Us, Now
Listen for the hum beneath the everyday. In nearly fifty stories-from realist corners to speculative edges-Us, Now collects tales that begin with a quiet, persistent feeling: an overlooked truth, a thread between strangers, a small wonder that becomes everything. These pieces reflect the moments that define us now-epiphanies, curiosities, and the extraordinary tucked into the commonplace. Follow the hum, because what you ignore today might change you tomorrow.
Speculative Insight
Collecting the essays in Speculative Insight: A Journal of Space, Magic and Footnote from January and June 2025, as well as a bonus essay by Lee Murray ONZM. Topics include an exploration of "quiet fiction", Terry Pratchett's male characters, the predominance of ethnically Chinese writers in South East Asian speculative fiction, national myth-making in The Lord of the Rings, and more. Authors include Nina Niskanen, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Ng Yi-Sheng, E.D.E bell, V.J Knipe, Abby Roberts, Emilie Morscheck, Kyle Tam, Val Nolan, Nick Hubble, and Lee Murray.
Speculative Insight
This book collects all of the essays published by Speculative Insight across 2024, including the two bonus essays by Lisa L Hannett and Bogi Takacs. Topics include Terry Pratchett's male characters, Murderbot's love of soap opera, what makes something a cosy fantasy, and much more.Authors include Cheryl Morgan, Joanne Anderton, Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Amy Sjoquist, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Octavia Cade, Liz Barr, Joyce Chng, Celia Lake, Andrew Dana Hudson, Nina Niskanen, Lisa L Hannett, Signe Maene, Phoebe Wagner, Lee Murray, Rjurik Davidson, Amy Salley, Paula Aamli, Mary Fan, Christine Yunn-Yu Sun, Dove Cooper, and Bogi Takacs.
Speculative Insight
Collecting the essays from the first six months of the journal Speculative Insight: A Journal of Space, Magic and Footnotes. Essays range across a wide variety of topics, including Star Trek fandom and what counts as historical fiction, why readers love Murderbot and Joan of Arc as a lady knight. The book also includes a bonus essay by Lisa L Hannett about new motherhood and the lack of mothers in space. Authors include Cheryl Morgan, Joanne Anderton, Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Amy Sjoquist, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Octavia Cade, Liz Barr, Joyce Chng, Celia Lake, Andrew Dana Hudson, Nina Niskanen, and Lisa L Hannett.
Speculative Insight
Collecting the essays in Speculative Insight: A Journal of Space, Magic and Footnote from July-December 2024, plus a bonus essay by Bogi Takacs. The essays explore aspects of science fiction and fantasy such as time travel as a way to deal with trauma, Terry Pratchett's male characters, and what makes something a cosy fantasy. Authors include Tansy Rayner Roberts, Signe Maene, Phoebe Wagner, Lee Murray, Rjurik Davidson, Amy Salley, Paula Aamli, Mary Fan, Christine Yunn-Yu Sun, Dove Cooper, and Bogi Takacs.
Up South in the Ozarks
The Ozarks is a place that defies easy categorization. Sprawling across much of Missouri and Arkansas and smaller parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, it is caught on the margins of America's larger cultural regions: part southern, part midwestern, and maybe even a little bit western. For generations Ozarkers have been more likely than most other Americans to live near or below the poverty line-a situation that has often subjected them to unflattering stereotypes. In short, the Ozarks has been a marginal place populated by marginalized people. Historian Brooks Blevins has spent his life studying and writing about the people of his native regions-the South and the Ozarks. He has been in the vanguard of a new and vibrant Ozarks Studies movement that has worked to refract the stories of Ozarkers through a more realistic and less exotic lens. In Up South in the Ozarks: Dispatches from the Margins, Blevins introduces us with humor and fairness to mostly unseen lives of the past and present: southern gospel singing schools and ballad collectors, migratory cotton pickers and backroad country storekeepers, fireworks peddlers and impoverished diarists. Part historical and part journalistic, Blevins's essays combine the scholarly sensibilities of a respected historian with the insights of someone raised in rural hill country. His stories of marginalized characters often defy stereotype. They entertain as much as they educate. And most of them originate in the same place Blevins does: up south in the Ozarks.
Memory
A poet's spacious exploration of time, memory, and art, in homage to Bernadette Mayer. A spiritual homage to Bernadette Mayer's monumental artwork of the same title, Dorothea Lasky's Memory is a cycle of "poet's essays" stirred by two profound questions. What constitutes personhood and consciousness? What memories get lost, and why? Expansive in her quest for answers, Lasky launches an inspired investigation of the forces that form our lives and deepest senses of ourselves. She identifies three dimensions of memory--ancestral, personal, and poetic--and in her singularly clear voice, undertakes to enter into their mysteries. From those recesses, she returns with a wide-ranging collection of essays that like lyric poems find the universal inside the particular. Memory reflects on the banal; private emotions and historical trauma; dear departed poets (Diane di Prima, Lucie Brock-Broido); her father's battle with Alzheimer's; and cultural events that have become charged sites of collective reminiscence (the moon landing, the music of Neutral Milk Hotel). Other pieces face the flip side of memory, asking what's left where memory is absent, and what's "real" beyond the horizon of death. The book closes with "Time, the Rose, and the Moon," an ars poetica published here in English for the first time, which offers the ancient symbol of the Ouroboros as a figure for the nonlinear processes of time, memory, and art. Like Mayer before her, Lasky reveals memory to be huge and haunting, as she accumulates impressions that challenge the very possibility of fixed meaning. "Every rose has the scent of death," she writes. "And poetry is a perfume. That will stay on your body forever.... Whatever happens this time around, remember that."
