ELT & Literary Studies Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisPerrault's fairy tales in a scintillating translation, including the less familiar verse tales and with illustrations by Gustave Doré. The introduction explores the imaginative power of the stories and the many interpretations to which they have been subject.Trade ReviewPerrault's tales capture the myth and magic of the fairy tale ... It is extraordinary to revisit stories so familiar from childhood and see within their bounds savagery, deceit and dire warnings about predators and even puberty. The hidden symbolism of Perrault's tales is explained in the erudite introduction by Christopher Betts, who has translated the 1697 edition, the only complete translation in both verse and prose. The fairy tale is a rite of passage. Read yours aloud, share it with a small or re-read these tales and wonder at the depth that Disney never did. * The Field *Betts gives the stories the sense of humour ... The Gustave Doré illustrations in the Oxford editions add to the baroque feel of the thing as well. These are fairy tales that are as much a pleasure to read now as they were to be told once upon a time ago. * Desperate Reader *This Oxford University Press treatment of Perrault's fairy tales is a lovely edition for the discerning collector who likes pretty books that contain intellectual insight and commentary along with meticulously translated prose and verse. It may also be a nice edition for bedtime stories. * Allen Stroud, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *Bett's new edition positions Perrault in relation to the many other tales in circulation before and after, offering helpful comparisions. * Margaret ReynoldsThe Times *Bett's new translation of the tales is subtle and clever. * Margaret Reynolds, The Times *Table of ContentsIntroduction Tales in Verse Preface The History of Griselda Three Silly Wishes Donkey-Skin Stories or Tales of Bygone Times, With Their Morals The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood Little Red Riding-Hood Bluebeard Puss in Boots The Fairies Cinderella Ricky the Tuft Hop o' my Thumb

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Hidden History of South Africa's Book and Reading Cultures shows how the common practice of reading can illuminate the social and political history of a culture. This ground-breaking study reveals resistance strategies in the reading and writing practices of South Africans; strategies that have been hidden until now for political reasons relating to the country's liberation struggles. By looking to records from a slave lodge, women's associations, army education units, universities, courts, libraries, prison departments, and political groups, Archie Dick exposes the key works of fiction and non-fiction, magazines, and newspapers that were read and discussed by political activists and prisoners.Uncovering the book and library schemes that elites used to regulate reading, Dick exposes incidences of intellectual fraud, book theft, censorship, and book burning. Through this innovative methodology, Dick aptly shows how South African readers used reading and booTrade Review'Archie Dick's Hidden History offers us a fine example of a historian working in an imaginative way to show how, at various junctures in the South African past, book and reading cultures have arisen, survived or even thrived despite the ways in which controlling and repressive regimes have sought to destroy or limit the impact of reading and writing for their own purposes.' -- Charles van Onselen Quarterly Bulletin of the National Library of South Africa, vol. 66:03:2012 'The scholarship is exemplary, and the book opens up new areas of research.' -- Anthony Olden Information and Culture: A Journal of History, October 2013 'Engaging and path breaking book...Rarely, if ever, is a work on South African history published that covers such a vast stretch of time, and is based on such a truly remarkable range of primary sources.' -- Gerald Groenewald Scrutiny2: Issues in English Studies in Southern Africa; vol 19:1:2014 'Trailblazing study.' -- Daniel Magaziner American Historical Review - vol 119:03:2014 'This is an inventive and engaging book that will do much to advance studies of southern African print culture and reading and their broader significance. Richly researched and lucidly written, the book will lend itself well to classroom use.' -- Isabel Hofmeyr African Studies Review vol 57:03:2014 'This wide ranging book contains a treasure-trove of stories about print cultures in South Africa between the mid-seventeenth century and mid-1990s... Dick has produced a study that is informative as well as ambitious.' -- Stephanie Newell SHARP News vol 24:04:2015Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: The Significance of Common Readers in South Africa 1 Early Readers at the Cape, 1658-1800 2 Literacy, Class, and Regulating Reading, 1800-1850 3 The Women's Building of Nations: History Books in the Early Twentieth Century 4 Books for Troops in the Second World War 5 Politics and the Libraries, Part One: Book Theft, Intellectual Fraud, and Book Burning, 1950-1971 6 Politics and the Libraries, Part Two: Dissident Readers and Librarians in the 1980s Townships 7 Reading in Exile after Soweto, 1978-1992 8 Combating Censorship and Making Space for Books Conclusion: Revealing the Hidden Books and Hidden Readers Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisPathways, Second Edition, is a global, five-level academic English program. Carefully-guided lessons develop the language skills, critical thinking, and learning strategies required for academic success. Using authentic and relevant content from National Geographic, including video, charts, and other infographics, Pathways prepares students to work effectively and confidently in an academic environment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume examines the cultural importance of the coastline in Britain during a time of vast change.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this ground-breaking study, Jonathan Wild investigates the literary history of the Edwardian decade. This period, long overlooked by critics, is revealed as a vibrant cultural era whose writers were determined to break away from the stifling influence of preceding Victorianism.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Philosopher's English King offers a close reading of the Henriad, presenting Shakespeare's teaching on political authority and contributing to the burgeoning scholarship on Shakespeare as a political thinker. This book on Shakespeare's Henriad studies the tetralogy as a work of political thought. Leon Harold Craig, author of two previous volumes on Shakespeare's political thought, argues that the four plays present Shakespeare'steaching on the problem of legitimacy, or who has the right to rule -- one of the perennial questions of political philosophy. Offering original interpretations of each of the plays, Craig discusses the demise of divine right inRichard II, political upheaval and disputed rule in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and the attempt to reestablish legitimacy on a new basis in Henry V. While focusing especially on the plays' various interpretive puzzles,Craig shows how the four plays constitute one narrative, culminating in the rule of England's most famous warrior king, Henry V, whose brilliant achievements were undone by ill fortune. Craig concludes with an epilogue on what might have been had Henry lived to consolidate his conquest of France and unify it with England under a single crown. Supported by a wealth of scholarship, both historical and critical, The Philosopher's English King makes a major contribution to the burgeoning scholarship on Shakespeare as a political thinker, providing further evidence for why the poet deserves to be recognized as a philosopher in his own right. Leon Harold Craig is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alberta.Trade ReviewI consider this one of the best books ever written on Shakespeare's Henriad. The level of scholarship is second to none. Each chapter is as good as the next. The book is never uneven, and Craig's passion for his subject matter and his desire to share his knowledge with his readers is evident throughout. Not only does one gain many valuable insights into these plays, we are also encouraged to read Shakespeare philosophically, as I am certain Shakespeare wished to be read. * VOEGELINVIEW *Supported by the author's learned command of the relevant English history, this analysis not only serves as a comprehensive overview of the plays' events but also shows how paying attention to even the most minute details and minor characters can shed light on Shakespeare's central figures and plot lines. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *Dissenting from Craig requires the disputant's exercising his utmost capacities for philosophical reflection. . . . Because Craig rightly conceives the philosophic poet. * REVIEW OF POLITICS *In The Philosopher's English King Leon Craig once again proves the value of taking Shakespeare seriously as a political thinker. Drawing parallels with important political philosophers, such as Plato, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, Craig illumines some of the darker corners of Shakespeare's history plays and offers a comprehensive interpretation of the tough-minded teaching on kingship they embody. -- Paul A. Cantor, University of VirginiaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Prologue Begins the Woefullest Division: The Tragic Reign of King Richard II A Punishing of Mistreadings: The Turbulent Reign of King Henry IV Proceeds The Noble Change Long Purposed: The Turbulent Reign of King Henry IV Concludes A Curious Mirror of Christian Kings: The Brief Glorious Reign of King Henry V An Alternative Epilogue: Imagining What Might Have Been Notes Bibliography Index of Names

