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Books > Language & Literature > Literary & linguistic reference works
It's not what you think. You may have heard Casanova's legend, but
have you heard his heart? Could you read between the lines of the
playwright who wrote the play Casanova and why he assumes that role
of his character given the power of Cupid's bow and arrow? But he
is just like you and I. After all, we all use the power of the bow
and arrow in some form, whether through beauty, power, or wit. And
we use that power to some extent to shapes love's stage.
Admittedly, some are better than others. And of course, our
intentions are good. Well, at least we try most of the time. But
unfortunately there are desires and motivations which we know not
of, and nor do we know where they are from. In fact, we just don't
know ourselves. If you were given all the power of the bow and
arrow, how would you act? Is there any guarantee that your aim
would be any better than the blind whims of Cupid? Especially in a
world where love loves to hide, mask itself in indifference and
most of all, act. We will quickly learn that the real story is what
is happening behind the stage, under the stage, in the earth deep
below the stage, over the stage, behind the pen, inside the heart,
in the heavens, and in that place so distant and so far back-a
place called home. This is a story dictated by characters with no
roles, stars with no spoken parts, no cameos, and no love shared at
all. Something happened that moved Casanova's heart. It moved the
characters on the stage, and it is about to move the heavens. It
seems today that the earth is shaking and the ground is moving, and
it is getting more frequent. You had better check your foundations
like Casanova did. If our house is unsteady, perhaps we might want
to checkhere, and it might just heal the world.
Drawing on the historicizing turn in Latin literary scholarship,
Roman Literary Cultures combines new critical methods with
traditional analysis across four hundred years of Latin literature,
from mid-republican Rome in the second century BC to the Second
Sophistic in the second century AD. The contributors explore Latin
texts both famous and obscure, from Roman drama and Menippean
satire through Latin elegies, epics, and novels to letters issued
by Roman emperors and compilations of laws. Each of the essays in
this volume combines close reading of Latin literary texts with
historical and cultural contextualization, making the collection an
accessible and engaging combination of formalist criticism and
historicist exegesis that attends to the many ways in which
classical Latin literature participated in ancient Roman civic
debates.
Entrepreneurs--and entrepreneurial companies--live or die by the
quality of their plans and proposals. Whether it's to get funding
for a new product line or business from a client, writing
hard-hitting prose that answers essential questions and makes
specific requests is an indispensable skill. Entrepreneur, ad man,
and writing teacher Dennis Chambers shows how entrepreneurs can
persuade people, through skillful writing, to pony up capital or
contracts. This ability--which can be learned--is rare in today's
media-saturated world. But it counts more than ever if an
entrepreneur wants to make it over the magical "five-year" hump and
on into lasting business success. Numerous examples and exercises
ensure that entrepreneurs understand how the writing game is
played--and that they play it well. Unfortunately, most don't play
this game well. Most business writers mistakenly believe their task
is to inform. They write to fill an information gap or to update
the reader on a particular project. Or they write about what's
important to them. What these writers do not take into account is
that the speed of today's work world has reached overdrive. The
typical reader simply doesn't have time to ponder dense, poorly
organized information and intuit the appropriate action. And
readers don't give a hoot about what's important to the
writer--they want to know what's in it for themselves. Business
writers need to use all the tools at their command to persuade,
inspire action, and in general move a project forward. This book is
about how to be persuasive in two key skills in business: writing
proposals and writing business plans. Step by step, Dennis Chambers
illustrates the techniques of effectivebusiness writing, with
numerous examples throughout. Whether the objective is to secure
financing from an investor, lay out a marketing strategy, or secure
a large contract, getting results requires crafting an effective
structure for the proposal, and using words that sell. Chambers is
an able guide in saving entrepreneurs time and undue effort while
reaching the goal of long-term business success. Besides expert
advice and insights, the book includes: *Examples and practical
guidance, all geared toward the entrepreneur/small business owner.
*Exercises, templates, cases, glossary, and model letters and
plans.
