|
Showing 1 - 25 of
89 matches in All Departments
A wonderfully readable anthology of our greatest poetry, chosen by
the author of A Little History of Poetry "Does anyone know more
about poetry than John Carey? Almost certainly not."-The Times A
poem seems a fragile thing. Change a word and it is broken. But
poems outlive empires and survive the devastation of conquests.
Celebrated author John Carey here presents a uniquely valuable
anthology of verse based on a simple principle: select the
one-hundred greatest poets from across the centuries, and then
choose their finest poems. Ranging from Homer and Sappho to Donne
and Milton, Plath and Angelou, this is a delightful and accessible
introduction to the very best that poetry can offer. Familiar
favorites are nestled alongside marvelous new discoveries-all woven
together with Carey's expert commentary. Particular attention is
given to the works of female poets, like Christina Rossetti and
Charlotte Mew. This is a personal guide to the poetry that shines
brightest through the ages. Within its pages, readers will find
treasured poems that remain with you for life.
Re-Imagining Nature: Environmental Humanities and Ecosemiotics
explores new horizons in environmental studies, which consider
communication and meaning as core definitions of ecological life,
essential to deep sustainability. It considers landscape as
narrative, and applies theoretical frameworks in eco-phenomenology
and ecosemiotics to literary, historical, and philosophical study
of the relationship between text and landscape. It considers in
particular examples and lessons to be drawn from case studies of
medieval and Native American cultures, to illustrate in an applied
way the promise of environmental humanities today. In doing so, it
highlights an environmental future for the humanities, on the
cutting edge of cultural endeavor today.
A vital, engaging, and hugely enjoyable guide to poetry, from
ancient times to the present, by one of our greatest champions of
literature
Arthurian Literature has established its position as the home for a
great diversity of new research into Arthurian matters. It delivers
fascinating material across genres, periods, and theoretical
issues. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT This issue offers stimulating
studies of a wide range of Arthurian texts and authors, from the
Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, among which is the first
winner of the Derek Brewer Essay Prize, awarded to a fascinating
exploration of Ragnelle's strangeness in The Weddyng of Syr Gawen
and Dame Ragnelle. It includes an exploration of Irish and Welsh
cognates and possible sources for Merlin; Bakhtinian analysis of
Geoffrey of Monmouth's playful discourse; and an account of the
transmission of Geoffrey's text into Old Icelandic. In the Middle
English tradition, there is an investigation of material Arthuriana
in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, followed by explorations of
shame in Malory's Morte Darthur. The post-medieval articles see one
paper devoted to the paratexts of sixteenth-century French
Arthurian publishers; one to eighteenth-century Arthuriana; and one
to a range of nineteenth-century rewritings of the virginity of
Galahad and Percival's Sister. Two Notes close this volume: one on
Geoffrey's Vita Merlini and a possible Irish source, and one on a
likely source for Malory's linking of Trystram with the Book of
Hunting and Hawking in an early form of The Book of St Albans.
A collection of John Carey’s greatest, wisest, and wittiest
reviews—amassed over a lifetime of writing  In 1977, newly
installed as a professor of English at Oxford, John Carey took the
position of chief reviewer for the Sunday Times. In a career
spanning over 40 years and upwards of 1,000 reviews, Carey has kept
abreast of the brightest and best books of the day, distilling his
thoughts each week for the entertainment of Sunday readers. Â
Contained in this volume is the cream of that substantial crop: a
choice selection of the books which Carey has most cherished.
Covering subjects as diverse as the science of laughter, the art of
Grayson Perry, the history of madness, and Sylvia Plath’s
letters, this is a collection of treats and surprises, suffused
with careful thought, wisdom, and enjoyment. The result is a
compendium of titles that have stood the test of time, offered with
Carey’s warmest recommendation.
