ELT & Literary Studies Books

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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?

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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

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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.

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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.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1997, Keats was the first major biography of this tragic hero of Romanticism for some thirty years, and it differs from its predecessors in important respects. The outline of the story is well known - has become, in fact, the stuff of legend: the archetypal life of the tortured genius, critically spurned and dying young. What Andrew Motion brings to bear on the subject is a deep understanding of how Keats fitted into the intellectual and political life of his time. Important friendships with such anti-establishment figures as William Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt are given their full due, and the closeness of his own spirit, as expressed in his poems, to the ferment all around is made clear. Many significant facts about Keats''s schooldays and medical training, in particular, enrich the picture. Keats emerges as a more political figure than he is usually portrayed, but his personal sufferings, too, come into closer focus. Most importantly, Andrew Motion -

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Book SynopsisTrade Review[T]he Grand Scribe's Records volume 8 is a remarkable achievement and an interesting experiment in combining something resembling a traditional Chinese commentarial style with a Western scholarly context. . . . And, as with previous volumes, the intrepid beginner or the careful specialist will find volume 8 to be ahelpful aid to research on the Shiji. * China Review International *These volumes are most welcome. . . . The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions. * Choice *Table of ContentsDedicationAcknowledgementsIntroductionOn Using This BookA Note on ChronologyWeights and MeasuresList of AbbreviationsThe Five Emperors, Basic Annals OneThe Hsia, Basic Annals TwoThe Yin, Basic Annals ThreeThe Chou, Basic Annals FourThe Ch’in, Basic Annals FiveThe First Emperor of Ch’in, Basic Annals SixHsiang Yu, Basic Annals SevenBibliographyIndexMaps

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Book SynopsisDiscover fully updated volumes of global poetry and short stories for use as set texts. Parts of Stories of Ourselves Volume 1 are set for study in Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and International AS & A Level Literature in English courses. Each short story in this collection has its own unique voice and point of view. They may differ in form, genre, style, tone and origin, but all have been chosen because of their wide appeal. Written in English by authors from different countries and cultures, the anthology includes works by Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, Graham Greene, V.S. Naipaul, R.K Narayan, Janet Frame, Raymond Carver, Jhumpa Lahiri, Annie Proulx and many others.