Read more less

Book Synopsis'The funniest book I've read in a long time: its deadpan, dry humour and its accumulation of absurdities will leave you rolling on your floor with laughter' The Times She thought she was a lover of the great classics of Russian literature - until she met the superfans... Roaming from Tashkent to San Francisco, this is the true story of one budding writer's strange encounters with the fanatics who are devoted - absurdly! melancholically! ecstatically! - to the Russian classics. Combining fresh readings of the great Russians from Tolstoy to Dostoevsky with the sad and funny stories of the lives they continue to influence, The Possessed is comic, humane, charming, poignant and full of an infectious love for literature. 'Dazzlingly good... Very bookish, very clever and very funny... A preposterously engaging volume' Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph 'The highest compliment you can pay such a book is that it sends you back to the original authors refreshed. I can go one higher - I found myself simply wanting to read more from Elif Batuman' Evening Standard 'An intoxicating mix of travel memoir, autobiography, literary criticism and philosophy... Charming and hilarious' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewWildly original, creatively rambling... the funniest book I've read in a long time: its deadpan, dry humour and its accumulation of absurdities will leave you rolling on your floor with laughter * The Times *Dazzlingly good ... very bookish, very clever and very funny ... [The Possessed is] a preposterously engaging volume -- Jane Shilling * Sunday Telegraph *The highest compliment you can pay such a book is that it sends you back to the original authors refreshed. I can go one higher - I found myself simply wanting to read more from Elif Batuman * Evening Standard *An intoxicating mix of travel memoir, autobiography, literary criticism and philosophy... charming and hilarious * Daily Telegraph *Deeply clever and very funny * Guardian *Elif Batuman seems at home in that borderland between tragedy and comedy the great Russian writers colonised. The Possessed is insightful, poignant and very funny -- James MeekWise and delightfully funny -- Rachel PolonskyCharming, complex and life-enhancing -- Sarah Bakewell * Sunday Times *Hilarious, wide-ranging, erudite, and memorable * New York Times Book Review *Odd and oddly profound ... she's the kind of reader who sends you back to your bookshelves with a sublime buzz in your head. You want to feel what she's feeling. It's tempting to keep quoting her book forever * New York Times *A vividly engaging travelogue-cum-memoir ... Batuman is an astute observer with a terrific sense of humour and immense bravado -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times *Batuman's refreshingly unlikely memoir recounts how she decided to devote her life to studying the great Russian novelists ... the result is the funniest book you're ever likely to read about Russian fiction -- Robert Collins * Sunday Times *The Possessed weaves anecdotes and literary criticism around Batuman's tales of her adventures in America, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Russia ... In some complicated way, this is a book about the relationship between art and life. But it's also a simple book about the relationship between art and life. Or, rather, it's a complicated book about the simple relationship between the two. In the end, all memoirs tend to end up as a defence of something. Batuman's is a defence of reading as a form of living -- Ian Sansom * Guardian *An eccentric, funny and always perceptive account of the authors long time immersion in the classics of Russian literature * Observer *I loved Batuman's quirky and perceptive account of her passion for Russian literature ... A move away from objective criticism towards the personal and what books actually mean to people, it is hugely appealing -- Lesley McDowell * Sunday Herald *Told in nimble and often funny prose * Guardian *Batuman's very different sentimental education is a wryly brilliant portrait of herself as a young Turkish intellectual emerging among American and Uzbek Russianists and rogues -- Selected by Fiona Sampson as a book of the year * New Statesman *

Read more less

Book Synopsis“A perfect volume to initiate majors into the discipline and delight of carefully examining presumptions, priorities, language, and structures of both primary and secondary texts.” —Stephen R. Honeygosky, University of Pittsburgh

Read more less

Book SynopsisAny translation is a reading. Chris McCully reads Beowulf as an epic written in English using all the complex metrical conventions of its time, as well as distinctive epic tropes including sea-crossings, oracular pronouncements and encounters with the monstrous. This version renders the original in readable contemporary English but also keeps as close as it can to the older, alliterative metrical system, so that readers may experience something of the textures and formal properties of the original. An `Afterword’ explains the translator’s formal choices and explores the nature of this epic, with its emphasis on tribe, location and mortality. `McCully captures the special magic and power of the Beowulf poet’s word-pile and life-thoughts.’ (Martin Duffell, Fellow of Queen Mary, University of London)