This masterly edition contains all of Milton's English poems, with
the exception of Paradise Lost, together with translations and
texts of all his Latin, Italian and Greek poems. First published in
1968 - and substantially updated in 1996 - John Carey's edition
has, with Alastair Fowler's Paradise Lost, established itself as
the pre-eminent edition of Milton's poetry, both for the student
and the general reader. Hailed as 'a very Bible of a Milton', the
extensive notes and headnotes serve to illuminate the wealth of
Milton's allusions and to synthesize the judgements and
disagreements of a bewildering array of modern critics. Each
headnote sets out details of composition and context which will
deepen any reader's appreciation of the poetry, while also
providing a concise overview of the critical and scholarly debates
that continue to flame around the work of one of the greatest poets
in the English language. Steeped in learning though it undoubtedly
is, it is also an unfailing light to those who wish to plot their
own path through the dazzling riches of Milton's imagination.
The Ranters - like the Levellers and the Diggers - were a group
of religious libertarians who flourished during the English Civil
War (1642a "1651), a period of social and religious turmoil which
saw, in the words of the historian Christopher Hill, 'the world
turned upside down'.
A Collection of Ranter Writings is the most notable attempt to
anthologise the key Ranter writings, bringing together some of the
most remarkable, visionary and unforgettable texts. The subjects
range from the limits to pleasure and divine right, to social
justice and collective action.
The Ranters have intrigued and captivated generations of scholars
and philosophers. This carefully curated collection will be of
great interest to historians, philosophers and all those trying to
understand past radical traditions.
This masterly edition contains all of Milton's English poems, with
the exception of Paradise Lost, together with translations and
texts of all his Latin, Italian and Greek poems. First published in
1968 - and substantially updated in 1996 - John Carey's edition
has, with Alastair Fowler's Paradise Lost, established itself as
the pre-eminent edition of Milton's poetry, both for the student
and the general reader. Hailed as 'a very Bible of a Milton', the
extensive notes and headnotes serve to illuminate the wealth of
Milton's allusions and to synthesize the judgements and
disagreements of a bewildering array of modern critics. Each
headnote sets out details of composition and context which will
deepen any reader's appreciation of the poetry, while also
providing a concise overview of the critical and scholarly debates
that continue to flame around the work of one of the greatest poets
in the English language. Steeped in learning though it undoubtedly
is, it is also an unfailing light to those who wish to plot their
own path through the dazzling riches of Milton's imagination.
Re-Imagining Nature: Environmental Humanities and Ecosemiotics
explores new horizons in environmental studies, which consider
communication and meaning as core definitions of ecological life,
essential to deep sustainability. It considers landscape as
narrative, and applies theoretical frameworks in eco-phenomenology
and ecosemiotics to literary, historical, and philosophical study
of the relationship between text and landscape. It considers in
particular examples and lessons to be drawn from case studies of
medieval and Native American cultures, to illustrate in an applied
way the promise of environmental humanities today. In doing so, it
highlights an environmental future for the humanities, on the
cutting edge of cultural endeavor today.
Hailed as "exhilarating and suggestive" (Spectator),
"thought-provoking and entertaining" (David Lodge, Sunday Times),
and "incisive and inspirational" (Guardian), What Good are the
Arts? offers a delightfully skeptical look at the nature of art.
John Carey--one of Britain's most respected literary critics--here
cuts through the cant surrounding the fine arts, debunking claims
that the arts make us better people or that judgments about art are
anything more than personal opinion. But Carey does argue strongly
for the value of art as an activity and for the superiority of one
art in particular: literature. Literature, he contends, is the only
art capable of reasoning, and the only art that can criticize.
Literature has the ability to inspire the mind and the heart
towards practical ends far better than any work of conceptual art.
Here then is a lively and stimulating invitation to debate the
value of art, a provocative book that "anyone seriously interested
in the arts should read" (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post).
Bert Williams-a Black man forced to perform in blackface who
challenged the stereotypes of minstrelsy. Eva Tanguay-an
entertainer with the signature song "I Don't Care" who flouted the
rules of propriety to redefine womanhood for the modern age. Julian
Eltinge-a female impersonator who entranced and unnerved audiences
by embodying the feminine ideal Tanguay rejected. At the turn of
the twentieth century, they became three of the most provocative
and popular performers in vaudeville, the form in which American
mass entertainment first took shape. A Revolution in Three Acts
explores how these vaudeville stars defied the standards of their
time to change how their audiences thought about what it meant to
be American, to be Black, to be a woman or a man. The writer David
Hajdu and the artist John Carey collaborate in this work of graphic
nonfiction, crafting powerful portrayals of Williams, Tanguay, and
Eltinge to show how they transformed American culture. Hand-drawn
images give vivid visual form to the lives and work of the book's
subjects and their world. This book is at once a deft telling of
three intricately entwined stories, a lush evocation of a
performance milieu with unabashed entertainment value, and an
eye-opening account of a key moment in American cultural history
with striking parallels to present-day questions of race, gender,
and sexual identity.