Fire Ants
That's your first lesson in East Texas-where words stretch like summer days and stories run deeper than the Red River itself. In Fire Ants, O'Banion delivers a witty, unvarnished portrait of growing up in that forgotten corner of the map where Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana blur together-Texarkana, the town that can't quite decide which state it belongs to, or if it even wants to.Born from the ashes of an offhand remark about "a man from nowhere," these essays took root and refused to die-like the stubborn "far aints" of their title. What began as a detour from a stalled novel became a vibrant, darkly funny, and deeply human collection about small-town oddities, family legacies, fried turkeys gone wrong, four-wheeler flips dubbed "903ers," and the peculiar beauty of a place that exists halfway between myth and memory.These aren't stories of oil barons or tumbleweeds. They're stories of dirt bikes, church picnics, and the subtle heartbreak of realizing your hometown will never make Garden & Gun. From chicken magnates to high school beauty queens, from ER nurses to backyard philosophers, the voices in Fire Ants hum with regional humor, contradiction, and tenderness.
A Man Without a Country
The last of the canonical Kurt Vonnegut books, A Man Without a Country spent eight weeks on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list, selling over a quarter-million copies This 20th anniversary edition features a new introduction by Lewis Black. "For all those who have lived with Vonnegut in their imaginations . . . this is what he is like in person."-USA Today "The America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries."-Kurt Vonnegut, from A Man Without a Country The closest Kurt Vonnegut ever came to writing his autobiography, A Man Without a Country is part memoir, part social and political commentary, and part riveting personal conversation with an old friend. An undeniably moving and unique return of the literary grandmaster to form. A Man Without a Country features Vonnegut's coming of age, his war experiences, his life as an artist, and the hilariously funny and razor-sharp way of understanding things that helped him get through it all. Some Vonnegut jewels in A Man without a Country "If I die--God forbid--I would like to go to heaven to ask somebody in charge up there, 'Hey, what was the good news and what was the bad news?""To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.""I asked former Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton what he thought of our great victory over Iraq and he said, 'Mohammed Ali versus Mr. Rogers.'"And finally, on the subject of the condition of the soul of America today: "What has happened to us?"Plentifully illustrated with the author's signature woodcut aphorisms, which appear in the book in blue, A Man Without a Country is possibly Vonnegut's most intimate book, and certainly one of his best.
Chronicles of A Wild Drum
A kingdom haunted by curses. A king tormented by lost love. A dark legacy that refuses to die.In the myth-soaked kingdom of Ev籀vuotu, tyranny reigns under King Okpararebisi, a man once known as Uz簷-a dreamer, a lover, and now a ruler broken by his own ambition. Consumed by power and obsessed with the one woman he lost, Chinasa, his rule festers in cruelty, and the land groans under the weight of ancient sins.But this story didn't begin with him.Generations before, his ancestor Egbe made a fateful bargain with Ohia Igodo, an ancient and vengeful entity imprisoned between worlds. In his desperate bid to win the heart of the enigmatic ?ffi繫簽g, Egbe unleashed chaos-not just for himself, but for every soul born after. Twisting love into a game of pain, Ohia Igodo wove a curse so deep it would poison the bloodline for centuries.Now, in the shadow of a forgotten war between gods and mortals, fate tightens its grip.As conspiracies rise against Okpararebisi, and whispers of rebellion gather force, divine justice awakens. A curse cast by the god Akanchi stalks the land, echoing through the bones of the dead: "Blood is life, and life is blood. A curse on him who made you a victim of his tyranny."As the past and present spiral toward collision, ancient powers stir, love and vengeance blur, and a final reckoning looms.Will Okpararebisi redeem the man he once was-or will the curse of his bloodline consume the kingdom forever?
City of Toys
A genre-defying debut that distills memoir, cultural criticism, and poetic inquiry into a kaleidoscopic meditation on motherhood, memory, art, and transformation. Composed in a postpartum blur and finessed as Lesley Jenike settled into established motherhood, the essays in City of Toys careen from exteriority to interiority, from high to low culture, and from the manufactured to the natural world, all on a quest to understand creativity, mothering, and how art drives and shapes us. With madcap acuity, Jenike casts her eye on cultural flash points from Harambe the gorilla to Steven Spielberg and Ada Lovelace to Yayoi Kusama. At times she doubles back to her own experience as a young performer, and at others hurtles into her children's possible futures, when AI starts to dream, imagination is commodified, and the polar bear drowns. All the while she wonders what we owe our children and what we believe (rightly or wrongly) our children owe us. Fascinated by creativity and peopled by dolls, automatons, robots, ghosts, puppets, and historical figures, this exuberant and devastating debut asks, What world are we building, and what are we tearing down?
Joke Farming
The winner of four Emmys, a Peabody, and two Writers Guild Awards (all of which badly need dusting) explains his process for writing comedy without going insane. Philosophers may debate the meaning of comedy (thankfully keeping them too busy to fall into a life of crime), but the rest of us are more likely to wonder how we can make an audience laugh--or at least, how to entertain our friends and followers. According to award-winning comedy writer Elliott Kalan, we need to stop staring out the window, waiting for hilarious bits to stroll into view, fully formed. What we need is a process to plant their premises, tend to their structure and wording, and ultimately harvest them as funny material. In short, a farm. But for jokes. In Joke Farming, Kalan explains that it's easier to write jokes when you have a dependable method for doing so. All jokes, he argues, are built from the same elements: structure, premise, voice, tone, wording, and audience--and these elements can be applied to any comedic genre, from stand-up to sitcoms to satire. Kalan analyzes examples from his own career--including jokes that he wrote (and rewrote and rewrote and rewrote . . . ) as head writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart--as well as material from a diverse array of comedians, writers, and filmmakers, highlighting the phrasing, rhythm, and precise details that make their work so dang funny. Drawing on his experiences in professional writers' rooms as well as episodes from everyday life, Kalan's guide to jokes will appeal to aspiring writers, their mentors, comedy fans, and anyone who has to speak at a wedding. Joke Farming points the way toward a writing process that lessens stress and agony and yields more reliable rewards: a surprising tagline, a hilarious word choice, and--most importantly--a bigger laugh from the audience, whoever they may be.
