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Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Essays, journals, letters & other prose works
Knights was the first play to be produced by Aristophanes on his
own behalf. In it, he launched a violent attack on Cleon, the
leading politician of the day, on the whole style of leadership
that he represented and on a system which seemed to guarantee that
a bad leader could be displaced by a worse. This edition presents
the Greek text with facing-page translation, introduction,
commentary and notes.
Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan
merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a
series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life
entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write
a book to counter the "errors of the infidels," to which end he
studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he
could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated
works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed
and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The
365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation,
are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of
love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor
Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's
idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the
most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic
tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to
guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull
sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and
Catalan text, translation and commentary.
Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan
merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a
series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life
entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write
a book to counter the "errors of the infidels," to which end he
studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he
could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated
works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed
and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The
365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation,
are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of
love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor
Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's
idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the
most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic
tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to
guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull
sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and
Catalan text, translation and commentary.
In die eerste opstel, “Oor huise”, beskryf hy hoe hy self 'n huis
van klip in die Kouga gebou het. So 'n huis moet by die bewoners
daarvan pas, beweer Versfeld, en dit hang af daarvan of jy met
jouself tuis is. Hy skryf verder oor die vreugde van kook en goeie
kos, oor die verwantskap tussen die skepping van poesie en die
skepping van 'n eenvoudige meubelstuk, oor jag, visvang en ons
belewing van die natuur. Die laaste opstel, “Oor patriotisme”, kry
opnuut betekenis in 'n tyd waarin ons verhouding met ons
geboorteland en ons medemens geproblematiseer word. Versfeld se
styl is besonder toeganklik en die leser word dikwels verras deur
'n diepsinnige wending waardeur ons omgang met die alledaagse
verryk word. So skryf hy byvoorbeeld oor klip: “Die engel uit die
klip is die engel wat alreeds in die klip gesit het, en aan hom is
die kliphouer onderdanig. Laat die engele dus jou huisie bou, maar
hulle sal net met jou hande bou, en net met jou eie hande sal jy
aan hulle raak.”
Franz Kafka's letters to his one-time muse, Milena Jesenska - an
intimate window into the desires and hopes of the
twentieth-century's most prophetic and important writer Kafka first
made the acquaintance of Milena Jesenska in 1920 when she was
translating his early short prose into Czech, and their
relationship quickly developed into a deep attachment. Such was his
feeling for her that Kafka showed her his diaries and, in doing so,
laid bare his heart and his conscience. While at times Milena's
'genius for living' gave Kafka new life, it ultimately exhausted
him, and their relationship was to last little over two years. In
1924 Kafka died in a sanatorium near Vienna, and Milena died in
1944 at the hands of the Nazis, leaving these letters as a moving
record of their relationship.
The Pythagorean Life is the most extensive surviving source on
Pythagoreanism, and has wider interest as an account of the
religious aspirations of late antiquity.
This collection makes available in English for the first time the
panegyric of Claudius Mamertinus (Panegyrici Latini XI/3), a
substantial part of the treatise of John Chrysostom on St Babylas
and against Julian (de S. Babyla c. Julianum et gentiles XIV-XIX),
and Emphrem Syrus' Hymns Against Julian.
At the end of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of German
children were sent to the front lines in the largest mobilisation
of underage combatants by any country before or since. Hans Dunker
was just one of these children. Identified as gifted aged 9, he
left his home in South America in 1937 in pursuit of a 'proper'
education in Nazi Germany. Instead, he and his schoolfriends,
lacking adequate training, ammunition and rations, were sent to the
Eastern Front when the war was already lost in the spring of 1945.
Using her father's diary and other documents, Helene Munson traces
Hans' journey from a student at Feldafing School to a soldier
fighting in Zawada, a village in present-day Czech Republic. What
is revealed is an education system so inhumane that until recently,
post-war Germany worked hard to keep it a secret. This is Hans'
story, but also the story of a whole generation of German children
who silently carried the shame of what they suffered into old age.
The first translation into English of one of Gregory's eight books
of miracle stories, which contains a series of anecdotes about the
lives of confessors.
