Search results for ""author philip ward""

Michael Arlen (1895-1956) was a literary shooting star among the smart set of the 1920s. The self-styled chronicler of Mayfair society, he became an international celebrity after the publication of his scandalous novel The Green Hat in 1924. Born into an immigrant Armenian community in Lancashire, following early breakthrough in London he led a millionaire’s life on the Riviera and dabbled in the Hollywood film industry before living out his final years, all but forgotten, in retirement in New York. For all his success as a purveyor of popular fiction, he remained forever an ‘outsider’, arousing both fascination and suspicion in the English-speaking world. Encounters with Michael Arlen is a set of overlapping essays that reflect how the novelist was seen by himself and by his contemporaries. Unlike a conventional biography, the emphasis is on his connections with other leading figures of the day, especially fellow writers such as D.H. Lawrence, Ernest Hemingway and Rebecca West. The book is also a rumination by the author on the sheer difficulty of writing literary biography. With its comprehensive timeline and listing of archive materials relating to Arlen, it should serve as a stimulus to future research on this neglected and enigmatic personality.

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Laura Nyro (1947-1997) was one of the most significant figures to emerge from the singer-songwriter boom of the 1960s. She first came to attention when her songs were hits for Barbra Streisand, The Fifth Dimension, Peter, Paul and Mary, and others. But it was on her own recordings that she imprinted her vibrant personality. With albums like Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry she mixed the sounds of soul, pop, jazz and Broadway to fashion autobiographical songs that earned her a fanatical following and influenced a generation of music-makers. In later life her preoccupations shifted from the self to embrace public causes such as feminism, animal rights and ecology – the music grew mellower, but her genius was undimmed. This book examines her entire studio career from 1967’s More than a New Discovery to the posthumous Angel in the Dark release of 2001. Also surveyed are the many live albums that preserve her charismatic stage presence. With analysis of her teasing, poetic lyrics and unique vocal and harmonic style, this is the first-ever study to concentrate on Laura Nyro’s music and how she created it. Elton John idolised her; Joni Mitchell declared her ‘a true original’. Here’s why.

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