Inventions on the Brink
Inventions on the Brink, a collection of literary journalism by J. T. Barbarese, offers engagingly plainspoken and informed essays on American poetry from Edgar Allan Poe to the present, written by a poet with long experience in the classroom. The collection discusses writers as divergent as Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound, Hart Crane and A. R. Ammons, Gerald Stern and John Prine. It includes a separate section of essays examining the craft of translation with attention to specific works translated from ancient Greek, Italian, and modern French. A distinguishing feature of the book is that it is informed by literary theory but independent of any particular critical modality. Barbarese writes about literature for a general audience, particularly readers with wide tastes interested in engaging with literary art. His essays are the outcome of deeply reading and internalizing work he has known, studied, and admired over the course of a long career of publishing, teaching, and public lecturing.
A World of Possibilities
Published in 1992, Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy: Detheologizing Dante was a clarion call for a paradigmatic shift in reading Dante's Commedia. Bringing together an international cadre of scholars, A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of 'The Undivine Comedy' illustrates the generative influence that Barolini's approach has exerted across continents, disciplines, and generations. It testifies to the variety of interpretations that originate in her method, and opens new perspectives on Dante's oeuvre and the significance of literature.
Peach Pit Coraz籀n
Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952-2016), a prominent Latina writer, was, among various recognitions, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1989 first novel, The Line of the Sun (Georgia); awarded the coveted O. Henry Prize for her short story "The Latin Deli" in 1994; and inducted into the Georgia Writer's Hall of Fame in 2010. Beginning her literary career as a poet, Ortiz Cofer was a prolific writer of novels, short stories, and creative nonfiction essays, often inspired by her diverse cultural background. She was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, and moved to Paterson, New Jersey, as a child in the mid-1950s. In Paterson, she witnessed the rise of a Puerto Rican community. During her early teenage years, her family left for Augusta, Georgia, the state where she put down roots. She joined the English Department at the University of Georgia in 1984, eventually being named the Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing, before retiring from teaching in 2014. Her work often engaged with the intersections of the various geographies, cultures, and languages of the places she called home throughout her life. Rafael Ocasio's critical introduction and commentary on representative literary pieces are guided by interviews conducted during his twenty-seven-year friendship with Ortiz Cofer. One common subject of their conversations, as they joked, was labeling themselves as "Georgia Ricans." From a temporal hindsight point of view, as a Georgia Rican writer, Ortiz Cofer recalls events that led to her rise as a Latina writer who was celebratory of a Latinx identity, a multiethnic community that comprised a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, while also being critical of their traditional binary concepts pertaining to gender and sexual orientations.
A World of Possibilities
Published in 1992, Teodolinda Barolini's The Undivine Comedy: Detheologizing Dante was a clarion call for a paradigmatic shift in reading Dante's Commedia. Bringing together an international cadre of scholars, A World of Possibilities: The Legacy of 'The Undivine Comedy' illustrates the generative influence that Barolini's approach has exerted across continents, disciplines, and generations. It testifies to the variety of interpretations that originate in her method, and opens new perspectives on Dante's oeuvre and the significance of literature.
A Treasury of Essential Quotes on Form in Literature and in the Fine Arts
These passages from works written over the past two millennia by more than sixty authors from Aristotle to Auden afford hundreds of illuminating and often startling insights into the nature and primacy of artistic form and of its power to provide extraordinary aesthetic delight. They reject subordination of works of art to non-aesthetic purposes, arguing instead that in itself, exquisite composition is the primary element and source of the value of all great works of art. Moreover, they show that this emphasis on formal design is not merely a minority view or an exclusively modern sentiment: rather, these passages demonstrate that for more than 2,000 years, aesthetic form has served - and in our day ideally still should serve - as our primary concern in the reception and valuation of artistic works.
A Treasury of Essential Quotes on Form in Literature and in the Fine Arts
These passages from works written over the past two millennia by more than sixty authors from Aristotle to Auden afford hundreds of illuminating and often startling insights into the nature and primacy of artistic form and of its power to provide extraordinary aesthetic delight. They reject subordination of works of art to non-aesthetic purposes, arguing instead that in itself, exquisite composition is the primary element and source of the value of all great works of art. Moreover, they show that this emphasis on formal design is not merely a minority view or an exclusively modern sentiment: rather, these passages demonstrate that for more than 2,000 years, aesthetic form has served - and in our day ideally still should serve - as our primary concern in the reception and valuation of artistic works.
Considering The Female Man by Joanna Russ, or, As the Bear Swore
Joanna Russ's writing career was relatively short, running from 1968 to 1987, with a number of essay collections published in the years after that. Her fiction career consists of just six novels and four collections, but each of the novels she published challenged engrained conventions of the genre. This exploration of The Female Man offers a close reading of the text, focussing on how the book works, its structures, arguments, humour, and brilliant anger.
N繳menor, the Mighty and Frail
These proceedings contain papers from the Tolkien Society Hybrid Seminar 2023. It is the first ever event and edited collection to focus purely on N繳menor, the N繳men籀reans, and their legacies within and outside of Arda as a nexus of critical study. Through comparative, literary and philosophical, ecocritical, historical and religious readings, the volume examines the ways that N繳menor and its people shaped and were shaped by Tolkien's writing and the world of Arda. By seeking to develop conversation centred on N繳menor, the volume looks forward and hopes to foster and inspire future scholarship on the island, its citizens, and their legacies.
Miss Grief
What does it cost to be heard?In Constance Fenimore Woolson's quietly devastating story Miss Grief (1877), a celebrated young writer in Rome meets a persistent stranger-an older woman who begs him to read her play. What begins as polite dismissal turns into uneasy admiration as he discovers that the "madwoman" at his door may be the truer artist of the two. Through the smallest gestures of kindness and cruelty, Woolson exposes the gulf between recognition and worth, and the timeless struggle of women whose voices were never meant to carry beyond the parlor walls.This Performance Edition, adapted by Querida Funck, invites that voice forward again. Blending Woolson's original prose with new contextual essays and stagecraft guidance, it transforms a nineteenth-century narrative into a living work for twenty-first-century readers, actors, and educators. Commentary and performance notes illuminate how silence, irony, and restraint can become tools of truth in both literature and spoken storytelling.Designed for classrooms, book clubs, salons, and small-stage performance, Miss Grief (Performance Edition) provides everything needed to interpret Woolson's text aloud-from pacing and tone to discussion prompts and a bonus monologue adaptation from Castle Nowhere. Each section encourages performers to inhabit the story's emotional architecture: the blindness of privilege, the dignity of perseverance, and the fragile armor of belief in one's art.Part of the True Voice Shorts - Whispers of Forgotten Women series from Lemery House Press, this edition continues the mission to revive timeless works with care, clarity, and purpose-for contemporary reflection, performance, and the enduring act of listening.