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe expands his examination of possible textual corruption and adds hundreds of new glosses to help scholars, students, and general readers untangle the dense thicket of allusions that crowds every sentence of Joyce's nearly inscrutable masterpiece.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsConventions and AbbreviationsAnnotations to Finnegans WakeBook IBook IIBook IIIBook IV

Read more less

Book SynopsisCrime and Punishment is one of the most important novels of the nineteenth century. It is the story of a murder committed on principle, of a killer who wishes to set himself outside and above society. It is marked by Dostoevsky's own harrowing experience in penal servitude, and yet contains moments of wild humour.Trade ReviewSuperb... the Oxford University Press edition is beautifully produced and competitively priced. * Donald Rayfield, Times Literary Supplement *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Accomplishes what before now had seemed impossible: a faithful rendering that is simultaneously an original and gripping poem in its own right.” —New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"Magnificent, breathtaking... Heaney has created something imperishable and great that is stainless—stainless, because its force as poetry makes it untouchable by the claw of literalism: it lives singly, as an English language poem." -- The Guardian

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner • Modern Language Association’s Scaglione Prize for Translation Bawdier than The Canterbury Tales, The Fabliaux is the first major English translation of the most scandalous and irreverent poetry in Western literature.Trade Review"Like Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf,…Dubin reproduces the world and the feeling of the medieval tale…that travel joyfully from the Middle Ages to the present." -- R. Howard Bloch, from the introduction to The Fabliaux"Devilishly bawdy and irreverent…The 69 fabliaux presented here in their original French and translated into rascally, buoyant English by Nathaniel E. Dubin, are relentlessly scabrous, egregiously misogynistic, and exuberantly oppositional to ‘bourgeois respectability’ and the church…. Vivid, funny, robustly grotesque, and drolly outrageous, these satirical tales of lust, revenge, and folly feature lecherous peasants, fornicating priests, scoundrels, fools, and women wily and tough, castigated and abused…. An historic literary achievement bound to arouse vociferous discussion." -- Booklist"Pure, unadulterated fun…. A golden bough of erotic imagination and folk humor, peopled by randy wives, cuckolded husbands, fornicating priests, and priapic knights…. Ultimately, what’s so potent and profound about these risqué yarns is not their unbridled expressions of sexuality and vulgarity per se, but their unusual ability to provoke a carnivalesque laughter in all. Through denuding, debauchery, and bodily degradation, the fabliaux create a common denominator for humanity, an earthy, holistic world in which, to quote Bakhtin again, ‘he who is laughing also belongs to it.’ Flaunting unabashed obscenity in delightful verse, The Fabliaux is a book that would entertain the fans of Dr. Freud and Dr. Seuss alike." -- Yunte Huang - The Daily Beast"Fabliaux are comic tales, in verse, composed between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries…. The words used…have not been adjusted to conform to modern immodesty; the translation is literal…[This is the] first substantial collection of fabliaux, in any language, for today’s general reader." -- Joan Acocella - The New Yorker"The fabliaux, then, is a short story that is a tall story. It combines a burly blurting of dirty words with a reveling in humiliations that are good unclean fun. A popular venture that is keen to paste—épater—everybody (not just the bourgeoisie), it is the art of the single entendre. Highly staged low life, it guffaws at the pious, the prudish, and the priggish. High cockalorum versus high decorum…. The introduction here, like the translator’s note, tells well the story of the comic tales, anonymous for the most part, usually two or three hundred lines long, of which about 160 exist." -- Christopher Ricks - New York Review of Books"The fabliaux are important not only for their approach to humor, but for their focus on sex, class and wealth, and bodily functions like eating and defecating—all elements quite absent from more highbrow, courtly, or Church-sanctioned religious texts. Liveright’s edition serves as the largest and most complete collection of fabliaux, in English or French, ever published “for the general reader…" The Fabliaux is a reminder that medieval texts can remain engaging, lively, and, above all, funny." -- Charlotte Bhaskar - Zyzzyva

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis new edition of Much Ado about Nothing is supplemented by an updated introduction which analyses recent stage, television, film and critical interpretations of the play, and considers the play's special interest in language, bodies and gender.Table of ContentsIntroduction; The play; Supplementary notes; Textual analysis; Appendixes: 1. The time-scheme of Much Ado about Nothing, 2. Lewis Carroll's letter to Ellen Terry, 3. Benedick's song, 5.2.18-22; Reading list.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of interviews with James Baldwin covers the period 1961 to 1987, from the year of the publication of Nobody Knows My Names, his fourth book, to just a few weeks before his death. It includes the last formal conversation with him.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir on her life as a writer, her childhood and the symbiotic relationship between fiction and emotional memory.In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction.By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gathers together evidence of all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels.Tan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia the real reason behind an I.Q. test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmoTrade Review‘Tan writes about her parents with love and frustration and without sentimentality, and some of the book’s most effective sections are the ones that examine how her view of them was affected by discoveries made later in their lives or after their deaths. She also writes with great insight about her own creative process, and how it has been affected by everything from listening to music to chance encounters…This is a compelling exploration of both the personal and creative life of a fascinating woman’ Sunday Business Post ‘Remember Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother, the terrifying pushy-mother manifesto written by Chinese-American Amy Chua? Well, this book, by the other famous Chinese-American Amy, bestselling novelist Amy Tan, could be called Post-Battle Hymn Of The Damaged Daughter Of A Tiger Mother. Fascinating’ Daily Mail ‘It is a privilege to be given permission to rummage in any writer’s attic. Where The Past Begins yields treasure under the dust sheets… the introduction is breathtaking – all of Tan’s gifts, the ability to layer images, to command your attention, to shock you with a sudden slipping in of the knife are on display here’ Financial Times ‘She elaborates on the act of writing, the mechanics and results of her own imagination…Tan’s epiphanies and revelations often revive supressed memories…much of her questioning is focused on her mother’s life, parts of which may sound familiar to readers of Tan’s fiction’ Guardian ‘Richly varied, thought-provoking book. Where the Past Begins will surely gratify Tan’s many fans, and likely win her numerous new ones’ US Today Praise for Amy Tan: ‘Chinese-Americans are among the most dynamic, and socially cohesive, ethnic groups in the US … Tan is one of their leading voices’ Sunday Times ‘Tan is a prodigal with her talent. She weaves a dazzling web of unfamiliar colours, smells, tastes and landscapes’ Sunday Telegraph

