Steven F. White, Professor of Hispanic Studies, St. Lawrence UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Setting the Scene: New York in 1914The Hispanic PresenceThe Poetic WatersModernity and Modernism2. American Geopolitics in the New Century (1898-1914)The Famous StatesPan-AmericanismRoosevelt’s VisionThe Shakespearean Allegory3. The Changing of the Poetic Guard (1915)Growing up in New York!Rubén Darío in HospitalBefriending Pedro, Loving EdnaThe First Dinner4. New York through Spanish Eyes (1916)Courting ArcherThe Recently Married PoetEdwin Markham on Staten IslandWilson’s Crime in Santo DomingoA Tale from Faerieland5. Goading the Bull Moose (1917)Confronting RooseveltMamita SchaufflerChicago!Introducing Edna6. The Pan-American Dream (1918)Is America Honest?Translating PoetryTropical TownFalling in Love AgainFighting for England7. The Last Dinner (1919)Nueva York!A Soldier ReturnsThe Dinner at Gonfarone’sThe Gulf of MisunderstandingNicaragua Has MeAftermathLeaving New YorkIn MexicoLater lifeTaking accountBiographiesAcknowledgementsSelect BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis collection places the fiction of Bram Stoker in relation to this life, career and status as a late Victorian. It centres on various aspects of his interests and career, such as politics, the legal system, his role as Irving's stage manager, and analyses his work in relation to these.Trade Review‘Bram Stoker and the Late Victorian World provides an important and fascinating angle from which to view Stoker’s work and his fiction.’ Marion McGarry, Irish Studies Review‘Gibson and Müller bring a fresh perspective to the well-trod field of Stoker studies by examining the author in the context of the Late Victorian world he was writing… This collection of essays successfully fills in a picture of the man and his fiction, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to expand their understanding of Bram Stoker, his world, and his literary legacy.’ Jeanette Laredo, Supernatural Studies Association'Much of the pleasure and strength of this collection is in the range of Stoker’s works analyzed... Readers familiar with Stoker will find this volume filled with discussions both familiar and new that will have a positive impact on Stoker studies.'Robert Finnigan, Victorian Review'[Bram Stoker and the Late Victorian World] has sustaining pockets of original research that make it a positive contribution to the critical industry now rapidly growing up around Stoker.'Roger Luckhurst, Victorian Studies'The collection overall offers a broad-based exploration of the shifting and sometimes complex historical and cultural contexts of the entire corpus of Stoker’s short fiction and novels... a valuable contribution to Gothic studies.'R. D. Morrison, Choice'The book offers enlightening insights and some fascinating detail and is a worthwhile approach when looking at the history and life of Stoker. [...] Bram Stoker and the Late Victorian World provides an important and fascinating angle from which to view Stoker’s work and his fiction.'Marion McGarry, Irish Studies Review

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Book SynopsisHenry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867) earned his place in literary history as a perceptive diarist from 1811 onwards. Drawing substantially on hitherto unpublished manuscript sources, this book discusses his formal and informal engagement with a wide variety of English and European literature prior to this point. Robinson emerges as a pioneering literary critic whose unique philosophical erudition underpinned his activity as a cross-cultural disseminator of literature during the early Romantic period. A Dissenter barred from the English universities, Robinson educated himself thoroughly during his teenage years and began to publish in radical journals. Godwin’s philosophy subsequently inspired his first theory of literature. When in Germany from 1800 to 1805, he became the leading British scholar of Kant, whose philosophy informed his discussions of Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, and August Wilhelm Schlegel. After his return to London, Robinson aided Hazlitt’s understanding of Kant and, thus, Hazlitt’s early career as a writer. His distinctive comparative criticism further enabled him to draw compelling parallels between Wordsworth, Blake, and Herder, and to discern ‘moral excellence’ in Christian Leberecht Heyne’s Amathonte. This also prompted Robinson’s transmission of Friedrich Schlegel and Jean Paul in 1811, as well as a profound exchange of ideas with Coleridge. In this new study, Philipp Hunnekuhl finds that Robinson’s ingenious adaptation of Kantian aesthetic autonomy into a revolutionary theory of literature’s moral relevance anticipated the current ‘ethical turn’ in literary studies.Trade Review'The study of Romantic criticism has gained new dimension with Philipp Hunnekuhl’s stunning exposition of Henry Crabb Robinson’s early reviews, essays, and translations. Robinson wrote with profound insight into Kantian transcendentalism, attended Schelling’s lectures, and even met with Goethe. Hunnekuhl demonstrates how Robinson established himself as the first true comparatist among the Romantic critics.'Frederick Burwick, Emeritus Professor at the University of California Los Angeles'The genre of Hunnekuhl's superbly researched monograph is hard to pin down: it is a historical as well as a biographical work that is simultaneously a study of the development of Romantic philosophy and the study of a genuinely Romantic theory of literature that combines German aesthetic autonomy and English political ethics. What is more, Hunnekuhl unearths archival material – manuscripts such as letters and diaries – and makes it available in an appendix. Thus, this important study provides material for future investigations of early 19th-century literature at the same time that it paints a complex picture of the way that key cultural concepts are generated and disseminated in the period of European Romanticism.'Ralf Haekel, Anglistik'This monograph uses Robinson’s extensive published works to unpick the influence he had on his contemporaries and further into the nineteenth century. Through the study of an author whose interests bridged languages, this is an exceptional case study of comparative literature. This monograph leaves us excitedly awaiting future opportunities to continue exploring the complexities of not just Robinson’s critical role as literary intermediary and disseminator in the Romantic period, but also comparative literature studies.'Charlotte May, The Charles Lamb Bulletin'Henry Crabb Robinson’s diary, 1811–67, is familiar terrain for British and German Romantic scholars. Philipp Hunnekuhl’s goal in Henry Crabb Robinson, Romantic Comparatist is instead to review Robinson’s life and work in the years 1790 to 1811, thereby retracing Robinson’s emergence as a comparatist and his formative impact on British and German Romantic authors. This task covers Robinson’s publications and manuscripts as well as his social interactions.'John Claiborne Isbell, European Romantic ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction. Henry Crabb Robinson: Romantic Comparatist, 1790–1811 1. Radical Self-Education and First Authorship 2. The Godwinian Critic 3. Kant, Aesthetic Autonomy, and Literary Ethics 4. Moral Discourse in A.W. Schlegel, Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing 5. Hazlitt, Napoleon, and Literary Disinterestedness 6. ‘Matters of Religion & Morality’: Herder, Wordsworth, and Blake 7. Friedrich Schlegel, Coleridge, and the Ethics of Amathonte Conclusion: Or, a New Outlook for Nineteenth-Century Comparatism