On September 11, 2001, AT&T's traffic was 40 percent greater
than its previous busiest day. Wireless calls were made from the
besieged airplanes and buildings, with the human voice having a
calming influence. E-mail was used to overcome distance and time
zones. And storytelling played an important role both in conveying
information and in coping with the disaster. Building on such
events and lessons, Crisis Communications features an international
cast of top contributors exploring emergency communications during
crisis. Together, they evaluate the use, performance, and effects
of traditional mass media (radio, TV, print), newer media
(Internet, email), conventional telecommunications (telephones,
cell phones), and interpersonal communication in emergency
situations. Applying what has been learned from the behavior of the
mass media in past crises, the authors clearly show the central
role of communications on September 11. They establish how people
learned of the tragedy and how they responded; examine the effects
of media globalization on terrorism; and, in many cases, give
specific advice for the future.
On September 11, 2001, AT&T's traffic was 40 percent greater
than its previous busiest day. Wireless calls were made from the
besieged airplanes and buildings, with the human voice having a
calming influence. E-mail was used to overcome distance and time
zones. And storytelling played an important role both in conveying
information and in coping with the disaster. Building on such
events and lessons, Crisis Communications features an international
cast of top contributors exploring emergency communications during
crisis. Together, they evaluate the use, performance, and effects
of traditional mass media (radio, TV, print), newer media
(Internet, email), conventional telecommunications (telephones,
cell phones), and interpersonal communication in emergency
situations. Applying what has been learned from the behavior of the
mass media in past crises, the authors clearly show the central
role of communications on September 11. They establish how people
learned of the tragedy and how they responded; examine the effects
of media globalization on terrorism; and, in many cases, give
specific advice for the future.
An exploration of the strange poetry of Dickens's imagination by
leading academic and critic John Carey.
Setting aside the usual interpretations of Dickens's work, A
Violent Effigy delves into the wonderful, terrible fantasy world it
inhabited. It shows Dickens torn between the appeal of violence and
a fanatical orderliness: he was attracted by characters who commit
murder or burst into flame or want to eat one another, but also
required people soaped and regimented. The children he created were
either the pious gnomes beloved of Victorian readers or callous,
sharp-nosed children who pick out adults by the odd personal
atmospheres they carry around. Among his females are mythic women
whose insidious miniature weapons - needles, scissors - threaten
the dominant male. He created a shadow-land between life and death,
peopled by effigies, walking coffins, waxworks, stuffed creatures
and disturbingly animated corpses.
John Carey skilfully shows how Dickens demolished Victorian
shams, while keeping at bay the terrors of his fantasy. He
celebrates, above all, Dickens' peculiar genius for renewing the
world by the curious lights he saw in it.
A new approach to Thackeray. Although this study embraces all his
work, it switches attention from his late novels, and bases the
case for his imaginative vitality on the multifarious material -
reviews, travel books, burlesques, Punch articles - that he turned
out, mostly under severe financial stress, at the start of his
writing career. Here was the breeding ground of Vanity Fair; here
we find the subversive Thackeray, foe of humbug and high art,
waylaying snobbery and the cant of social reformers with bravura
and buffoonery - the Thackeray who, in Trollope's words, 'laughed,
and ate, and drank, and threw his pearls about with miraculous
profusion.' In portraying the range and intensity of Thackeray's
imagination, topics singled out include: light and painting; ballet
dancers; pantomime; haute cuisine; time's ruins; and the rainbow
realm of commerce. The picture of Thackeray, as man and artist,
that emerges, is fresh and challenging.
|
You may like...
Ghost Lover
Lisa Taddeo
Paperback
R351
Discovery Miles 3 510
Morgan
Kate Mara, Jennifer Jason Leigh, …
Blu-ray disc
(1)
R70
Discovery Miles 700
|