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first art book to explore Rossetti's art and poetry together, including her own artworks, illustrations to her writing, and art inspired by her Christina Rossetti (18301894) is among the greatest of English Victorian poets. The intensity of her vision, her colloquial style, and the lyrical quality of her verse still speak powerfully to us today, while her striking imagery has always inspired artists. Rossetti lived in an exceptionallyvisual environment: her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was the leading member of the avant-garde Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and she became a favorite model for the group. She sat for the face of Christ in William Holman Hunt's The Light of the World, while both John Everett Millais and Frederick Sandysillustrated her poetry. Later on, the pioneering photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and the great Belgian Symbolist Fernand Khnopff wereinspired by Rossetti's enigmatic verses. This engaging book explores the full artistic context of Rossetti's life aTrade Review“Handsome publication”— Ian Lipke, Queensland Reviewers Collective“This lovely-looking book explores Christina Rossetti’s artistic context in new and unexpected ways.” —Aileen Reid, World of Interiors“The catalogue for the recent exhibition at the Watts Gallery, Christina Rossetti: Poetry in art, brings together many surprising items from public and private collections to reveal unusual aspects of the poet's life and work. […] The scholarly work of the editors and contributors and the book's many illustrations greatly expand our knowledge of Christina Rossetti and her widening circle.” —Lindsay Duguid, Times Literary Supplement“The volume is abundantly illustrated and provides a satisfying contribution to the study of an immensely complex poet and an aspect of 19th century art with which she is unavoidably intertwined” —Tom Fleming, Apollo Magazine“Her influence on other artists is shown both in the exhibition and in the beautiful accompanying book – far more than a catalogue – Christina Rossetti: Poetry in Art. We see her impact in their illustrations for different editions of her books of poetry, and the many paintings inspired by her poems, such as Arthur Hughes’s The Mower, while in art photography, Julia Margaret Cameron based her charming The Minstrel Group on one of her poems.” —David V Barrett, Catholic Herald“Throughout, handsome design and well-placed illustrations make this a pleasing, fresh addition to the literature on Victorian art, poetry and aesthetics.” —Frances Spalding, Literary Review“Handsome book” —Jeremy Musson, Country Life“The volume now published by Yale University Press, in relation with an exhibition on display at the Watts Gallery in Compton does manage to shed some new light on a largely overlapping subject.” —Laurent Bury, Cercles“[A]n accessible, wide-ranging and beautifully presented introduction to the visual contexts of Rossetti’s work…[which] honours the established view that her poetry participates in a lively interplay with the visual arts, offering an alluring record of a beautiful exhibition.”—Fiona Macdonald, The Journal of Religious HistoryLong listed for the Historians of British Art Book Prize

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs much as dogs, cats, or any domestic animal, horses exemplify the vast range of human-animal interactions. Horses have long been deployed to help with a variety of human activitiesfrom racing and riding to police work, farming, warfare, and therapyand have figured heavily in the history of natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Most accounts of the equine-human relationship, however, fail to address the last few centuries of Western history, focusing instead on pre-1700 interactions. Equestrian Cultures fills in the gap, telling the story of how prominently horses continue to figure in our lives, up to the present day. Kristen Guest and Monica Mattfeld place the modern period front and center in this collection, illuminating the largely untold story of how the horse has responded to the accelerated pace of modernity. The book's contributors explore equine cultures across the globe, drawing from numerous interdisciplinary sources to show how horses have unexpectedl

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisYouth spoken word poetry groups are on the rise in the United States, offering safe spaces for young people to write and perform. These diverse groups encourage members to share their lived experiences, decry injustices, and imagine a better future. At a time when students may find writing in school alienating and formulaic, composing in these poetry groups can be refreshingly relevant and exciting.Listen to the Poet investigates two Arizona spoken word poetry groups - a community group and a high school club - that are both part of the same youth organization. Exploring the writing lives and poetry of several members, Wendy R. Williams takes readers inside a writing workshop and poetry slam and reveals that schools have much to learn about writing, performance, community, and authorship from groups like these and from youth writers themselves.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisMarianne, Louise and Cassandra Knight were nieces of the great 19th century novelist who gave us Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Jane knew the girls well, reading and sewing with them as they grew up, and they were often the subject of her witty letters.The Knight sisters went on to lead lives remarkably similar to those of Jane's heroines, experiencing the pains of blighted love, the joy of patience rewarded, and the sorrow of losing their childhood home, but even Austen could not have imagined that they would find themselves in Donegal at a time when Ireland was riven with famine and war.May, Lou and Cass tells for the first time the story of the Knight Sisters and their extraordinary journey from the ordered world of Regency England to the turbulent upheaval of Northern Ireland, exploring Irish History and the heritage of the Austen family.Trade ReviewAn extensively researched document of the lives of the landed gentry of 19th century in these islands.a must for all lovers of Irish history and of Jane Austeninteresting for Austen fans and a sturdy read for anyone curious about the 19th centurybeautifully researched and extremely detailed