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Book SynopsisThe daily journal of a giant of German literature, touching subjects ranging from everyday life to the political and social conditions in East Germany as viewed from West Berlin. Max Frisch (1911–91) was a giant of twentieth-century German literature. When Frisch moved into a new apartment in Berlin’s Sarrazinstrasse, he began keeping a journal, which he came to call the Berlin Journal. A few years later, he emphasized in an interview that this was by no means a “scribbling book,” but rather a book “fully composed.” The journal is one of the great treasures of Frisch’s literary estate, but the author imposed a retention period of twenty years from the date of his death because of the “private things” he noted in it. From the Berlin Journal now marks the first publication of excerpts from Frisch’s journal. Here, the unmistakable Frisch is back, full of doubt, with no illusions, and with a playfully sharp eye for the world. From the Berlin Journal pulls from the years 1946–49 and 1966–71. Observations about the writer’s everyday life stand alongside narrative and essayistic texts, as well as finely-drawn portraits of colleagues like Günter Grass, Uwe Johnson, Wolf Biermann, and Christa Wolf, among others. Its foremost quality, though, is the extraordinary acuity with which Frisch observed political and social conditions in East Germany while living in West Berlin. Trade Review"Frisch is remembered for innovative plays and experimental prose on the themes of identity, self-delusion, anti-Semitism, and the clash between cultural heritage and materialism. Frisch moved to Berlin in 1973, and it was there that his increasingly autobiographical writings began to reveal a tormented soul teetering on the brink of self-loathing. . . . The Berlin journal is distinguished by a Kafkaesque combination of real-life events, musings, dreams, distant memories and preliminary sketches." * Times Literary Supplement *Table of Contents1. From Notebook 1 (1973?)2. From Notebook 2 (1973–74)

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Book SynopsisYves Bonnefoy’s final poetic work, a collection of reflections about poetry, legacy, and life. The international community of letters mourned the recent death of Yves Bonnefoy, universally acclaimed as one of France’s greatest poets of the last half-century. A prolific author, he was often considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize and published a dozen major collections of poetry in verse and prose, several books of dream-like tales, and numerous studies of literature and art. His oeuvre has been translated into scores of languages, and he himself was a celebrated translator of Shakespeare, Yeats, Keats, and Leopardi.Together Still is his final poetic work, composed just months before his death. The book is nothing short of a literary testament, addressed to his wife, his daughter, his friends, and his readers throughout the world. In these pages, he ruminates on his legacy to future generations, his insistence on living in the present, his belief in the triumphant lessons of beauty, and, above all, his courageous identification of poetry with hope.Trade Review"Undoubtedly one of the major French poets of the last six decades. . . . Illuminating and deeply moving." * World Literature Today *Table of ContentsTOGETHER STILL URSA MAJOR What’s that Sound? And that, Again? Ursa Major Farther, Higher! Yes, Hello? You, Again! Star Seven THE BARE FOOT Inside, Outside? The Milky Way The Bare Foot, the Things Voices in the Treetops TOGETHER MUSIC AND MEMORY POEMS FOR TRUPHÉMUS The Room, the Garden A Café The Paintings Other Paintings Light, in an Empty Room BRIEFWEGE After the Fire Nisida Briefweg, in Warbende PERAMBULANS IN NOCTEM I In the Painter’s Studio The Translator’s Task The Walk in the Forest Hours in This Journal I Don’t Keep II Arms that Open At the Dawn of Time In the Other Trunk The Other Stairway The Low Door So Many Good Things! Perambulans in Noctem Bibliographic Notes In Memoriam: A Translator’s Note

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Book SynopsisPamela Colman Smith's illustrations for the Rider Waite tarot deck are known to millions worldwide, but her work took her from art galleries in New York and Europe to salons with luminaries of the English suffrage movement, the Irish literary revival, and friendships with Bram Stoker, W.