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Book SynopsisAn Invitation to Biblical Poetry is an accessibly written introduction to biblical poetry that emphasizes the aesthetic dimensions of poems and their openness to varieties of context. It demonstrates the irreducible complexity of poetry as a verbal art and considers the intellectual work poems accomplish as they offer aesthetic experiences to people who read or hear them. Chapters walk the reader through some of the diverse ways biblical poems are organized through techniques of voicing, lineation, and form, and describe how the poems'' figures are both culturally and historically bound and always dependent on later reception. The discussions consider examples from different texts of the Bible, including poems inset in prose narratives, prophecies, psalms, and wisdom literature. Each chapter ends with a reading of a psalm that offers an acute example of the dimension under discussion. Students and general readers are invited to richer and deeper readings of ancient poems and the subjects, problems, and convictions that occupy their imagination.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Voices Emotion Ascription and Authorship Multiplicity and Dialogue Prophetic Voicing Gender Psalm 55: A Reading Chapter 2: Lines Parallelism Enjambment Psalm 19: A Reading Chapter 3: Forms Terms Hymns Laments Love Poems Parody Acrostic Psalm 119: A Reading Chapter 4: Figures Metaphor and Simile Personification and Anthropomorphism Metaphors for the Deity Symbols Psalm 65: A Reading Chapter 5: Contexts Three Worlds of the Text Worlds Behind the Text Allusion Prophetic Poetry's Refusals The Poetry of Exile Psalm 137: A Reading Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisFrom his arrival in Britain in the 1950s and involvement in the New Left, to founding the field of cultural studies and examining race and identity in the 1990s and early 2000s, Stuart Hall has been central to shaping many of the cultural and political debates of our time. Essential Essays—a landmark two-volume set—brings together Stuart Hall''s most influential and foundational works. Spanning the whole of his career, these volumes reflect the breadth and depth of his intellectual and political projects while demonstrating their continued vitality and importance.Volume 2: Identity and Diaspora draws from Hall''s later essays, in which he investigated questions of colonialism, empire, and race. It opens with “Gramsci''s Relevance for the Study of Race and Ethnicity,” which frames the volume and finds Hall rethinking received notions of racial essentialism. In addition to essays on multiculturalism and globalization, black popular cTrade Review"Anyone whose work is informed, 'in the last instance,' by Cultural Studies will find much that is helpfully familiar in it as well as new connections, new applications, new ways of '[penetrating] the disorderly surface of things to another level of understanding,' as Hall says, invoking Marx, in the epilogue. This seems especially urgent as the ascendancy of the far Right coincides with the wholesale neoliberalization of the humanities, as Hall predicted in his 'Theoretical Legacies' lecture. It is obviously not a question of 'going back' to Hall for a truer or more 'authentic' form of Cultural Studies than that in practice today. But there is much in his legacy that illuminates the dynamics of the present, and much to put into dialogue with contemporary scholarship and practice. Morley's collection reminds us how important it is for genuine intellectual work to articulate competing and contradictory paradigms together, to work, as Hall did, from the points of contestation and conflict rather than seek solace in abstractions. This, finally, is the 'essential' in the essays assembled here." -- Liane Tanguay * American Book Review *“Along with the other volumes that Duke University Press has published, these two books of collected essays are to be welcomed. They allow us to see a fertile mind in action, engaged in and with the real world. It is a model well worth emulating.” -- Michael W. Apple * Educational Policy *"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. . . . The two-volume Essential Essays shows the broad scope of his work." -- Asad Haider * The Point *"It was one of Hall’s unique gifts to offer analysis of the moment as it unfolded before our eyes. I am sure I am not alone in having found his talks exhilarating in ways I could never quite understand, given that the news he relayed with such energy was almost unremittingly dire. Hall offered his readings as interpretation and self-commentary, tracing his own intellectual path." -- Jacqueline Hall * New York Review of Books *Table of ContentsA Note on the Text vii Acknowledgments ix General Introduction 1 Part I. Prologue: Class, Race, and Ethnicity 1. Gramsci's Relevance for the Study of Race and Ethnicity [1986] 21 Part II. Deconstructing Identities: The Politics of Anti-Essentialism 2. Old and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities [1991] 63 3. What Is This "Black" in Black Popular Culture? [1995] 83 4. The Multicultural Question [1998] 95 Part III. The Postcolonial and the Diasporic 5. The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power [1992] 141 6. The Formation of a Diasporic Intellectual: An Interview with Kuan-Hsing Chen [1996] 185 7. Thinking the Diaspora: Home-Thoughts from Abroad [1999] 206 Part IV. Interviews and Reflections 8. Politics, Contingency, Strategy: An Interview with David Scott [1997] 235 9. At Home and Not at Home: Stuart Hall in Conversation with Les Back [2008] 263 Part V. Epilogue: Caribbean and Other Perspectives 10. Through the Prism of an Intellectual Life [2007] 303 Index 325 Place of First Publication 341

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Book Synopsis“Song Lyric,” ci, is one of the most loved forms of Chinese poetry, radically distinct from “Classical Poetry,” shi. Stephen Owen examines song lyric’s literary traditions, including its origins, major writers and collections, and development into a genre, while offering a new hypothesis on the relationship between song practice and written text.Trade ReviewA milestone in the study of the lyric in China and essential reading for the field. …the book becomes a delightful companion to be visited often. -- Stuart Sargent * Journal of the American Oriental Society *Innovatively, Owen’s approach to Song lyrics in this book suggests a way to read lyrics as not just musical performances, as they were originally intended, but as textual performances. … In effect, Owen presents a hand scroll of Song dynasty lyricists painted with their own voice. -- Lanlan Kuang * China Review International *