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe second book in Seagull's ambitious series of Georg Trakl's works, Sebastian Dreaming was the second, and final, collection prepared for publication by Trakl himself. Published after his death, it was perhaps even tied to it: forced into a military hospital by the psychological trauma of his World War I experiences, the Austrian poet requested that his publisher send him proofs of the book. He waited a week, and then overdosed on cocaine. A century later, the book appears for the first time in English. While a number of its poems have been included in other collections, translator James Reidel argues that this particular book deserves to stand on its own and be read as one piece, as Trakl intended. Only by doing this can we begin to see Trakl in his proper time and place, as an early modern poet whose words nonetheless continue to exert a powerful hold on us while we make our way through a new, uncharted century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDavid A. Campbell is Emeritus Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Abbreviations Archilochus Cal linus Tyrtaeus Semonides Alcman Mimnermus Solon Stesichorus Sappho Alcaeus Ibycus Anacreon Xenophanes Phocylides Demodocus Theognis Hipponax Simon ides Pratinas Timocreon Corinna Bacchylides Praxilla Carmina popularia Scolia Appendix on Metre Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisProvides a more complete history of the zombie than has ever been told, explaining how the myth's migration to the New World was facilitated by the transatlantic slave trade, and reveals the real-world import of storytelling, reminding us of the power of myths and mythmaking, and the high stakes of appropriation and homage.Trade Review"Simply put, this is a tremendous—even epic—study of the zombie in a range of literary, cinematic, political, and popular contexts. A groundbreaking work!" -- Aviva Briefel * Bowdoin College *"This meticulously researched and exhaustive study is an invaluable offering to both Haitian and humanist scholarship. The historical depth and cultural breadth call attention to the zombie's impact as real social phenomenon and as provocative metaphor for the human condition." -- Kaiama L. Glover * author of Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon *Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgmentsA Note on OrthographyIntroduction: Zombie Dialectics1 Slavery and Slave Rebellion: The (Pre)History of the Zombi/e2 “American” Zombies: Love and Theft on the Silver Screen3 Haitian Zombis: Symbolic Revolutions, Metaphoric Conquests, and the Mythic Occupation of History4 Textual Zombies in the Visual ArtsEpilogue: The Occupation of MetaphorFilmographyNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the wake of World War II, the Nazi genocide of European Jews has come to stand for ""the unspeakable,"" posing crucial challenges to the representation of suffering. This book argues against the ""unspeakable"" as any kind of inherent quality of such an event. It shows how, when, and why the term ""unspeakable"" is used.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Major Declamations, attributed to Quintilian in antiquity, exemplify the final stage of Greco-Roman rhetorical training, in which students delivered speeches for the prosecution and defense at imaginary trials. A wide variety of fascinating ethical, social, and legal details animate the fictional world conjured up by these oratorical exercises.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"With a fan's instincts and a scholar’s passion, Ian Gordon delivers a highly readable and insightful treatment of the comic book and cinematic Superman, the most American of superheroes." -- Viet Thanh Nguyen * Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Sympathizer *"This is the most thoughtful and thoroughly researched study about one of the most iconic characters of the last century. Ian Gordon – Superman expert – has produced a stellar book on Superman: his history and significance in popular culture; his cross-media and cross-generational reach; and his continued mythic significance for global culture. This is a must read for academics and fans alike!" -- Angela Ndalianis * author of Batman: Myth and Superhero *"This startling new study brings a new perspective and shows us Superman as a process: a shared, and often fought-over, element of American culture. The next time I teach on Superman, or superheroes in general, this will be my go-to book." -- Charles Hatfield * author of Alternative Comics *"Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon is an interesting read and well worth the time for any Superman fan interested in the character’s past, his growth, his icon status and his success over the years." * supermanhomepage.com *Included in The Top 75 Community College Titles: September Edition "This is not just another superhero study; it is one of the most comprehensive, well-thought-out analyses of the Man of Steel. Concisely packed, this book covers all dimensions of Superman: mythos, history, ideology and morality, object of nostalgia, production, authorship, ownership, audiences, and brand. Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon is extraordinarily rich, the analysis is meticulously conceived and implemented, and the writing is clear and interesting, spiced with anecdotes, asides, and quotes." -- John Lent, Temple University * Choice360 *"Gordon’s Superman will be most useful in the undergraduate classroom – it leaves plenty of room for instructors to flesh out the material as they see fit, making it a good textbook candidate in a variety of first- or second-year courses in disciplines such as Cultural Studies, American Studies and Media Studies." * Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics *"Highly recommended for scholars, nerds, and casual fans." * The Journal of American Culture *"The book is not only a crucial new resource for anyone interested in the history of Superman, but also an important contribution for the way it situates comics in general, and superheroes specifically, within a broader culture." * The Journal of Comics and Culture *"Gordon displays his considerable skills as a media historian...[A] fine book." * Inks *"Superman at 80," by Karen McCally * University of Rochester *"For a real insider look at what makes Superman tick be sure to pick up a copy of this book. It looks like superman will be around for a very long, long time." * Collector's Corner *"A fun read that can appeal to the casual reader as well as academic scholars and students. His thread of 'iconic status' is woven throughout the book to tie all of the chapters together well. As a result, this book offers a solid overview of the history of Superman while approaching the material with some new insight and interesting examples that will appeal to a variety of readers looking to learn more about not only the Man of Steel—but why his character has thrived for over 80 years." * Journal of American Culture *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon 1 Superman Mythos and History 2 Ideology and Morality 3 Superman: The Object of Nostalgia 4 Production, Authorship, and Ownership 5 Readers and Audiences 6 Superman the Brand and Beyond Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Nausicaä to Sailor Moon, understanding girl heroines of manga and anime within otaku culture.Trade Review"A foundational book illuminating the phenomenon of cool Japan, Beautiful Fighting Girl explains the global desire for images of little girls that kick ass. Sait ’s uncomfortably deep understanding of the particulars of this Japanese phenomenon allows us to finally begin to answer questions about the far-reaching implications of the now nearly universal fetish, of our atomizing technologies of interactivity, and of our obsessions with new media. Its place in contemporary letters is nearly unparalleled and I wouldn’t be surprised if this book gives that once a decade jostle leading to the n-th wave of feminism or a complete reconfiguration of our understanding of male desire." —Jonathan E. Abel, Pennsylvania State UniversityTable of ContentsA Note on the Translation Translator’s Introduction J. Keith Vincent Beautiful Fighting Girl Preface 1. The Psychopathology of Otaku 2. Letter from an Otaku 3. Beautiful Fighting Girls outside Japan 4. The Strange Kingdom of Henry Darger 5. A Genealogy of the Beautiful Fighting Girl 6. The Emergence of the Phallic Girls Afterword to the First Edition (2000) Afterword to the Paperback Edition (2006) Commentary: The Elder Sister of Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals (2006) Hiroki Azuma Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mobilizing disparate resources in lyric poetry, personal reflection, and queer theory, Michael Snediker argues for an optimism not reducible to hope and not opposed to knowledge. Queer Optimism demands that we think again about enjoyment, pain, personhood, and whether and how we live our theories. It’s a challenging book of fresh perspectives and previously unwritable sentences." —Rei Terada, author of Looking Away:Phenomenality and Dissatisfaction, Kant to Adorno"Queer Optimism is a major—potentially paradigm-shifting—work in queer theory. I cannot remember the last time I learned so much from reading a work of literary criticism." —Tim Dean, Director of the Humanities Institute, University at Buffalo (SUNY)

