Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" in the Age of Pseudocracy visits the essay as if for the first time, clearing away lore about the essay and responding to the prose itself. It shows how many of Orwell's rules and admonitions are far less useful than they are famed to be, but it also shows how some of them can be refurbished for our age, and how his major claim-that politics corrupts language, which then corrupts political discourse further, and so on indefinitely-can best be re-deployed today. "Politics and the English Language" has encouraged generations of writers and readers and teachers and students to take great care, to be skeptical and clear-sighted. The essay itself requires a fresh, clear, skeptical analysis so that it can, with reapplication, reclaim its status as a touchstone in our era of the rule of falsehood: the age of "pseudocracy."

Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" in the Age of Pseudocracy visits the essay as if for the first time, clearing away lore about the essay and responding to the prose itself. It shows how many of Orwell's rules and admonitions are far less useful than they are famed to be, but it also shows how some of them can be refurbished for our age, and how his major claim-that politics corrupts language, which then corrupts political discourse further, and so on indefinitely-can best be re-deployed today. "Politics and the English Language" has encouraged generations of writers and readers and teachers and students to take great care, to be skeptical and clear-sighted. The essay itself requires a fresh, clear, skeptical analysis so that it can, with reapplication, reclaim its status as a touchstone in our era of the rule of falsehood: the age of "pseudocracy."

Clear a Place for Good is a new full-length collection of poems by the American poet, novelist, and critic Hans Ostrom.

The global scramble for energy has made a river in California's High Sierra ripe for damming. Mary Bluestone, woodcarver and longtime resident of a remote mountain town, impulsively puts herself between the river and the dam, becoming a protester in spite of herself. Mary's husband, the county sheriff, must arrest her. A flood of unintended consequences ensues as the 21st century invades a pristine canyon. Meanwhile, Mary Bluestone is haunted by the legend of Juanita, a woman lynched during the Gold Rush Era. Honoring Juanita is a tale of entangled histories and divided loyalties, of greed, power, memory, and love.

African-American author Langston Hughes was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and interest in his works increases daily. Though remembered primarily as a poet, Hughes was active in almost every genre imaginable. He wrote newspaper articles and short stories, contributed to drama and musical theater, and penned lyrics for the blues and popular songs. He also collaborated with some of the most gifted individuals of his time, including Zora Neale Hurston, Arna Bontemps, Kurt Weill, and Elmer Rice. Through hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries, this encyclopedia provides comprehensive coverage of his life and writings.

Although Hughes was remarkably versatile, poetry is indisputably the core of his achievement. Thus, this book includes separate entries for each of his more than 850 published poems and for collections of his poetry. His short stories and songs are also covered in detail. The encyclopedia additionally provides entries for numerous topics related to his life and writings, including Marxism, McCarthyism, Modernism, Jazz, and Religion, and for the many individuals who were associated with his literary career. Most of the entries close with brief bibliographies, and the volume closes with a list of works for further reading.

Perhaps the single best-known and most highly regarded African-American writer of his time, Langston Hughes (1902-1967) has left a profound mark on American letters. Taking the environment of urban blacks, Hughes captured in verse and prose its joys and pains, bringing a new realism to the subject. His language, while unadorned in style, remained spirited and true to colloquial speech, and his work was among the first by a black man to gain a multi-racial and national audience. Hughes is primarily remembered for his poetry, with which he established his reputation in the 1920s. He did not even publish his first collection of short fiction, The Ways of White Folks, until 1934. But precisely because it appeared after he had undergone an extensive process of artistic and personal development, it possesses an unusual coherence and power. It deals unflinchingly with racial, class, and sexual issues, as does his second collection, Laughing to Keep from Crying (1952). In 1950 a number of satirical sketches featuring Hughes's character Jesse B. Simple began appearing in collected form. These represent a tradition distinct from his other work. Hans Ostrom examines Hughes's short fiction canon in great detail, bringing in a wealth of information on Hughes's background and times to provide a fuller understanding. He discusses events such as the Harlem Renaissance and how they relate to Hughes, as well as sensitively examining the issue of race. Within a clear and coherent organizational scheme, Ostrom adds excerpts from interviews and letters and a section on the best previous scholarship and criticism. The result is a truly useful study.