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Book SynopsisFinalist, 2019 Locus Award for Nonfiction, presented by the Locus Science Fiction FoundationTraverses the history of imagined futures from the 1890s to the 2010s, interweaving speculative visions of gender, race, and sexuality from literature, film, and digital mediaOld Futures explores the social, political, and cultural forces feminists, queer people, and people of color invoke when they dream up alternative futures as a way to imagine transforming the present. Lothian shows how queer possibilities emerge when we practice the art of speculation: of imagining things otherwise than they are and creating stories from that impulse. Queer theory offers creative ways to think about time, breaking with straight and narrow paths toward the future laid out for the reproductive family, the law-abiding citizen, and the believer in markets. Yet so far it has rarely considered the possibility that, instead of a queer present reshaping the ways we rTrade ReviewAmassing an impressive and eclectic archive of utopian and dystopian writings under the fantastic heading of Old Futures, Alexis Lothian offers the most detailed and theoretically sophisticated account of Queer, Black, and feminist speculative fictions to date. Offering an array of futures, non-futures, un-futures, and no futures, this book shows us the precarious foundations upon which our own sense of the present sits. Lothians book is a marvel and will, I promise, never get old. -- Jack Halberstam,author of In A Queer Time and PlaceLothian's central concept of old futuresthe cast-off remains of speculations pastis both entertaining fodder and theoretically rich terrain for making queer theory new again. Theres something wonderfully bold about the books willingness to let & the future become concrete by turning to its many past versions, bringing them to light as commentary on where we are, and are not, now. -- Elizabeth Freeman,author of Time Binds: Queer Temporalities, Queer HistoriesLothian does something else entirely and opens up a new vantage point on the future by looking at it sideways, from outside its own timeline. That vantage point allows her (and us) to see the continuities, to see the way the leftover stuff of the past’s futures persists in and enlivens our present. * Science Fiction Studies *Lothian's insistence that many speculative texts contain both liberating queer images and unsettling normative messages is one of the strongest aspects of Old Futures . . .a book that is filled with unexpected yet crucial connections. -- Melanie E.S. Kohnen, * Transformative Works and Cultures *Through thoughtful analysis of a number of speculative stories from the last hundred years or so, Old Futures offers a solid contribution to both geek and queer studies. Lothian asks what we can learn from women, people of color, and queer-identifying people when they imagine futures for themselves free of oppression. * The Geek Anthropologist *It would be easy for Old Futures to feel scattered, covering as it does a century’s worth of source material, three different forms of media, and theory ranging from traditional SF criticism to fan studies. Yet somehow Lothian not only pulls it off, but makes it seem effortless. * SFRA Review *Overall, Lothian has constructed an admirable volume that I have already begun recommending to colleagues. This is her first book, and it bodes well; I look forward to seeing what Lothian does next. * SFRA Review *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn engaging, entertaining, unique and simply fascinating read from cover to cover, "Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks" is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library collections, as well as the personal reading lists of anyone who has ever experienced America's national parks for themselves -- or would like to!--Margaret Lane "Midwest Book Review" Focused on six of our most iconic National Parks, the myths, legends, historical accounts, and essays compiled in [Campfire Stories] are perfect for reading aloud, preferably around a campfire. This well-rounded book presents the spirit of these lands.--Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks A lovely mixture of poetry and prose. Some [stories] are daring tales of rescues, others are relaxed musings on the power of just being in nature's beauty. The book really does belong around a fire. It even begins with tips on how to tell great campfire stories that will captivate your audience. Bring it on your next trip, and read aloud.--Jessi Loerch "Washington Trails Magazine" Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks is a perfect book for, as the title says, telling stories (and poems) in the outdoors around the campfire.... This book truly would make a nice gift for those who love to go camping and for those who enjoy stories. The book is cloth-bound, gift-quality, and will surely be appreciated!--Anne "Kelly's Thoughts on Things" Dave and Ilyssa Kyu's collection of essays, poetry, short stories, and songs, Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks (Mountaineers Books, $21.95), brings together the work of well-known writers like Bill Bryson, Terry Tempest Williams, John Muir, and Isabella Bird with pieces from the oral tradition of indigenous people, and lesser-known chroniclers of nature and adventure.--Erin H. Turner "Big Sky Journal" For those who enjoy stories and the great outdoors, this collection is going to be a real gift. The writing throughout is engaging and the selection of works is diverse and rich.--Rosi Hollinbeck "Tulsa Book Review" If you want a chunk of quick reads, Dave and Ilyssa Kyu have compiled writings by diverse voices about six different national parks that are perfect for telling out loud. The snack-sized readings in Campfire Stories include Terry Tempest Williams' musings about Zion, Isabella Bird's letters to her sister after becoming the first woman to climb Colorado's Longs Peak, and Wabanaki poems about Acadia. It's a great summer skimmer.--Heather Hansman "Outside" The very fetching hardcover Campfire Stories: Tales from America's National Parks ($22) catalogues great stories from parks-goers present and past (many are culled from pioneer diaries, or have been passed down through generations of Indigenous adventurers) with engaging and entertaining things to say about the legends, histories, fauna, and heroes of beloved parks including Acadia, Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. It's the perfect present for the giftee who loves a good campfire, a good tale, and unique insights into the parks they love.--Katie O'Reilly "Sierra" This is a lovely, well put-together gem of a book. It is not just another collection of ghost stories or tales of killer bears, meant to terrorize youngsters around a campfire, but a mature, reflective look at six of our national parks.--Patrick Cone "National Parks Traveler" This remarkable book is a rousing celebration of our shared heritage as people of the land.--James Edward Mills, author of The Adventure Gap and founder of the Joy Trip Project