The Inside World
Poet, playwright, and critic, Wystan Hugh Auden was an essential figure in the development of literature throughout the 20th century. With great relevance to the modern struggles of humanity, this collection aspires to represent the power of Auden to move contemporary audiences.Philosopher-poet William C. Graham began to write poetry under Auden's influence as a graduate student. Adopting him as a poetic mentor, Graham had numerous opportunities to form a close bond with Auden as they became friends and colleagues through visits to Canada and Austria. This book brings together a collection of poetry, essays, and reflections by Graham that shed light on Auden's life, work, and impact. Politics, society, culture, and philosophy were consistent undercurrents throughout Auden's work, and he actively worked towards understanding the human condition. Graham follows in Auden's footsteps by examining the alchemy of poetry in The Inside World and its ability to foster change and growth.Investigating the deep-rooted intersections between poetry and philosophy, a connection held dear to both Auden and Graham, this meaningful tribute to the legendary poet seeks to remind us that the spirit of Auden's poetry lives on.
Emilia Pardo Baz獺n
Spanish writer, intellectual, and feminist Emilia Pardo Baz獺n (1851-1921) was a master of the short form and practitioner of the style that became known as naturalism. This collection gathers twenty-seven of her stories in English translation, revealing the narrative complexity, keen psychological insight, and careful attention to realistic detail that was characteristic of her work. The highly symbolic titular story, "The White Horse," qualified Pardo Baz獺n as the godmother of the Generation of '98, the group of writers who exhorted Spain to rid itself of inertia and fixation on past glories. Influenced by the work of Guy de Maupassant and ?mile Zola, Pardo Baz獺n's themes are fear, love, hatred, forgiveness, cruelty, repentance, homesickness, and madness--that is, naked reality as experienced across social strata in her time.
Just the Plague
Rudolf Maier, a young microbiologist working on a plague vaccine, is summoned to Moscow to deliver a progress report to his superiors.Inadvertently, he carries the virus with him from the lab. When his illness is discovered, the state machinery turns with terrifying efficiency, rounding up dozens of people. But for many, the distinction between this enforced, life-sparing isolation and the constant churn of political surveillance and arrests is barely detectable, and personal tragedy is not completely averted. Based on real events in the Stalinist Russia of the 1930s, this gripping novel, written in the late 1980s and rediscovered by the author during lockdown - and never before translated into English - surfaces uncomfortable truths about the current Russian regime and the pandemic crisis.Includes a new afterword by the author.
Selected Letters of John Updike
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE - The arc of literary giant John Updike's life emerges in these luminous daily letters to family, friends, editors, and lovers--a remarkable outpouring over six decades, from his earliest consciousness as a writer to his final days. As James Schiff writes in the introduction to this volume, of the writer who would eventually "express himself in written form as copiously and as elegantly as any American writer" before him, "Updike needed to write the way the rest of us need to breathe or eat." With his stunning rhetorical gifts--enabling him to thrive in both short fiction and the novel, criticism as well as poetry--Updike was also a consummate letter writer. When barely a teenager, he began submitting poems and cartoons to national magazines and soliciting famous cartoonists, with flattering requests, for a drawing. His letter writing only increased when he left the family farm in Pennsylvania for Harvard, where he composed more than 150 witty, substantive letters to his parents. The summer after he graduated, The New Yorker began accepting his work, and his exchanges with editors, publishers, and writers would stretch into a correspondence that, Schiff notes, "figures not as an adjunct to but rather an integral part of his astonishing literary output." The intimacy and lucidity of these letters brings to the fore all manner of subjects and situations, notably the ardent feelings for his first love and wife, Mary, and later the heartbreaking but honestly accounted breakup of their marriage; the uncensored passion for other women, including his Ipswich neighbor, Martha, who became his second wife; the concern for his children's path to adulthood; and the conversations with many literary peers, from Joyce Carol Oates to Philip Roth, as well as his Knopf and New Yorker editors, critics, translators, and others in the lit business. Filled with comic observations, opinions, and personal news, told in the fluid first-person voice of the writer himself, these missives, taken together, create a page-turning "life in letters" like no other.
Pushing the Wave 2023
In Pushing the Wave 2023, L.A. Davenport returns with a captivating new collection of essays, stories, reflections, and recipes, continuing the journey begun in his first volume covering 2017-2022. With his trademark blend of insight, humour, and lyrical prose, Davenport explores the shifting landscape of modern life-charting the personal, political, cultural, and culinary with clarity and compassion.Whether recounting ferry journeys across European seas, reflecting on the nature of addiction and sobriety, critiquing the seductive illusion of progress, or sharing favourite dishes from his kitchen, Davenport's writing offers a rare combination of intellect and intimacy. These entries span the profound and the playful, the global and the domestic, all underpinned by a keen sense of the beauty and absurdity in everyday life.Perfect for readers of reflective non-fiction, literary memoir, and contemporary commentary, Pushing the Wave 2023 is a richly textured mosaic of a year lived thoughtfully-and a timely invitation to slow down, look around, and truly engage.For fans of: Rebecca Solnit, Karl Ove Knausg疇rd, Teju Cole, Deborah Levy, and those who cherish personal writing that speaks to the world at large.