A WATERSTONES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH In this love letter to
reading, curated by Pandora Sykes in aid of the National Literacy
Trust, bestselling and beloved writers share their favourite books:
the ones they hold most dearly, that they return to time and again
and that helped make them the writers they are. WITH CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM : NICK HORNBY * RUTH OZEKI * ANN PATCHETT * BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
* MARIAN KEYES * ELIZABETH STROUT * DEBORAH LEVY * TESSA HADLEY *
ELIF SHAFAK * GEORGE THE POET * LEILA SLIMANI * ALI SMITH * DEREK
OWUSU * DOLLY ALDERTON * PARIS LEES * JOJO MOYES * PAUL MENDEZ *
SEBASTIAN FAULKS * DIANA EVANS * MEENA KANDASAMY * LISA TADDEO *
NIKESH SHUKLA * TAIYE SELASI * MONICA ALI * NINA STIBBE * CALEB
AZUMAH NELSON * ELIZABETH DAY * SARA COLLINS * DAMON GALGUT *
NAOISE DOLAN * WILLIAM BOYD * EMMA DABIRI * FATIMA BHUTTO * KIT DE
WAAL
An "excellent" (The New York Times) modern tribute to an ageless
pastime, and a practical guide to the art, philosophy, and rituals
of fly fishing, by an expert, lifelong angler. In The Optimist,
David Coggins makes a case for the skills and sensibility of an
enduring sport and shares the secrets, frustrations, and triumphs
of the great tradition of fly fishing, which has captivated anglers
worldwide. Written in wry, wise, and keenly observed prose, each
chapter focuses on a specific place, fish, and skill. Few
individuals, for example, have the visual acuity required to catch
the nearly invisible bonefish of the Bahamas flats. Or the patience
to land the elusive Atlantic salmon, "the fish of a thousand
casts," in eastern Canada. Pursuing these challenges, Coggins, "a
confirmed obsessive," travels to one fishing paradise after
another, including the great rivers of Patagonia, private chalk
streams in England, remote ponds in Maine, and New York City's
Jamaica Bay. In each setting, he chronicles his fortunes and
misfortunes with honesty and humor while meditating on how fishing
teaches focus, inner stillness, and a connection to the natural
world. Perfect for the novice, the enthusiastic amateur, and the
devoted angler alike, The Optimist offers a practical path to
enlightenment while providing "a rueful, thoughtful, and very funny
examination of an elegant obsession" (Jay McInerney).
Meet mythology's fifty fiercest females in this modern retelling of
the world's greatest legends. From feminist fairies to bloodsucking
temptresses, half-human harpies and protective Vodou goddesses,
these are women who go beyond long-haired, smiling stereotypes.
Their stories are so powerful, so entrancing, that they have
survived for millennia. Lovingly retold and updated, Kate Hodges
places each heroine, rebel and provocateur fimly at the centre of
their own narrative. Players include: Bewitching, banished Circe,
an introvert famed and feared for her transfigurative powers. The
righteous Furies, defiantly unrepentant about their dedication to
justice. Fun-loving Ame-no-Uzume who makes quarrelling friends
laugh and terrifies monsters by flashing at them. The fateful Morai
sisters who spin a complex web of birth, life and death. Find your
tribe, fire your imagination and be empowered by this essential
anthology of notorious, demonised and overlooked women.
'Gripping ... A remarkable achievement' TLS On his deathbed in 19
BCE, Vergil asked that his epic, the Aeneid, be burned. If his
wishes had been obeyed, western literature - maybe even western
civilization - might have taken a different course. The Aeneid has
remained a foundational text since the rise of universities, and
has been invoked at key points of human history - whether by Saint
Augustine to illustrate the fallen nature of the soul, by settlers
to justify manifest destiny in North America, or by Mussolini in
support of his Fascist regime. In this fresh and fast-paced
translation of the Aeneid, Shadi Bartsch brings the poem to the
modern reader. Along with the translation, her introduction will
guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the epic's enduring
influence.
This extraordinary book tells the story of a remarkable family
caught in Japan at the outbreak of the Second World War in the
Pacific. With letters, journal extracts and notes from Hamish
Brown's parents, as well as his own recollections, it brings the
era to life: not only life in the dying days of the British Empire,
but also the terrible reality of the invasion of Singapore into
which they escaped.
A searing and fearless anthology of essays exploring the profound
impact of money on women's lives, edited by prominent feminist and
writer Rebecca Walker. Women Talk Money is a groundbreaking
collection that lifts the veil on what women talk about when they
talk about money; it unflinchingly recounts the power of money to
impact health, define relationships, and shape identity. The
collection includes previously unpublished essays by trailblazing
writers, activists, and models, such as Alice Walker, Tressie
McMillan Cottom, Rachel Cargle, Tracy McMillan, Cameron Russell,
Sonya Renee Taylor, Adrienne Maree Brown, and more, with Rebecca
Walker as editor. In this provocative anthology, we discover a
family that worships money even as it tears them apart; we read
about the "financial death sentence" a transgender woman must
confront to live as herself. We trace the journey of a Silicon
Valley entrepreneur who finally makes enough money to discover her
spiritual impoverishment; we follow a stressful email exchange
between an unsympathetic university financial officer and a
desperate family who can't afford to pay their daughter's tuition,
and more. This collection is a clarion call to conduct honest
conversations that demystify and transform the role money plays in
our lives. Dazzlingly resonant and deeply familiar, Women Talk
Money is a revelation.
"Just pick up a copy and set off. You'll be amazed at what you've
missed." - Sir Michael Palin MARCH, 2020: A columnist watches as
London locks down, facing a conundrum as his weekly deadline for
his newspaper diary approaches. With the city shutting up shop and
column inches to fill, journalist Dan Carrier takes to the deserted
streets of Central London to uncover the forgotten stories the
heart of the UK capital holds. Untold London is a consideration and
celebration of a city whose famous landmarks and thoroughfares are
often taken for granted. Setting out to find lingering evidence of
days gone by, Dan reveals unexpected delights, triumphs and
tragedies alongside plenty of skulduggery and scandal in the
greatest city in the world.
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