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWritten with warmth, affection, clarity and insight, [The Guide to James Joyce's "Ulysses"] is full of observations and witty asides that remind readers that Ulysses – whatever else it may be – is a comic novel. Hastings's book is thoroughly useable, and many first-time Joyceans will find it indispensable as they embark on the lifelong adventure that is reading Ulysses.—Times Literary SupplementThoroughly reliable.—Terrence Killeen, James Joyce QuarterlyHastings manages to steer his readers between the Scylla of ignorance and the Charybdis of erudition...—Robert Nicholson, James Joyce BroadsheetTable of ContentsPrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction Episode GuidesChapter 1. "Telemachus" GuideChapter 2. "Nestor" GuideChapter 3. "Proteus" GuideChapter 4. "Calypso" GuideChapter 5. "Lotus-Eaters" GuideChapter 6. "Hades" GuideChapter 7. "Aeolus" GuideChapter 8. "Lestrygonians" GuideChapter 9. "Scylla and Charybdis" GuideChapter 10. "Wandering Rocks" GuideChapter 11. "Sirens" GuideChapter 12. "Cyclops" GuideChapter 13. "Nausicaa" GuideChapter 14. "Oxen of the Sun" GuideChapter 15. "Circe" GuideChapter 16. "Eumaeus" GuideChapter 17. "Ithaca" GuideChapter 18. "Penelope" GuideAcknowledgmentsAppendixesA. A Chronology of Stephen's DayB. A Chronology of Bloom's DayC. Money in UlyssesD. Ulysses SchemaNotesSelected and Annotated BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisHeart of Darkness is based upon Joseph Conrad’s own experience in the Congo; “it is,” as he remarks in his 1916 author’s note to Youth: A Narrative and Two Other Stories, “experience pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts.” Unlike many other editions, this new edition of Conrad’s most famous tale focuses on the time in which Conrad was himself in the Congo, while also exploring the differences between his reported experiences and their reshaping in fiction.This edition includes an extensive selection of Conrad’s correspondence and autobiographical writing, as well as contemporary accounts of the Congo from other writers. Contemporary reviews situate Heart of Darkness in its literary contexts.Trade Review“John G. Peters is one of the most authoritative Conrad scholars in the world. This new, scrupulously edited version of Heart of Darkness, with all the invaluable ancillary material Peters includes, will be for the foreseeable future the definitive text of this novel.” — J. Hillis Miller, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, University of California Irvine“As one would expect from John Peters, this is a solid, conscientious, and eminently useful work of textual editing, with the kind of supplementary apparatus one has come to rely on in Broadview editions (including footnotes, chronology, biographical and historical context, and bibliography, all usefully put together for an undergraduate readership). It is a welcome addition to the array of critical editions of Heart of Darkness now available for students.” — Christopher GoGwilt, Fordham University“Peters’ selections do a fine job of situating the text within a series of historical and literary debates, and this is supported by the Introduction, which