"Cajuns and Their Acadian Ancestors: A Young Reader's History"
traces the four-hundred-year history of this distinct American
ethnic group. In its original English, the book proved a perfect
package, comprehensible to junior-high and high-school students,
while appealing to and informing adult readers seeking a one-volume
exploration of these remarkable people and their predecessors. It
is now available for the first time translated into French. The
narrative follows the Cajuns' early ancestors, the Acadians, from
seventeenth-century France to Nova Scotia, where they flourished
until British soldiers expelled them in a tragic event called "Le
Grand Derangement" (The Great Upheaval)--an episode regarded by
many historians as an instance of ethnic cleansing or genocide. Up
to one-half of the Acadian population died from disease,
starvation, exposure, or outright violence in the expulsion. Nearly
three thousand survivors journeyed through the thirteen American
colonies to Spanish-controlled Louisiana. There they resettled,
intermarried with members of the local population, and evolved into
the Cajun people, who today number over a half-million. Since their
arrival in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed an unmistakable
identity and a strong sense of ethnic pride.In recent decades they
have contributed their lively cuisine and accordion-and-fiddle
dance music to American popular culture. "Les Cadiens et leurs
ancetres acadiens: l'histoire racontee aux jeunes" includes
numerous images and over a dozen sidebars on topics ranging from
Cajun music and horse racing heroes to Mardi Gras. Shane K.
Bernard's welcomed and cherished history of the Cajun people is
translated into French by Faustine Hillard. The book offers a
long-sought immersion text, ideal for the young learner and adult
alike.
Intended to appeal to both native French-speakers as well as to
English-speaking students who are learning French, this French
translation of Shane K. Bernard's "Cajuns and Their Acadian
Ancestors: A Young Reader's History" is perfect for middle-school
and high-school readers enrolled in conversational and French
Immersion classes. Adult readers of French will also find it a
useful primer of Acadian and Cajun history."Les Cadiens et leurs
ancetres acadiens: l'histoire racontee aux jeunes" retrace le
periple de quatre siecles de ce groupe ethnique nord-americain
distinct des autres. Accessible aux adolescents, ce volume
s'averera egalement utile et pratique pour le lecteur adulte qui
cherche a connaitre a la fois ce peuple remarquable et ses
ancetres.
Le recit suit la trace des Acadiens, les premiers ancetres des
Cadiens, de la France du dix-septieme siecle a la Nouvelle-Ecosse,
la ou ils se sont epanouis jusqu'a ce que des soldats britanniques
les expulsent lors de cet evenement tragique que fut Le grand
derangement -- un triste episode qui a debute en 1755 et que nombre
d'historiens modernes considerent comme un parfait exemple de
nettoyage ethnique, voire de genocide. Pres de trois mille
survivants ont (peniblement) traverse les treize colonies
americaines pour se rendre jusqu'en Louisiane, alors sous le regime
espagnol. La, ils s'installent a nouveau, s'integrent a la
population locale par le biais du mariage et forment peu a peu ce
qu'il est aujourd'hui convenu d'appeler le peuple cadien.
Aujourd'hui, on compte plus d'un demi-million d'habitants d'origine
cadienne en Louisiane."
Simultaneously a handbook and a critique of one, Beyond Craft
combines an orientation to the field of creative writing with an
insight into current scholarship surrounding creative writing
pedagogy. A much-needed alternative to the traditional craft guide,
this text pairs advice and exercises on composition with an
illuminating commentary on the issues surrounding these very
techniques. Teaching the craft whilst apprising students of the
issues of craft pedagogy, this book allows them to gain an
awareness of how current pedagogy comes at the expense of larger
and increasingly relevant cultural concerns. Westbrook and Ryan
bring emerging writers into the larger conversations that define
the field, inviting them to: - Contextualize their own writing
practices and educational experiences in relation to the history of
creative writing as an academic discipline. - Determine how New
Critical lore and Romantic mythology may affect-even distort-their
understanding of literary production. - Critically examine their
notions of authorship, collaboration, and invention in relation to
contemporary literary and rhetorical theory. - Understand and
evaluate the economic, social, political, and professional
challenges facing creative writers today. - Analyze the
contemporary literary marketplace not only to identify potential
publication contexts but also to understand how issues of diversity
and bias affect writing communities. - Reflect on how increasingly
rapid technological developments may affect their own writing and
the future of literature. Earnestly self-aware throughout, Beyond
Craft both inducts new writers into the field of creative writing
and infuses them with an understanding of the wider dialogue
surrounding their craft.