The Cleaving
The first and only book to gather the voices and perspectives of Vietnamese diasporic authors from across the globe. Edited by Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan P. Duong, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Cleaving brings together Vietnamese artists and writers from around the world in conversation about their craft and how their work has been shaped and received by mainstream culture and their own communities. This collection highlights how Vietnamese diasporic writers speak about having been cleaved--a condition in which they have been separated from, yet still hew to, the country that they have left behind. Composed of eighteen dialogues among thirty-seven writers from France, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Canada, Australia, Israel, and the United States, the book expands on the many lives that Vietnamese writers inhabit. The dialogues touch on family history, legacies of colonialism and militarism, and the writers' own artistic and literary achievements. Taken together, these conversations insist on a deeper reckoning with the conditions of displacement. Featured writers: Hoai Huong Aubert-Nguyen, Amy Quan Barry, Doan Bui, Thi Bui, Lan Cao, Cathy Linh Che, Andr矇 Dao, Duy Đo?n, Lan P. Duong, Dương V璽n Mai Elliott, Le Ly Hayslip, Matt Huynh, Violet Kupersmith, Thanhh? Lại, Vincent Lam, T.K. L礙, Tracey Lien, Marcelino Trương Lực, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Anna M繹i, Beth (Bich) Minh Nguyen, Diana Khoi Nguyen, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Hoa Nguyen, Philip Nguyễn, Thảo Nguyễn, Vaan Nguyen, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Andrew X. Pham, Aimee Phan, Abbigail Nguyen Rosewood, Bao Phi, Dao Strom, Kim Th繳y, Paul Tran, Monique Truong, Minh Huynh Vu, Ocean Vuong
The World in Books
A bestselling historian takes readers on an intellectual and cultural adventure, offering a carefully curated guide to great, short nonfiction works by some of the world's most influential writers--from Plato to Toni Morrison, Ernest Hemingway to bell hooks, and Marcus Aurelius to Joan Didion. A delightful roadmap to a year's worth of reading briefly, plus biographies, fascinating facts, and idea-rich insights into the lives of the thinkers, historians, and literary giants who have shaped our world. For both avid readers and those looking to spark a new habit, The World in Books is an invitation to a more lively and meaningful intellectual life. Davis's literary adventure guides readers through some of the most important works of nonfiction of all time, offering a political, literary, and cultural history through reading. Each of the fifty-two entries provides the book's opening lines or a brief excerpt from the work; a summary of the work; a biography of the author; why you should read the work; and what to read next. Davis offers insights into some of the most enduring issues of our time--from the existential perspective in Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, to questions of race in Toni Morrison's The Origin of Others, and the climate crisis in Elizabeth Kolbert's Under a White Sky. With insights from ancient times to the present day, Kenneth C. Davis offers a wide-ranging historical education through pleasure reading. In an accessible, conversational style, he explores texts that both mirror our contemporary moment and present new ways to think about our lives. These 52 selections, with books perfect for reading one week at a time, offer a year-long journey through history, philosophy, nature, and personal growth. More than just a literary companion, The World in Books is an education that combines wisdom with practical application. Davis's work has been called "a wealth of succinct, entertaining advice" (Kirkus Reviews). The World in Books provides an engaging way to explore some of the most influential books ever written. A refresher course for lifelong learners.
Jane Austen in 50 Words
What does Jane Austen mean when she writes approvingly of a character's 'gentility' and 'delicacy', or critically of another's 'indolence' and 'impertinence'? What are her characters doing when they take the measure of a person's 'air' and 'address'? These questions and more are answered in this Janeite treasure trove, which examines the distinctive language woven through Austen's signature stories. Much of the language used in Austen's time has either fallen out of common use or changed valence in significant and surprising ways. Maria Frawley takes 50 of those words - words that are integral to the fabric of Austen's fiction - and explores them in short, accessible and lively entries. With juicy morsels for lifelong Austen lovers as well as new students of the great writer, Frawley offers new perspectives on Austen's world, giving readers the tools to better understand her novels individually and as a whole.
Celebrating Women
A captivating collection of women's writing--including everything from poetry, letters, novels, memoir, and journals--that celebrates the joy of being a woman. While centuries of men, and the first generations of feminists have (from very different perspectives) lamented the experience of womanhood, this new collection takes a refreshing look at all there is to enjoy. Chapters include "Firsts" with voices such as Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and Marie Curie, the first female Nobel prizewinner; "Festivities," which emphasizes frivolity and pleasure; "Friends" exploring the depth of connection experienced through female friendship; "Family," on mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers; and "Flowering," which celebrates women's creativity, passion, and love of life. From Amy Tan representing the uplifting comfort of parties with friends in The Joy Luck Club, to Sylvia Plath considering the fierce and confusing love she feels for her mother, and Elizabeth I embracing her role as Britain's first successful woman ruler, Celebrating Women includes a diverse range of voices from across the ages that explores the breadth and gratification experience in different women's lives. This volume contains a huge selection of writers dating back to the fifteenth century, from Christine de Pizan to Emily Dickinson, Germaine Greer to Alice Walker.
Horror of Philosophy
Eugene Thacker's three cult-classic volumes of supernatural horror come together in this new Zer0 Books omnibus, revised with updated material, offering an essential resource for thinking about the unthinkable world. Zer0 Books presents a new, omnibus edition of a cult classic: all three volumes of Eugene Thacker's Horror of Philosophy trilogy, revised and expanded by the author. Across the three volumes of the series Thacker adopts a unique approach, reading works of horror as if they were philosophy, and works of philosophy as if they were horror, leading to far-reaching questions: Could it be that the more we know about the world, the less we understand it? Could it be that, while everything has been explained, nothing has meaning? At the center of Thacker's project is the idea of the 'world without us, ' an increasingly unthinkable world of planetary disasters, emerging pandemics, and the looming threat of extinction. To confront this idea is to confront the limit of our ability to understand the world in which we live - not a philosophy of horror, but a horror of philosophy.