isolates significant elements or challenges of the text, exploring Conrad’s early life, the political situation in Europe and Africa in light of empire and colonialism, before treating literary and thematic features, such as language, narrative, and women. The text, which follows the first English book edition published by Blackwood’s in 1902 as part of Youth: A Narrative and Two Other Stories, and the accompanying documents are all judiciously annotated, and Peters acts as an authoritative guide to the multifaceted layers of Conrad’s novella and the complex contextual currents that swirl around it.” — Richard Niland, The Joseph Conrad Society UKTable of Contents Appendix A: Maps Appendix B: Correspondence 1. Joseph Conrad to Albert Thys (11 April 1890, district of Kazimierówka) 2. Joseph Conrad to Margeurite Poradowska (15 May 1890, Teneriffe) 3. Joseph Conrad to Karol Zagórski, 22 May 1890 (Freetown, Sierre Leone) 4. Joseph Conrad to Margeurite Poradowska (6 September 1890, Kinshasa) 5. Joseph Conrad to T. Fisher Unwin (22 July 1896) 6. Joseph Conrad to William Blackwood (31 December 1898) 7. Joseph Conrad to Ford Madox Hueffer [Ford] (3 January 1899) 8. Joseph Conrad to R. B. Cunninghame Graham (8 February 1899) 9. William Blackwood to Joseph Conrad (10 March 1899) 10. Joseph Conrad to William Blackwood (31 May 1902) 11. Joseph Conrad to Roger Casement (17 December 1903) 12. Joseph Conrad to Roger Casement (21 December 1903) 13. Joseph Conrad to R. B. Cunninghame Graham (26 December 1903) 14. Joseph Conrad to Ernest Dawson (25 June 1908) Appendix C: Contemporary Reviews 1. Hugh Clifford, “The Art of Mr. Joseph Conrad,” The Spectator (London) 2. [Edward Garnett], “Mr. Conrad’s New Book,” The Academy and Literature (London) 3. “Youth; and Other Stories,” The Graphic (London) 4. “Joseph Conrad,” The Literary World (London) 5. Desmond B. O’Brien [Richard Ashe King], “Letters on Books,” Truth (London) 6. From “Books Worth Reading,” The Times of India (Mumbai) 7. From “Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and Things of Lesser Moment,” The Evening Telegram (New York) 8. “New Novels,” The Australasian (Melbourne) 9. From “Novels of the Week,” The Commercial Advertiser (New York) 10. Elia W. Peattie, “On Conrad’s Youth and Isham’s Under the Rose,” The Chicago Daily Tribune 11. George Hamlin Fitch, “On the Bookshelves,” The San Francisco Chronicle 12. Frederic Taber Cooper, “Literature, American and English,” The International Year Book 1902 (New York) 13. [Virginia Woolf], “Mr. Conrad’s Youth,” Times Literary Supplement (London) Appendix D: Autobiographical Writings by Conrad 1. From Joseph Conrad, Congo Diary (1890) 2. From Joseph Conrad, A Personal Record (1912) 3. From Joseph Conrad, “Geography and Some Explorers” (1924) Appendix E: Contemporary Accounts of the Congo 1. From George Washington Williams, An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo (1890) 2. From Life and Letters of Samuel Norvell Lapsley, Missionary to the Congo Valley, West Africa, 1866–1892 (1893) 3. From Leopold II, “Letter from the King of the Belgians” (1898)

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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