Contemporary theatre is going through a period of unparalleled
excitement and challenge. Terms like 'postmodern' and
'postdramatic' have their own contested and defended histories,
while notions of truth in verbatim theatre are open to serious
critical challenge. Theatre writing can result in no words being
spoken and nothing appearing on the page, and productions are
stretching the boundaries of space, place and context like never
before. This revised and significantly expanded edition of New
Performance/New Writing explores immersive and solo theatre,
autoethnography, applied drama, performance writing, plot, story,
narrative and devising. It presents an invaluable response to
questions that arise from new theatre, prompting active reading
that enhances classroom and workshop learning, and improves
productivity in rehearsal. Each chapter explores a key aspect of
theatre study, while an extensive timeline of theatre events gives
a broad overview of its evolution. Case studies on practitioners as
diverse as Kneehigh, Punchdrunk, Mark Ravenhill and Forced
Entertainment are scattered throughout the book, along with
detailed suggestions for workshops, which encourage readers to test
some of the book's ideas in practice.
Gathered together in this volume are over two hundred and fifty
poems from Anthony Castro. Included are his first published poems
from Manhattan Quarterly when he was an emerging poet, to his most
recent songs. Throughout his eminent career, Castro has
experimented with different forms and styles, even creating an
innovative form in 89 blinks that recognizes the inherent duality
of all things while drawing the reader into an intimacy with the
poem's experience. Anthony Castro seeks to see reality and show the
world as it is. "He celebrates the uniqueness of people and allows
into his songs the sublime, the sad and the proximity of death-in
life, along with a joy of language, a delight in humor and
recognition of the holiness of love."
No other description available.
In 1939, Aleksandr Volkov (1891-1977) published Wizard of the
Emerald City, a revised version of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz. Only a line on the copyright page explained the book
as a "reworking" of the American story. Readers credited Volkov as
author rather than translator. Volkov, an unknown and inexperienced
author before World War II, tried to break into the politically
charged field of Soviet children's literature with an American
fairy tale. During the height of Stalin's purges, Volkov adapted
and published this fairy tale in the Soviet Union despite enormous,
sometimes deadly, obstacles. Marketed as Volkov's original work,
Wizard of the Emerald City spawned a series that was translated
into more than a dozen languages and became a staple of Soviet
popular culture, not unlike Baum's fourteen-volume Oz series in the
United States. Volkov's books inspired a television series, plays,
films, musicals, animated cartoons, and a museum. Today, children's
authors and fans continue to add volumes to the Magic Land series.
Several generations of Soviet Russian and Eastern European children
grew up with Volkov's writings, yet know little about the author
and even less about his American source, L. Frank Baum. Most
Americans have never heard of Volkov and know nothing of his impact
in the Soviet Union, and those who do know of him regard his
efforts as plagiarism. Erika Haber demonstrates how the works of
both Baum and Volkov evolved from being popular children's
literature and became compelling and enduring cultural icons in
both the US and USSR/Russia, despite being dismissed and ignored by
critics, scholars, and librarians for many years.
This collection explores the heterogeneous places we have
traditionally been taught to term 'islands.' It stages a
conversation on the very idea of 'island-ness', thus contributing
to a new field of research at the crossroads of law, geography,
literature, urban planning, politics, arts, and cultural studies.
The contributions to this volume discuss the notion of island-ness
as a device triggering the imagination, triggering narratives and
representations in different creative fields; they explore the
interactions between legal, socio-political, and fictional
approaches to remoteness and the 'state of insularity,' policy
responses to both remoteness and boundaries on different scales,
and the insular legal framing of geographical remoteness. The
product of a cross-disciplinary exchange on islands, this edited
volume will be of great interest to those working in the fields of
Island Studies, as well as literary studies scholars, geographers,
and legal scholars.
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