Cursory Observations On The Poems Attributed To Thomas Rowley (1782)
A provocative mystery of authorship that reshaped English literary history rediscover Edmond Malone s landmark 1782 critique of the poems attributed to Thomas Rowley. Cursory Observations on the Poems Attributed to Thomas Rowley delivers a forensic, passionate investigation into the Rowley controversy and the poetry authenticity debate that exploded in the late 18th century. Malone s meticulous Edmond Malone analysis dismantles the celebrity around the Chatterton poems examination, parsing language, meter, and historical anachronism to argue that the celebrated Rowley verses are modern forgeries. Part literary detective story, part historical poetry analysis, this work illuminates Thomas Chatterton works, 18th century poetry critique, and the fraught line between genius and deception. This edition from Alpha Editions has been out of print for decades and is now republished, restored, and carefully edited for today s and future generations. More than a reprint, it s a collector s item and a cultural treasure essential for students of English literary history, bibliophiles, and curious readers drawn to literary forgery investigation. Read Malone s lucid 1782 literary critique and historical literary analysis to understand how one essay helped define standards of authenticity in literary scholarship. Perfect for casual readers intrigued by literary sleuthing and classic literature collectors building a definitive library, this restored volume reconnects you with the controversy that still echoes through studies of poetry authenticity and the legacy of Thomas Rowley and Thomas Chatterton.
The Historical Novel
Rediscover the power of storytelling that shapes our past and our understanding of it. In The Historical Novel: An Essay, Herbert Butterfield offers a clear, provocative exploration of the delicate dance between history and imagination. This seminal Herbert Butterfield essay probes how novelists reconstruct the past, balancing factual fidelity with moral and narrative truth. Butterfield maps the strengths and pitfalls of historical fiction, from the grand reconstructions of Walter Scott to the intimate moral insight of later novelists, delivering sharp historical novel analysis and literary criticism on historical novels that still resonates today. Celebrated for its lucid arguments about the history and fiction relationship, this essay examines why historical narrative exploration matters: how storytelling frames national memory, ethical judgment, and scholarly understanding. Readers gain historical fiction insights into genre conventions, the responsibilities of writers who recreate lives long gone, and critical frameworks for exploring historical narratives. Out of print for decades, this work is now lovingly restored and republished by Alpha Editions. This edition has been carefully prepared for today s and future generations not merely a reprint but a collector s item and cultural treasure. Essential for casual readers curious about understanding historical novels and for classic literature collectors seeking foundational historical literature critique, Butterfield s study remains a must-read for anyone investigating the historical novel genre study and the enduring relationship between history and fiction.
Ivory, Apes And Peacocks
A daring celebration of beauty, wit, and fierce taste Ivory, Apes and Peacocks invites you into the electric mind of James Huneker. This vivid collection of art criticism essays and literary essays collection surveys the triumphs and follies of early 20th century culture with sparkle, authority, and irresistible voice. Huneker ranges from music and art analysis to trenchant cultural commentary, offering historical art insights and essays on aesthetics that remain uncannily modern: portraits of composers, painters, performers, and the social scenes that shaped them, written in intellectual prose that entertains as it enlightens. More than a period piece, Ivory, Apes and Peacocks book is a work of enduring insight part manifesto, part salon conversation capturing the passions and paradoxes of an age when art remade daily life. Its keen, sometimes acerbic reviews teach readers how to listen, look, and think about beauty in any era. This edition restores Huneker s voice for today s readers and collectors alike, balancing readable critique with profound historical perspective. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions, this restored edition is not merely a reprint it s a collector s item and a cultural treasure, carefully prepared for today s and future generations. Essential for fans of James Huneker literature, art and music critique, and anyone seeking a spirited guide through the aesthetic currents of a transformative era.
The Illustrated London Reading Book
A city of stories waits inside these pages The Illustrated London Reading Book returns to life, remodeled for modern readers and collectors alike. This Victorian literature collection gathers vivid extracts, essays, poems and scenes that capture London s streets, people, and history. Designed originally as an educational reading book, the anthology offers timeless English prose and 19th-century illustrations that bring Victorian London to the page: bustling markets, quiet squares, and the social tapestry of an era. Selections range from lyrical snapshots to instructive passages, making it ideal for classrooms, lovers of classic English readings, and those who treasure vintage reading material. More than a simple reprint, Alpha Editions presents a restored edition of this London historical anthology out of print for decades and carefully prepared for today s and future generations. Enhanced for clarity while honoring original typography and artwork, this collector s item sits at the intersection of public domain literature and a renewed cultural treasure. It s a must for anyone building a diverse authors collection or exploring the literary history of London. Whether you re a casual reader seeking evocative scenes of the city, a student of English literature classics, or a collector of rare vintage reading material, this edition brings historical resonance and educational value to your shelf. Discover the charm of classic English readings in a beautifully restored volume that celebrates the enduring spirit of London.
An Introduction To The Study Of Robert Browning'S Poetry
Hook: Rediscover the magnetic complexity of Robert Browning decoded, celebrated, and reissued for a new age. An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning s Poetry is a lucid, passionate guide that leads readers into Browning s dramatic monologues, psychological insight, and daring Victorian poetry techniques. This classic study distills the essentials of Browning s poetic methods his narrative voice, meter, irony, and character psychology offering clear literary analysis of Browning for both newcomers and seasoned scholars. You ll find concise explanations of Browning s major themes, close readings that illuminate his most famous poems, and a roadmap to understanding Browning s work within the 19th-century poets landscape. Historically significant and long neglected, this volume has been out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. Carefully restored for today s and future generations, this edition goes beyond a simple reprint: it s a collector s item and a cultural treasure that preserves an indispensable voice in the study of Robert Browning. Whether you re seeking a practical Browning poetry guide, a rigorous Robert Browning poetry analysis, or an engaging introduction to Browning s poetry, this book blends readable warmth with serious scholarship. Perfect for casual readers intrigued by Browning s dramatic monologues and for collectors of Victorian poetry and literary analysis of Browning, this edition is your doorway to deeper appreciation a definitive Robert Browning book for every bookshelf. Keywords: Robert Browning poetry analysis, study of Robert Browning, Victorian poetry, Browning's poetic techniques.