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe publication of Cultural Studies 1983 is a touchstone event in the history of Cultural Studies and a testament to Stuart Hall''s unparalleled contributions. The eight foundational lectures Hall delivered at the University of Illinois in 1983 introduced North American audiences to a thinker and discipline that would shift the course of critical scholarship. Unavailable until now, these lectures present Hall''s original engagements with the theoretical positions that contributed to the formation of Cultural Studies. Throughout this personally guided tour of Cultural Studies'' intellectual genealogy, Hall discusses the work of Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams, and E. P. Thompson; the influence of structuralism; the limitations and possibilities of Marxist theory; and the importance of Althusser and Gramsci. Throughout these theoretical reflections, Hall insists that Cultural Studies aims to provide the means for political change.Trade Review"Hall’s lectures from 1983 appear to be a peculiar event of appropriation—a fundamental attempt to retain Marx as a nondisposable basis for cultural studies by means of a meticulous, well-informed, and earnest guarding of his heritage from vulgar and reductive misreadings. The volume itself is a praiseworthy enterprise of retaining this hallmark of theoretical history and making accessible at least some of Hall’s works, otherwise scattered across less-known collections and anthologies.". -- Sergiy Yakovenko * H-Russia, H-Net Reviews *"The collection is inspiring and comprehensive, covering, for example, the birth of Cultural Studies, Marxist structuralism and Hall’s crucial post-Gramscian work on hegemony. . . . Hall’s collection of lectures is persuasive, galvanising and feels both timeless and timely, despite its posthumous status." -- Sofia Ropek Hewson * LSE Review of Books *"Hall's metier was to tease out the competing histories, the contradictory political, economic, and social forces condensed within a particular historical moment, an excavation of ideology he called 'conjunctural analysis.' . . . [H]is work is all too timely, for the haphazard project of neoliberalism, justified retroactively by nonsensical appeals to the 'free market,' is as advanced as the decades-long economic decline it magics away with bubbles and rhetoric (GDP balloons; personal wealth stagnates)." -- Michael Robbins * Bookforum *"Cultural Studies 1983 is a cogent summation of the most influential modern theories that have grappled with and tried to explain the dynamics of unequal societies and the cultures they produced." -- Shonaleeka Kaul * Frontline *"Hall’s work has become especially resonant as Britain has voted for a narrower identity and a more isolationist attitude to the rest of the world.... There is a generosity and literary imagination in his writing—a recognition that humans are complex, contradictory creatures shaped by, among other things, what they believe, where they live, how they shop, and who they sleep with." -- Jessica Loudis * The New Republic *"Cultural Studies 1983 performs two important tasks: it recreates a sense of the spark that kindled a moment long remembered in Cultural Studies and related fields; more importantly, it offers access into an incredibly rich body of thought that has as much to teach today as it did three and a half decades ago.... Thanks to Cultural Studies 1983 and Duke University Press’s Stuart Hall: Selected Writings series, we have a new trove of proven tools when perhaps we need them most." -- John Munro * History *"The late Stuart Hall was more than an intellectual giant of postwar Britain. He was the great illuminator, whose far-reaching insights into how the world is constructed show us why cultural studies is not about the manners learned from the masters, but a way of examining and understanding social reality as made by the people themselves. Argumentative, diagnostic, witty, and learned, the series of scintillating lectures contained in this volume presents Hall at the height of his fearless and generous scholarly powers, offering not only a history of cultural studies but a theoretical and politically engaged reading of our unequal centuries." -- Okwui Enwezor * Artforum *"Given at the University of Illinois in 1983, the lectures provide a fascinating introduction to the theoretical questions with which cultural studies was grappling. . . . A compelling and essential introduction to both the strengths of cultural studies as a discipline and its evolution during that time." -- Rjurik Davidson * Thesis Eleven *"One of the most important cultural studies books to be published in recent (or even distant) memory. . . . The long wait has been worth it, and 1983 arrives at a moment when we desperately need it. . . . Hall didn’t intend these lectures to be a call to arms for 2017 and beyond. But we can—and should—still read them that way." -- Gilbert B. Rodman * Cultural Studies *""I have also narrated the effort it took for me to access his work to illustrate the importance of the Selected Writings now being released by Duke University Press. It is an event of profound historical significance that a new generation will be able to begin its political and theoretical education with systematic access to Hall’s writing. . . . Cultural Studies 1983 lays out his approach in accessible lecture form." -- Asad Haider * The Point *Table of ContentsEditor's Introduction / Lawrence Grossberg and Jennifer Daryl Slack vii Preface to the Lectures by Stuart Hall, 1988 1 Lecture 1. The Formation of Cultural Studies 5 Lecture 2. Culturalism 25 Lecture 3. Structuralism 54 Lecture 4. Rethinking the Base and Superstructure 74 Lecture 5. Marxist Structuralism 97 Lecture 6. Ideology and Ideological Struggle 127 Lecture 7. Domination and Hegemony 155 Lecture 8. Culture, Resistance, and Struggle 180 References 207 Index 211

