Best known for his landmark version of the Protestant Bible, James VI (1566-1625) of Scotland, who succeeded Elizabeth I to the English throne, was truly a monarch of the word. From religious prose and verse, to political treatises and social works, to love poems and witty doggerel, James used writing and the print media to inspire his subjects, govern them, keep his enemies at bay, and even examine his own authority. Until now, the full span of James's work has received little critical attention by political and literary historians. In Royal Subjects, sixteen leading scholars explore the richness of his oeuvre from a variety of perspectives, and in so doing seek to establish monarchic writing as an important genre in its own right.

As religious reformers, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I had produced devotional works, but James VI and I saw writing as central to his rule overall, even though he knew it could invite criticism. He wrote, for example, a treatise on kingship, a controversial argument against tobacco, and an epic poem encouraging ecumenism among Christians. In many cases, his use of genre revealed a sensitivity to cultural power, while his decisions whether or not to print reflected an emergent understanding of writing as a commodity.

By examining such topics, these essays delve into central issues of critical debate, including questions of authorship and authority, representation and power, receptions and appropriations of text, and politics of genres and material forms. Through its unprecedented look at monarchic writing, Royal Subjects not only enriches our understanding of the reign of James VI and I, but also offers fruitful suggestions for approaches to otherRenaissance texts and other periods.

From Thomas Mapfumo to Bob Marley, William Parker to Frank Zappa, Edgard Varese to Ice-T; from American blues to West African drumming, hip hop to son, gospel singing to rock'n'roll cabaret, rebel music is at the heart of some of the most incisive critiques of global politics. With explosive lyrics and driving rhythms, a new wave of rebel musicians are helping to mobilize movements for political change and social justice, at home and around the world.

Original in concept, unrivaled in content, Rebel -Musics is alone in placing human rights issues side by side with different forms of music. A wide range of -accomplished contributors, from a variety of disciplines and performance contexts, examine the ways in which human rights and music are explicitly linked, how musical activism resonates in practical, political terms, and how musical resistance is enacted.

Apart from the editors, contributors include: cabaret artist, author, and musician Norman Nawrocki; film makers Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy; musician Jesse Stewart; poet George Elliott Clarke; author Timothy Brennan; economist Spencer Henson; author Martha Nandorfy; radio host Ray Pratt; editor, author, and music -reviewer Ron Sakolsky.

Daniel Fischlin is professor of English at the University of Guelph and co-author with Martha Nandorfy of "Eduardo Galeano: Through the Looking Glass" (Black Rose Books). He has been active as a musician for most of his life and this is his fourth book devoted to an interdisciplinary musical topic.

Ajay Heble is professor of English at the University of Guelph. He is the author of "Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, Dissonance, and Critical Practice" and coeditor (with Daniel Fischlin) of "The Other Side of Nowhere: Jazz, -Improvisation, and Communities in Dialogue." Artistic director and founder of The Guelph Jazz Festival, he is also an accomplished pianist.

Here is the first full-length, critical study of Eduardo Galeano, born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1940, author of the monumental trilogy "Memory of Fire," and of the ground-breaking "Open Veins of Latin America"
Part political biography, part cultural theory, this book examines events that have shaped Galeano's life--from his close personal friendship with Allende, through the dictatorships in Uruguay and Argentina that forced him into exile, to the ongoing relationship between Galeano and Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the Chiapas rebellion. The political effect of his work has been compared to that of Noam Chomsky.
Daniel Fischlin teaches literature at the University of Guelph, Ontario. Martha Nandorfy is a distinguished Hispanist scholar teaches at Concordia University, Montreal.

Shakespeare's plays have been adapted or rewritten in various, often surprising, ways since the 17th century. This anthology brings together 13 theatrical adaptations of Shakespeare's work from around the world and across the centuries. The plays include: "The Woman Prized or the Tamer Tamed" by John Fletcher; "Troilus and Cressida or Truth Found Too Late: a Tragedy" by John Dryden; "The History of King Lear" by Nahum Tate; "King Stephen: a Fragment of a Tragedy"; "The Public (El Publico)" by Federico Garcia Lorca; "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" by Bertolt Brecht; "uMabatha" by Welcome Msomi; "Measure for Measure" by Charles Marowitz; "Hamletmachine" by Heiner Muller; "Lear's Daughter" by The Women's Theatre Group and Elaine Feinstein; "Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief" by Paula Vogel; "This Island's Mine" by Philip Osment; and "Harlem Duet" by Djanet Sears. Each play is introduced by a concise introduction with suggestions for further reading and a list of related adaptations for study.;The collection is prefaced by a general introduction, which offers an examination of issues related to theatrical adaptation and the rewriting of Shakespeare.

The contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which musical improvisation can serve as a method for negotiating violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war and colonialism. Outlining the relation of improvisatory practices to local and global power structures, they show how in sites as varied as South Africa, Canada, Egypt, the United States, and the Canary Islands, improvisation provides the means for its participants to address the past and imagine the future. In addition to essays, the volume features a poem by saxophonist Matana Roberts, an interview with pianist Vijay Iyer about his work with U.S. veterans of color, and drawings by artist Randy DuBurke that chart Nina Simone's politicization. Throughout, the contributors illustrate how improvisation functions as a model for political, cultural, and ethical dialogue and action that can foster the creation of alternate modes of being and knowing in the world. Contributors. Randy DuBurke, Rana El Kadi, Kevin Fellezs, Daniel Fischlin, Kate Galloway, Reem Abdul Hadi, Vijay Iyer, Mark Lomanno, Moshe Morad, Eric Porter, Sara Ramshaw, Matana Roberts, Darci Sprengel, Paul Stapleton, Odeh Turjman, Stephanie Vos

Sound Changes responds to a need in improvisation studies for more work that addresses the diversity of global improvisatory practices and argues that by beginning to understand the particular, material experiences of sonic realities that are different from our own, we can address the host of other factors that are imparted or sublimated in performance. These factors range from the intimate affect associated with a particular performer's capacity to generate a distinctive "voicing," or the addition of an unexpected sonic intervention only possible with one particular configuration of players in a specific space and time. Through a series of case studies drawn from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania, Sound Changes offers readers an introduction to a range of musical expressions across the globe in which improvisation plays a key role and the book demonstrates that improvisation is a vital site for the production of emergent social relationships and meanings. As it does this work, Sound Changes situates the increasingly transcultural dimensions of improvised music in relation to emergent networks and technologies, changing patterns of migration and immigration, shifts in the political economy of music, and other social, cultural, and economic factors.Improvisation studies is a recently developed, but growing, interdisciplinary field of study. The discipline-which has only truly come into focus in the early part of the twenty-first century-has been building a lexicon of key terms and developing assumptions about core practices. Yet, the full breadth of improvisatory practices has remained a vexed, if not impossibly ambitious, subject of study. This volume offers a step forward in the movement away from critical tendencies that tend to homogenize and reduce practices and vocabularies in the name of the familiar.

This groundbreaking anthology brings together twelve theatrical adaptations of Shakespeare's work from around the world and across the centuries. The plays include:
* The Woman Prized or the Tamer Tamed John Fletcher
* The History of King Lear Nahum Tate
* King Stephen: a Fragment of a Tragedy John Keats
* The Public (El Público) Federico Garcia Lorca
* The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht
* uMabatha Welcome Msomi
* Measure for Measure Charles Marowitz
* Hamletmachine Heiner Müller
* Lear's Daughters The Women's Theatre Group & Elaine Feinstein
* Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief Paula Vogel
* This Island's Mine Philip Osment
* Harlem Duet Djanet Sears


Related link: www.literature.routledge.com/shakespeare/ adaptations.html

From Thomas Mapfumo to Bob Marley, William Parker to Frank Zappa, Edgard Varese to Ice-T; from American blues to West African drumming, hip hop to son, gospel singing to rock'n'roll cabaret, rebel music is at the heart of some of the most incisive critiques of global politics. With explosive lyrics and driving rhythms, a new wave of rebel musicians are helping to mobilize movements for political change and social justice, at home and around the world.

Original in concept, unrivaled in content, Rebel -Musics is alone in placing human rights issues side by side with different forms of music. A wide range of -accomplished contributors, from a variety of disciplines and performance contexts, examine the ways in which human rights and music are explicitly linked, how musical activism resonates in practical, political terms, and how musical resistance is enacted.

Apart from the editors, contributors include: cabaret artist, author, and musician Norman Nawrocki; film makers Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy; musician Jesse Stewart; poet George Elliott Clarke; author Timothy Brennan; economist Spencer Henson; author Martha Nandorfy; radio host Ray Pratt; editor, author, and music -reviewer Ron Sakolsky.

Daniel Fischlin is professor of English at the University of Guelph and co-author with Martha Nandorfy of "Eduardo Galeano: Through the Looking Glass" (Black Rose Books). He has been active as a musician for most of his life and this is his fourth book devoted to an interdisciplinary musical topic.

Ajay Heble is professor of English at the University of Guelph. He is the author of "Landing on the Wrong Note: Jazz, Dissonance, and Critical Practice" and coeditor (with Daniel Fischlin) of "The Other Side of Nowhere: Jazz, -Improvisation, and Communities in Dialogue." Artistic director and founder of The Guelph Jazz Festival, he is also an accomplished pianist.

The contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which musical improvisation can serve as a method for negotiating violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war and colonialism. Outlining the relation of improvisatory practices to local and global power structures, they show how in sites as varied as South Africa, Canada, Egypt, the United States, and the Canary Islands, improvisation provides the means for its participants to address the past and imagine the future. In addition to essays, the volume features a poem by saxophonist Matana Roberts, an interview with pianist Vijay Iyer about his work with U.S. veterans of color, and drawings by artist Randy DuBurke that chart Nina Simone's politicization. Throughout, the contributors illustrate how improvisation functions as a model for political, cultural, and ethical dialogue and action that can foster the creation of alternate modes of being and knowing in the world. Contributors. Randy DuBurke, Rana El Kadi, Kevin Fellezs, Daniel Fischlin, Kate Galloway, Reem Abdul Hadi, Vijay Iyer, Mark Lomanno, Moshe Morad, Eric Porter, Sara Ramshaw, Matana Roberts, Darci Sprengel, Paul Stapleton, Odeh Turjman, Stephanie Vos

In this significant collection of original essays, preeminent literary and cultural critics, musicologists, and queer theorists delve into the way opera shapes national character through its representations of gender, sexuality, and class. The book includes essays on the works of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and others and examines the impact of such modern phenomena as AIDS. 10 photos. 15 music examples.

Community of Rights enters into a dialogue with global communities about the meaning of being human and having rights.
Because of the important contribution it makes to the discussion about global human rights, this book will be on the shelves of advocates everywhere.

For Shakespeare and Shakespearean adaptation, the global digital media environment is a "brave new world" of opportunity and revolution. In OuterSpeares: Shakespeare, Intermedia, and the Limits of Adaptation, noted scholars of Shakespeare and new media consider the ways in which various media affect how we understand Shakespeare and his works.

Daniel Fischlin and his collaborators explore a wide selection of adaptations that occupy the space between and across traditional genres - what artist Dick Higgins calls "intermedia" - ranging from adaptations that use social networking, cloud computing, and mobile devices to the many handicrafts branded and sold in connection with the Bard.

With essays on YouTube and iTunes, as well as radio, television, and film, OuterSpeares is the first book to examine the full spectrum of past and present adaptations, and one that offers a unique perspective on the transcultural and transdisciplinary aspects of Shakespeare in the contemporary world.

In a world facing the growing challenges of globalized apartheid and pandemic poverty, human rights will determine the future of every one of us and our sustainability as a species. This book allows us at least to reclaim our hope in that future."--Roger Clark, former secretary general of Amnesty International

"An excellent roadmap for navigating the labyrinthian challenges posed by globalization. It should be used by human rights activists and students alike."--Micheline Ishay, author of "The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Era of Globalization"

"This eloquent call for the future of human rights and a just world order is a must read."--Dr. Upendra Baxi, University of Warwick

Much more than a simple "guide to global human rights," this book is an urgently needed and sophisticated reflection on the vital nature of human rights in the twenty-first century. Daniel Fischlin and Martha Nandorfy argue convincingly that, when the environment, health, water, and food are more at risk than ever before, human rights must become the tangible expression of an "all-encompassing respect for life."

"The Fierce Urgency of Now" links musical improvisation to struggles for social change, focusing on the connections between the improvisation associated with jazz and the dynamics of human rights struggles and discourses. The authors acknowledge that at first glance improvisation and rights seem to belong to incommensurable areas of human endeavor. Improvisation connotes practices that are spontaneous, personal, local, immediate, expressive, ephemeral, and even accidental, while rights refer to formal standards of acceptable human conduct, rules that are permanent, impersonal, universal, abstract, and inflexible. Yet the authors not only suggest that improvisation and rights "can "be connected; they insist that they "must" be connected.

Improvisation is the creation and development of new, unexpected, and productive cocreative relations among people. It cultivates the capacity to discern elements of possibility, potential, hope, and promise where none are readily apparent. Improvisers work with the tools they have in the arenas that are open to them. Proceeding without a written score or script, they collaborate to envision and enact something new, to enrich their experience in the world by acting on it and changing it. By analyzing the dynamics of particular artistic improvisations, mostly by contemporary American jazz musicians, the authors reveal improvisation as a viable and urgently needed model for social change. In the process, they rethink politics, music, and the connections between them.

"The Fierce Urgency of Now" links musical improvisation to struggles for social change, focusing on the connections between the improvisation associated with jazz and the dynamics of human rights struggles and discourses. The authors acknowledge that at first glance improvisation and rights seem to belong to incommensurable areas of human endeavor. Improvisation connotes practices that are spontaneous, personal, local, immediate, expressive, ephemeral, and even accidental, while rights refer to formal standards of acceptable human conduct, rules that are permanent, impersonal, universal, abstract, and inflexible. Yet the authors not only suggest that improvisation and rights "can "be connected; they insist that they "must" be connected.

Improvisation is the creation and development of new, unexpected, and productive cocreative relations among people. It cultivates the capacity to discern elements of possibility, potential, hope, and promise where none are readily apparent. Improvisers work with the tools they have in the arenas that are open to them. Proceeding without a written score or script, they collaborate to envision and enact something new, to enrich their experience in the world by acting on it and changing it. By analyzing the dynamics of particular artistic improvisations, mostly by contemporary American jazz musicians, the authors reveal improvisation as a viable and urgently needed model for social change. In the process, they rethink politics, music, and the connections between them.