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Book SynopsisEssays on the many key aspects of medieval literature, reflecting the significant impact of Professor Derek Brewer. Derek Brewer (1923-2008) was one of the most influential medievalists of the twentieth century, first through his own publications and teaching, and later as the founder of his own academic publishing firm. His working life of some sixty years, from the late 1940s to the 2000s, saw enormous advances in the study of Chaucer and of Arthurian romance, and of medieval literature more generally. He was in the forefront of such changes, and his understandings ofChaucer and of Malory remain at the core of the modern critical mainstream. Essays in this collection take their starting point from his ideas and interests, before offering their own fresh thinking in those key areas of medieval studies in which he pioneered innovations which remain central: Chaucer's knight and knightly virtues; class-distinction; narrators and narrative time; lovers and loving in medieval romance; ideals of feminine beauty; love,friendship and masculinities; medieval laughter; symbolic stories, the nature of romance, and the ends of storytelling; the wholeness of Malory's Morte Darthur; modern study of the medieval material book; Chaucer's poetic language and modern dictionaries; and Chaucerian afterlives. This collection builds towards an intellectual profile of a modern medievalist, cumulatively registering how the potential of Derek Brewer's work is being reinterpreted and is renewing itself now and into the future of medieval studies. Charlotte Brewer is Professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University and a Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford; Barry Windeatt is Professor of English in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Contributors: Elizabeth Archibald, Charlotte Brewer, Mary Carruthers, Christopher Cannon, Helen Cooper, A.S.G. Edwards, Jill Mann, Alastair Minnis, Derek Pearsall, Corinne Saunders, James Simpson, A.C. Spearing, Jacqueline Tasioulas, Robert Yeager, Barry Windeatt.Trade ReviewChapter 12, 'The Ends of Storytelling' . . . by [Helen] Cooper is exemplary for its simplicity and clarity. Few scholarly works are so fascinating that they thrust the reader ahead of himself to find out what is coming next. Cooper has written a page-turner. * STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE TEACHING *Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Modern Medievalist's Career Derek Brewer: Chaucerian Studies 1953-1978 - Derek Pearsall Brewer's Chaucer and the Knightly Virtues - Alastair J Minnis Class Distinction and the French of England - Christopher Cannon Time in Troilus and Criseyde - A C Spearing *** Virtue, Intention and the Mind's Eye in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde - Mary Carruthers Falling in Love in the Middle Ages - Jill Mann The Idea of Feminine Beauty in Troilus and Criseyde, or Criseyde's Eyebrow - Jacqueline Tasioulas 'Greater Love hath no Man': Friendship in Medieval English Romance - Corinne Saunders Gowerian Laughter - Robert F. Yeager Derek Brewer's Romance - James Simpson Malory and Late Medieval Arthurian Cycles - Elizabeth Archibald The Ends of Storytelling - Helen Cooper Manuscripts, Facsimiles and Approaches to Editing - A S G Edwards Words and Dictionaries: OED, MED and Chaucer - Charlotte Brewer Afterlives: The Fabulous History of Venus - Barry A Windeatt Afterword - Eric G. Stanley Bibliography

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Book SynopsisArturo Barea (1897-1957) is often seen as merely a spontaneous writer with a passion against injustice. In fact, he set out deliberately to write concretely and sensuously: about himself in order to understand his mid-life nervous breakdown; and about his generation as a way of explaining the underlying causes of the Spanish Civil War. With acute psychological insight, this self-taught boy from the slums, who left school aged 13, drew a unique portrait of Spanish society in the early twentieth century. His trilogy "The Forging of a Rebel" was well-received by George Orwell, "An excellent book -- Senor Barea is one of the most valuable of the literary acquisitions that England has made as a result of Fascist persecution"; and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "One of the best novels written in Spanish." He is unusual in that he was one of the first Spanish working-class writers, one of the first autobiographers in Spain, and someone who published mainly in English though all his attention was focused on Spain. In this ground-breaking biography, based on numerous interviews with people who knew Barea, Michael Eaude revisits Barea's writing qualities and deficiencies in the context of stimulating intersections of literature and politics, and of Spain and England. He evaluates all his major works, including The Track, the story of Barea's time as a sergeant during the 1920s colonial war in Morocco; The Forge, the story of city and country, school and work, in the first years of the twentieth century, told through the eyes of a child; The Clash, the story of Barea's experience as a censor during the Civil War; The Broken Root, his last novel, about exile and an imagined return to Madrid; and his short stories and essays. He also puts into perspective Barea's more than 800 talks for the BBC, and rebuts slanders that Barea did not write his own books. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies

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