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAimed at students and readers of poetry at all levels, The Cambridge Guide to Reading Poetry takes a tour through a galaxy of examples, demonstrating how to come to terms with poetry's verbal, formal, emotional, and conceptual power. It shows how reading poems enhances our enjoyment and understanding of life.Trade Review'One of the advantages this book will have over competitors in the field is that its tone and approach are grounded in practical experience of introducing challenging texts to readers who are relatively inexperienced with (and not a little afraid of) poetry. Andrew Hodgson's guide manages to make reading poetry continuously exciting without sacrificing difficulty. Consistently literary, it makes the literary available rather than austerely or arcanely remote. Above, all students will listen because the advice is presented without condescension as if from a writer addressing fellow-practitioners. I will certainly be recommending this book to my first-year close readers and I am sincerely heartened by the fact that, published by Cambridge University Press, it is set to become a standard text.' Josie Billington, University of Liverpool'Any student of poetry, not just beginners, should find this book helpful and encouraging. Its tone is amiable but not condescending, its range of themes and examples is generous, and its insights are sensible, interesting and smart.' Michael Ferber, University of New HampshireDeeply thoughtful and superbly eloquent, this is the most inspiring guide to the study of poetry that I've ever encountered. It's an introduction and a masterclass at once. Like the literature it illuminates, this book has riches to offer readers of every kind. Refusing bullet points and jargon, refusing to flatten or over-simplify, Hodgson takes us seriously. Opening up conversation at every turn, he encourages us to embrace poetry in all its exhilarating complexity and to feel it changing our minds. He looks carefully under the microscope at rhyme and metre, form and voice, and – inseparably – he makes a powerfully sustained argument for the transformative presence of literature in our lives. … In sum it's as idiosyncratic, argumentative, stylish, loving and generally human as literature is and textbooks aren't.' Alexandra Harris, University of Birmingham'Hodgson's guide is lucid, learned, and just plain useful. He patiently and precisely describes the pleasures and value of reading and writing about verse. Filled with a wide selection of well-wrought exempla and some well-culled insights from poets themselves, the book beautifully describes why poetry matters and how it works. Like the best poets, Hodgson thinks and feels deeply about words.' Stephen Dobranski, Distinguished University Professor, Georgia State University'This is an incredibly useful, accessible guide for anyone interested in sharpening their appreciation of poetry. Andrew Hodgson's book manages to be engaging and friendly, even when introducing potentially intimidating topics like metre and scansion, without ever patronising the reader or reducing the complexity of the ideas raised. He also never loses sight of the fact that students need to discover their own reasons for engaging with poetry, beyond the mundane demands of university assessment. Through its series of wide-ranging and lucidly explored examples, his book inspires a further plunge into poetic history, by reminding us that poetry is a vital record of the diversity of human experience, rather than a rarefied separation from it.' Dr Sarah Parker, Loughborough University'… the book's language is accessible, lucid, and direct, rarely dipping into undefined poetic jargon. As such, The Cambridge Guide to Reading Poetry would be useful for technical communicators looking to reintroduce themselves to the act of reading poetry critically, or even those looking for a way to write a guide for difficult and diffuse subjects with clarity.' Dylan Schrader, Technical CommunicationTable of ContentsIntroduction: Reading Poetry; 1. Reading a Poem; 2. Studying a Poet; 3. Writing about Poetry; Epilogue: What Should You Read?; Glossary of Common Forms and Genres; Further Reading.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAnecdote and theory have diametrically opposed connotations: humorous versus serious, specific versus general, trivial versus overarching, short versus grand. This title cuts through these oppositions to produce theory with a sense of humor, theorizing which honors the uncanny detail of lived experience.Trade Review“Gallop is our foremost comic theorist. Anecdotal theory, as she observes, is theory with a better sense of humor. Gallop shows us how to be smart and rigorous precisely by refusing to ‘get serious,’ explaining how that imperative in fact makes literary critics relinquish what we do best. Lightening up without in any way producing theory ’lite’: this is one formulation of Gallop’s goal and considerable accomplishment, both here and throughout her career.”—Joseph Litvak, author of Strange Gourmets: Sophistication, Theory, and the Novel“Jane Gallop’s essays are lucid, bold, and timely: she gives us our time through a series of brilliant lenses. I’m always grateful for the intelligence, the edge, and the generosity of her vision. We would all be more lost without her.”—Judith Butler, author of Gender Trouble"[Gallop's] explorations resonate for us all. . . . [Anectodal Theory] interrogates its own narrative with . . . formidable wit and intellectual rigor . . . . Moving and provocative . . . ." -- Cora Kaplan * Women's Review of Books *Table of ContentsAnecdotal Theory; I The Incident; The Teacher's Breasts; The lecherous Professor: A Reading; The Personal and the Professional: Walking the Line; Resisting Reasonableness; II The Stories; A Tales of Two Jacques; Knot a Love Story; Dating Derrida in the Nineties; Castration Anxiety and the Unemployed PhD; Econstructing Sisterhood; Afterwords