Essays, Or Discourses Volume 1
A rediscovered spark of the Spanish Enlightenment returns to light lucid, provocative, and indispensable. Essays, Or Discourses Volume 1 collects the pioneering Spanish Enlightenment essays of Benito Jer nimo Feijoo, a bold thinker who challenged superstition and championed reason across 18th-century Spain. These translated essays guide readers through philosophical inquiries, cultural critique, and practical arguments on science, religion, education, and everyday belief, offering a vivid portrait of Enlightenment thought in Spain. Feijoo s clear reasoning and engaging voice make complex ideas accessible to curious newcomers while rewarding collectors and scholars with sharp insights into Spanish intellectual history. This edition is historically significant: Feijoo s works helped lay the groundwork for modern Spanish philosophical discourse, blending empirical curiosity with moral concern. Alpha Editions has restored this long out-of-print classic for today s and future generations not merely a reprint but a carefully curated collector s item and cultural treasure. Meticulously translated and presented, this volume preserves Feijoo s original spirit while improving readability for modern audiences. Perfect for readers of classic Spanish essays, students of historical Spanish discourses, and collectors of rare Enlightenment texts, Feijoo Volume 1 essays illuminate the roots of Spanish philosophical writings and the evolution of ideas that shaped modern Spain. Rediscover Feijoo s translated essays and own a restored piece of 18th-century Spanish literature.
A Happy Half-Century, And Other Essays
A rediscovered delight for lovers of graceful thought and sharp observation A Happy Half-Century arrives renewed. Agnes Repplier s signature wit and moral intelligence guide readers through a life quietly lived but richly observed in this classic essays collection that spans personal memoir, literary criticism, and cultural reflection. Across essays that range from intimate memoir to probing literary criticism essays, Repplier one of America s finest American essayists explores literature and society with clarity, warmth, and ironic charm. You ll find reflective writing on 19th century literature, keen historical essays, and insightful essays on art, manners, and the everyday surprises of a long life. Her voice balances erudition and accessibility, making each piece both instructive and deeply human. This edition from Alpha Editions restores A Happy Half-Century, And Other Essays after decades out of print. Carefully edited and faithfully reproduced, it s been restored for today s and future generations not merely a reprint but a collector s item and cultural treasure for both casual readers and classic literature collectors. Whether you seek timeless essays for quiet reflection or authoritative cultural commentary for study, this volume is an essential addition to any shelf. Perfect for fans of literary history and anyone drawn to thoughtful cultural criticism, this book reintroduces Agnes Repplier essays that shaped American letters and continues to illuminate the relationship between life, literature, and society.
The Great Masters Of Russian Literature In The Nineteenth Century
A long-forgotten treasure of Russian letters returns: meet the great masters whose voices shaped 19th century Russian soul and story. Ernest Dupuy s The Great Masters of Russian Literature in the Nineteenth Century is a vivid, readable guide to the towering figures Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Turgenev and the novels, stories, and essays that redefined modern fiction. Combining biographical insight with lively Russian literary analysis, Dupuy traces how these Russian novelists of the 1800s wrestled with faith, society, and the self, shaping Russian literary history and the world stage. Readers will find clear summaries, critical perspective, and engaging author biographies that illuminate the lives behind the masterpieces. This edition out of print for decades is newly restored and republished by Alpha Editions. Meticulously refreshed for today s and future generations, it s more than a reprint: a collector s item and cultural treasure for anyone passionate about classic Russian literature. Whether you re a casual reader curious about classic Russian literature, a student of literature studies Russia, or a collector of Ernest Dupuy book editions and Russian literary criticism, this volume bridges scholarship and storytelling with warmth and authority. Perfect for shelves, classrooms, and bedside reading, this book invites you to rediscover the minds that made Russian literature unforgettable. Keywords: Russian literature masters, 19th century Russian authors, Russian literary history.
The Erotic Motive In Literature
A provocative rediscovery that changes how we read desire: The Erotic Motive in Literature unlocks the hidden currents of longing that drive great works of art. Albert Mordell s classic study maps the subtle architecture of eroticism across centuries of fiction and poetry. With keen psychological insight and rigorous literary criticism, Mordell traces how erotic themes in literature shape character, plot, symbol, and moral imagination from veiled allusions in the canon to explicit treatments that scandalized earlier readers. This book explores literature and sexuality not as sensationalism but as a vital engine of narrative and aesthetic power, offering readers a lucid historical literary analysis and a nuanced psychology of literature. Long unavailable and quietly influential, this Albert Mordell book resurfaces in a finely restored Alpha Editions volume. This edition has been revived from decades out of print, carefully restored for today s and future generations, and presented as more than a reprint a collector s item and cultural treasure for classic literature collectors and curious newcomers alike. Whether you re drawn to erotic literature analysis, literary theory, or the intersections of literature and desire, this edited and annotated release illuminates erotic motive study, eroticism in art, and classic literary critique with clarity and passion. Essential for students, scholars, and readers eager to confront how desire shapes stories, thought, and history.
In Defence Of Harriet Shelley
A hidden portrait of a scandalized life boldly reclaimed for a new generation. In Defence of Harriet Shelley is Mark Twain s passionate, witty plea for a woman history long misjudged. Twain s essay revisits the life of Harriet Shelley with forensic sympathy and cutting humor, unpacking how Victorian literature s moralizing lens warped public memory. With sharp literary analysis and compassionate storytelling, Twain interrogates the Shelley family myths and offers a corrective to generations of critics who reduced Harriet to caricature. Readers encounter engaging reflections on 19th century authors, the cultural machinery that frames English poets, and the human cost of literary criticism. This edition is historically significant: a rare Mark Twain biography-style essay mixing personal defense and social commentary, contextualized for Mary Shelley context and the wider Romantic circle. Alpha Editions has republished this work after decades out of print, fully restored for today s and future generations. More than a reprint, this volume is a collector s item a cultural treasure for classic literature devotees and casual readers alike. Ideal for lovers of Victorian literature, scholars of literary criticism, and fans of Mark Twain essays, this book bridges historical biography and spirited commentary. Rediscover Harriet Shelley through Twain s unique voice, and reclaim a story that reshapes how we read the lives behind the poems. Keywords: Mark Twain biography, Harriet Shelley defense, literary analysis, 19th century authors, Shelley family.
