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English
Description
Ever since children have learned to read, there has been children's literature. Children's Literature charts the makings of the Western literary imagination from Aesop's fables to Mother Goose, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Peter Pan, from Where the Wild Things Are to Harry Potter.
The only single-volume work to capture the rich and diverse history of children's literature in its full panorama, this extraordinary
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Series
Clark lectures volume 1927
Language
English
Description
First published in 1927, E. M. Forster's "Aspects of the Novel" compiles a series of lectures given to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in that same year. By utilizing examples from other classic works Forster puts forward a standard theory on the writing of fictional prose. The book takes turns tackling the issues of story and plot, character, fantasy, prophecy, pattern and rhythm in the writing of novels; the elements which Forster...
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English
Description
In this thought-provoking, endlessly enlightening, and entertaining essay on the art of the novel, renowned author Milan Kundera suggests that "the curtain" represents a ready-made perception of the world that each of us has-a pre-interpreted world. The job of the novelist, he argues, is to rip through the curtain and reveal what it hides. Here an incomparable literary artist cleverly sketches out his personal view of the history and value of the...
Author
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English
Description
Behind the Christmas songs we love to sing lie fascinating stories that will enrich your holiday celebration. Taking you inside the nativity of over thirty favorite songs and carols, Ace Collins introduces you to people you've never met, stories you've never heard, and meanings you'd never have imagined. The next time you and your family sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," you'll have a new understanding of its message and popular roots. You'll discover...
5) Why poetry
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Language
English
Description
An impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for poetry's accessibility to all readers, by critically acclaimed poet Matthew Zapruder
In Why Poetry, award-winning poet Matthew Zapruder takes on what it is that poetry-and poetry alone-can do. Zapruder argues that the way we have been taught to read poetry is the very thing that prevents us from enjoying it. In lively, lilting prose, he shows us how that misunderstanding...
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English
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Description
Focusing on the artists Ice Cube, Dr Dre, the Geto Boys, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, Quinn explores the origins, development, and immense popularity of gangsta rap. Including detailed readings in urban geography, neoconservative politics, subcultural formations, black cultural debates, and music industry conditions, this book explains how and why this music genre emerged.
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English
Description
Here are more than 100 of the best Jewish jokes you'll ever hear, interspersed with perceptive and persuasive insight into what they can tell us about how Jews see themselves, their families, and their friends, and what they think about money, sex, and success. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin is as celebrated for his wit as for his scholarship, and in this immensely entertaining book, he displays both in equal measure. Stimulating, something stinging, and...
Author
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English
Description
In this collection of the very best of Doris Lessing's essays, we are treated to the wisdom and keen insight of a writer who has learned, over the course of a brilliant career spanning more than half a century, to read the world differently. From imagining the secret sex life of Tolstoy to the secrets of Sufism, from reviews of classic books to commentaries on world politics, these essays cover an impressive range of subjects, cultures, periods, and...
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English
Description
A masterful work by a master poet, this brilliant summation of poetry and human nature will speak to all readers who long to place poetry in their lives.
How to Read a Poem is an unprecedented exploration of poetry and feeling. In language at once acute and emotional, National Book Critics Circle award-winning distinguished poet and critic Edward Hirsch describes why poetry matters and how we can open up our imaginations so that its message can...
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English
Description
At the school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium the teachers believed that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge and reason, and encouraged indifference to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain. Farnsworth integrates his own observations with scores of quotations to provide perspective of the various Stoic philosophers. His organization and commentary makes the meaning and relevance of this ancient philosophy...
Author
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English
Description
A light-hearted look at the history and practice of "the ultimate human-interest story," the obituary.
"What a wonderful surprise-a charming, lyrical book about the men and women who write obituaries. The Dead Beat is sly, droll, and completely winning."- David Halberstam
Where can readers celebrate the life of the pharmacist who moonlighted as a spy, the genius behind Sea Monkeys, the school lunch lady who spent her evenings as a ballroom hostess?...
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English
Description
In The Discarded Image, C. S. Lewis paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, providing the historical and cultural background to the literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It describes the "image" discarded by later years as "the medieval synthesis itself, the whole organization of their theology, science and history into a single, complex, harmonious mental model of the universe." This, Lewis's last book, has been hailed as "the...
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English
Description
Classics, according to Italo Calvino, are not only works of enduring cultural value, but also something much more personal: talismans, touchstones, books through which we understand our world and ourselves. In Why Read the Classics?, Calvino shares over thirty of his classics in essays of warmth, humor, and striking insight. He ranges from Homer to Jorge Luis Borges, from the Persian folklorist Nezami to Charles Dickens. Whether tracing the links...
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English
Description
Horror Films FAQ explores a century of ghoulish and grand horror cinema, gazing at the different characters, situations, settings, and themes featured in the horror film, from final girls, monstrous bogeymen, giant monsters and vampires to the recent torture porn and found footage formats. The book remembers the J-Horror remake trend of the 2000s, and examines the oft-repeated slasher format popularized by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Friday...
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Series
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English
Description
The Art Of series, edited by Charles Baxter, is a new series of brief books by contemporary writers on an important craft issue. Each book investigates an aspect of the craft of fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry by discussing works by authors past and present. The books in The Art Of series are not strictly manuals but serve listeners and writers by illuminating aspects of the craft of writing that people think they already know but don't really...
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English
Description
William Logan's darkly incisive, sometimes caustic, and always lively reviews of contemporary poetry have won him legions of admirers and his fair share of detractors. In Dickinson's Nerves, Frost's Woods, Logan returns to some of the greatest poems in English literature to reveal what we may not have seen before and what his critical eye can do with what he loves. In essays that pair different poems-Ozymandias, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer,...
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English
Description
The acclaimed playwright, novelist, and author of Fifth Business explores the performing arts in this witty and insightful essay collection. Though best known for his award-winning fiction, Robertson Davies enjoyed a long and varied career as an actor, playwright, journalist and critic. Happy Alchemy collects an equally diverse range of Davies' writings-including speeches, articles, prologues to plays, a ghost story set to music, and even a scenario...
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English
Description
A collection of essays on the joys of great literature from the New York Times–bestselling author and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. One of America's foremost novelists and critics, Cynthia Ozick has won praise and provoked debate for taking on challenging literary, historical, and moral issues. Her new collection of spirited essays focuses on the essential joys of great literature, with particular emphasis on the novel. With...
Author
Language
English
Description
Is there a festive season of the year that is complete without one of your favorite hymns? Not only do hymns connect you to great memories, but they also reveal the faith of those who lived throughout history. As Robert Morgan explored the stories behind some of the best-loved hymns, he found fascinating accounts of tribulations, triumphs, struggles, and hope -- ordinary people who connected with God in amazing ways, sharing their experiences through...
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