Read more less

Book SynopsisStephen Owen contends that in the new money economy of the Song Dynasty, writers became preoccupied with the question of whether material things can bring happiness. In a series of essays, All Mine! offers strikingly original readings of major eleventh-century figures.Trade ReviewElegant and witty, erudite and charming. Stephen Owen explores the dilemmas new modes of ownership created for the pursuit of happiness and reputation in the writings of great eleventh-century humanists. A brilliant example of how the study of literature speaks to intellectual and social history. -- Peter K. Bol, author of Neo-Confucianism in HistoryStephen Owen's interpretations of Chinese literature are not only enlightening but also a pleasure to read. He always finds levels of meaning I would not have reached on my own. -- Patricia Buckley Ebrey, author of Emperor HuizongBrilliant and persuasive readings of important Song essays that reveal a paradigm shift in the consciousness of writers. Considering the pressures of a lived environment complicated by obsession with objects, ownership, and self-representation, these readings are presented in a mode of hypothetical propositions, drawing the reader into a conversation with the texts and the translator. -- Stephen H. West, cotranslator of The Orphan of Zhao and Other Yuan Plays: The Earliest Known Versions[A] must-read on the studies of literati culture in eleventh-century China . . . It is a pleasure to read Professor Owen’s brilliant readings supplemented by precise and elegant translations of major pieces. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *Reading All Mine! is certainly a joyful experience. Owen’s style of writing brings the Song world and writers to life. * Philosophy East and West *For students in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, [this book] serves as a perfect introduction to Northern Song literature and an exemplary example of interdisciplinary research. For some Chinese academics, this book will also be a handy primary source for studying Owen’s artistic tastes and hermeneutical style. Of course, it is also an excellent reading for scholars in literary studies, Song cultural history, and translation studies. * Journal of Asian Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. What’s in a Name? The Biography of the Retired Layman Six Ones2. The Magistrate of Peach Blossom Spring3. Missing Stones4. All Mine: The Poetics of Ownership5. The Stone That Tells Its Name6. The Bamboo in the Breast and in the BellyClosureFurther ReadingsSources and TranslationsNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisStep into the world of history-makers with this edition, enriched with the eloquence of individuals who shaped and reshaped their destinies. Experience the artistry of master orators as their meticulously crafted speeches transcend the boundaries of time and space, captivating the minds and hearts of their audiences. A literary gem for all, this exquisite hardbound edition features a ribbon bookmark, gilded edges, and stunning endpapers.Inspiring words that shaped history?

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt''s time to recognize Kathy Acker as one of the great postwar American writers. Over the decades readers have found a punk Acker, a feminist Acker, a queer Acker, a kink Acker, and an avant-garde Acker. In Philosophy for Spiders, McKenzie Wark adds a trans Acker. Wark recounts her memories of Acker (with whom she had a passionate affair) and gives a comprehensive reading of her published and archived works. Wark finds not just an inventive writer of fiction who pressed against the boundaries of gender but a theorist whose comprehensive philosophy of life brings a conceptual intelligence to the everyday life of those usually excluded from philosophy''s purview. As Wark shows, Acker''s engagement with topics such as masturbation, sadism, body-building, and penetrative sex are central to her distinct phenomenology of the body that theorizes the body''s relation to others, the city, and technology.Trade Review“In this brilliant reading of one of the late twentieth century's most interesting writers, language ‘messes with flesh’ while ‘logic messes with language,’ transmuting Kathy Acker's sign-worlds into philosophy. I love the fearless way in which McKenzie Wark thinks. I also love the calm voice with which she walks herself (and us) through difficult spaces in theory and memory. Exploring how gender structures writing in ways related to, but ultimately different from, the norms that structure heterosexuality, Philosophy for Spiders radically expands the field of trans girl lit.” -- Sianne Ngai, author of * Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment and Capitalist Form *“McKenzie Wark’s highly personal sex memoir evolves the growing ‘My Kathy’ genre in trans directions. This impassioned, reasonable, and subjective tribute makes more room for Kathy to live on as the future's own creations.” -- Sarah Schulman, author of * Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987–1993 *"Wark has written a study that not only luxuriates in her brief, passionate love affair with Acker but also attempts to burnish her legacy through a contemporary recontextualization of her work, including a trans reading of Acker’s writings, exploring the ways her fictions abjured gender binaries or even the assumption that her voice emanated from a cis woman. . . . Through Wark’s rereading, Acker is transformed from provocateur porn writer, punk poet, and literary theorist to someone much more resonant: a vulnerable Acker shed of her leather jacket, of her sometimes-bratty persona." -- Alyse Burnside * The Nation *"Don’t be frightened by the word 'theory' in the title: Wark is nothing if not gentle with her reader. This slim book will hook you with both its eroticism and its deep dive into Acker’s art. . . . In addition to being erotic, funny, and bold, the book makes a strong case for Acker’s significance as part of the American literary canon. It left me with an itch to return to Acker’s books; and Wark’s accessibly written analysis will surely invite a new generation of readers to discover Acker for the first time." -- Clare Potter * Women's Review of Books *"This is a formally generous book that avoids classificatory boundaries, happily reflecting many of Acker's iterations. . . . A thought-provoking afterword considers trans writing; like the rest of the book, it is both playful & incisive about gender." -- Declan Fry * ABC Arts *"Philosophy for Spiders provides a novel approach to the scholarship on Acker and asks important questions about academic writing itself. It will be of great interest to readers of both Acker and Wark, and to all those working on trans literature, gender theory, and contemporary literature and culture more broadly." -- Maria Markiewicz * European Journal of American Studies *Table of ContentsPart I. The City of Memory 1 Part II. A Philosophy for Spiders 51 Null Philosophy 53 First Philosophy 61 Second Philosophy 81 Third Philosophy 120 Afterword. Dysphoric 169 Acknowledgments 179 Reading List 187 Index 195

Read more less

Book SynopsisBlank Artisan Notebooks, the new Journals from Flame Tree in a range of hues to suit the mood and the moment. They’re hand crafted with decorated edges overflowing with petals, teasing vines and patterns. A unique blend of the practical and beautiful, with two ribbons and unlined pages, the Blank Artisan Notebooks are perfect for notes, creative writing, poetry, sketches and doodles. And, with robust flexi covers, they’re easy to slip into your bag, a pleasure to use. Simply, they feel good! Flame Tree: The Art of Fine Gifts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPacked with more than 2,000 expressions and coinages commonly used in the workplace, including 700 new words for this edition and both American and British terms and spellings, each thematic section includes an alphabetical list of the lexical components you need to comprehend, translate, write and speak modern business Arabic.

Read more less