In The Dozy Hours, And Other Papers
A sparkling companion for late-night thought: Agnes Repplier s keen mind and wry compassion light up every page of this revived essay collection. In The Dozy Hours, and Other Papers gathers Repplier s finest Victorian essays and reflective writing short, luminous pieces that move with the ease of conversation and the authority of close reading. Across memoir, cultural commentary, historical essays, and literary criticism, Repplier examines books, manners, education, travel, and the small moral puzzles of everyday life. Her voice is at once witty and wise, pairing precise observation with playful epigram making each essay a miniature classic of 19th-century literature and women s literature alike. This edition, republished by Alpha Editions, restores a title that had been out of print for decades. Carefully edited and refreshed for today s readers, it preserves the original charm while making the text accessible for modern audiences and future generations. More than a reprint, this volume is presented as a collector s item and a cultural treasure: ideal for casual readers discovering classic non-fiction, scholars of literary analysis, and collectors of timeless essays. Perfect for fans of essay collections and anyone who loves thoughtful, elegantly phrased cultural commentary, this book reclaims Repplier s place in the canon of reflective writing. Rediscover a subtle, civilized voice that shaped thoughtful discourse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Keywords: Victorian essays, Agnes Repplier essays, literary criticism, essay collection, timeless essays.
Idle Hours In A Library
Step into the hush of a grand reading room and let a gifted guide show you the quiet wonders waiting on every shelf. Idle Hours in a Library collects William Henry Hudson s luminous essays library essays, literary reflections, and literature essays that celebrate the pleasures of idle reading and book appreciation. Through graceful, affectionate prose Hudson wanders among authors, anecdotes, and curiosities, offering sharp classic literature analysis and warm essays on books that make the act of reading feel like a discovery. These library musings range from erudite criticism to intimate book-lover s reveries, perfect for anyone who treasures reading in leisure. Historically significant and richly perceptive, Hudson s work influenced early 20th-century literary criticism and remains a fresh voice for modern readers. This volume showcases his unique blend of naturalist observation and humanistic insight, turning casual perusal into an artful practice. It s both a primer in literary criticism and a companion for quiet hours with a favorite text. Alpha Editions is proud to republish this long-neglected classic: out of print for decades, now restored for today s and future generations. This edition is more than a reprint it s a collector s item and cultural treasure, carefully restored and presented for the book lover s collection. Whether you re a casual reader seeking gentle literary companionship or a collector of classic literature analysis, Idle Hours in a Library offers enduring delight and thoughtful company among the stacks.
In The Track Of The Bookworm
A magnetic invitation to every reader who has ever lost and found themselves in the pages of a book. In The Track of the Bookworm traces the passionate pathways of a devoted reader through rare finds, eccentric dealers, and the quiet thrill of discovery. This edition weaves personal anecdotes, sharp observations, and practical advice into a lively narrative of literary exploration and book lover's journey perfect for casual readers seeking warmth and for collectors craving depth. Through vivid bookworm adventures and clear-eyed literary analysis, the text illuminates reading passion, the pleasures of bibliophilia, and the sometimes quirky lives that orbit great books. Historically rich and lovingly anecdotal, this work offers classic literature insights and a window into literary history: how tastes shift, why certain volumes survive, and what makes a book a bibliophile treasure. The writing balances affectionate tribute with pragmatic book collecting tips and book appreciation, making it an essential book enthusiast guide and a readable primer on the culture of books. Rediscovered and restored by Alpha Editions, this title was out of print for decades and is now republished for today s and future generations. This release is not merely a reprint it s a collector s item and a cultural treasure, meticulously prepared for lovers of Irving Browne writings and anyone who cherishes the enduring joy of reading.
The Harvard Classics, (Volume 49) Epic And Saga; With Introductions And Notes
A thunderous reminder of storytelling s first voices rediscover the epic sweep and rugged intimacy of humanity s oldest tales. The Harvard Classics: Epic and Saga (Volume 49) gathers foundational epics and northern sagas with illuminating introductions and notes by Charles William Eliot, offering readers an immersive journey through heroic adventures, moral dilemmas, and cultural memory. This comprehensive literary collection presents close readings and scholarly literary analysis alongside accessible translations, making complex texts approachable for casual readers while satisfying classic literature collectors and academic audiences. Historically significant and rich in critical insight, this volume situates each poem and saga within its cultural moment and traces the evolution of epic conventions. The book s literary criticism and notes clarify themes, motifs, and language, turning daunting manuscripts into living narratives. Whether you seek epic literature analysis for study or the compelling drama of saga literature insights for pleasure, this anthology bridges scholarship and storytelling. Long out of print and now lovingly restored by Alpha Editions, this edition is more than a reprint it s a collector s item and a cultural treasure preserved for today s and future generations. Meticulously restored from Gutenberg Project classics and other sources, the volume honors the original academic book series while updating presentation for modern readers. Essential for anyone building a classic literature collection, it s the definitive historical literature anthology on epic and saga introductions.
Illustrated History Of Ancient Literature, Oriental And Classical
A luminous revival of a long-forgotten classic this Illustrated History Of Ancient Literature, Oriental And Classical by John D. Quackenbos opens a doorway into the world s earliest voices. Concise and richly illustrated, Quackenbos s guide maps the birth and evolution of ancient literature history: from Oriental literature exploration across Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Persia, China and the Hebrew traditions, to the flowering of classical literature analysis in Greece and Rome. Readable yet erudite, the book blends narrative overview, close readings, and cultural context to reveal how myths, epics, religious texts, and early philosophy shaped civilization s literary foundations. This edition out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions has been carefully restored for today s and future generations. More than a reprint, it s a collector s item and cultural treasure: enhanced for clarity and preserved with respect for the original scholarship and the beautiful ancient text illustrations that accompany the study. Ideal for casual readers seeking engaging historical literature insights and for classic literature collectors curating authoritative references. Whether you are tracing ancient literary traditions, studying classical and Oriental literature side-by-side, or delving into Quackenbos s influential perspective, this Illustrated literary history offers enduring insight. Rediscover a foundational literary history book that connects past and present essential for students, aficionados, and anyone captivated by the origins of storytelling.
