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Rome's Patron: The Lives and Afterlives of Maecenas
by Emily GowersThe story of Maecenas and his role in the evolution and continuing legacy of ancient Roman poetry and cultureAn unelected statesman with exceptional powers, a patron of the arts and a luxury-loving friend of the emperor Augustus: Maecenas was one of the most prominent and distinctive personalities of ancient Rome. Yet the traces he left behind are unreliable and tantalizingly scarce. Rather than attempting a conventional biography, Emily Gowers shows in Rome’s Patron that it is possible to tell a different story, one about Maecenas’s influence, his changing identities and the many narratives attached to him across two millennia.Rome’s Patron explores Maecenas’s appearances in the central works of Augustan poetry written in his name—Virgil’s Georgics, Horace’s Odes and Propertius’s elegies—and in later works of Latin literature that reassess his influence. For the Roman poets he supported, Maecenas was a mascot of cultural flexibility and innovation, a pioneer of gender fluidity and a bearer of imperial demands who could be exposed as a secret sympathizer with their own values. For those excluded from his circle, he represented either favouritism and indulgence or the lost ideal of a patron in perfect collaboration with the authors he championed.As Gowers shows, Maecenas had and continues to have a unique cachet—in the fantasies that still surround the gardens, buildings and objects so tenuously associated with him; in literature, from Ariosto and Ben Johnson to Phillis Wheatley and W. B. Yeats; and in philanthropy, where his name has been surprisingly adaptable to more democratic forms of patronage.
The Shield of Achilles (W. H. Auden: Critical Editions Ser. #1)
by W. H. AudenBack in print for the first time in decades, Auden&’s National Book Award–winning poetry collection, in a critical edition that introduces it to a new generation of readersThe Shield of Achilles, which won the National Book Award in 1956, may well be W. H. Auden&’s most important, intricately designed, and unified book of poetry. In addition to its famous title poem, which reimagines Achilles&’s shield for the modern age, when war and heroism have changed beyond recognition, the book also includes two sequences—&“Bucolics&” and &“Horae Canonicae&”—that Auden believed to be among his most significant work. Featuring an authoritative text and an introduction and notes by Alan Jacobs, this volume brings Auden&’s collection back into print for the first time in decades and offers the only critical edition of the work.As Jacobs writes in the introduction, Auden&’s collection &“is the boldest and most intellectually assured work of his career, an achievement that has not been sufficiently acknowledged.&” Describing the book&’s formal qualities and careful structure, Jacobs shows why The Shield of Achilles should be seen as one of Auden&’s most central poetic statements—a richly imaginative, beautifully envisioned account of what it means to live, as human beings do, simultaneously in nature and in history.
A Child Is Not a Knife: Selected Poems of Göran Sonnevi (The Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation #41)
by Göran SonneviGöran Sonnevi is one of Sweden's most celebrated, respected, and prolific poets. For this first book-length selection of Sonnevi to appear in English, Rika Lesser has chosen works written between 1971 and 1989--although most of the poems come from the last decade and from Sonnevi's last three books, which form part of the single oändlig [unending/infinite/interminable] poem that he continues to write from book to book. Of Lesser's introduction to the work, Richard Howard writes, "Lesser's wonderful prose texts at the outset provide not only an ingress into complex and baffling matter but one of the most determined statements of the translator's text since Walter Benjamin."From "Åby, Öland; 1982"We are here in the ultimate lives of our bodiesnegations of the ultimate negationWe are complete parts of the worldWe rise up out of infinitylike the limestone flats from the sea Like the starsWe are denials of infinityOne day we shall reach all the way there
In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon: Poems (The Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation #162)
by Thomas BernhardHaunting and darkly humorous poems by the internationally acclaimed Austrian novelist, playwright, and memoirist Thomas Bernhard (1931–1989) has been compared to Kafka and Beckett, and critics have ranked his novels among the masterpieces of the twentieth century. But in fact he began his career in the 1950s as a poet, publishing three books of well-received verse before turning to fiction. In Hora Mortis / Under the Iron of the Moon is the first book of his expressionist-like poetry to be published in English. Bringing together Bernhard's second and third books of poetry, the collection's short, untitled lyrics reveal his early explorations of themes that would continue to preoccupy him in his novels, plays, and other writings—especially his intense ambivalence toward the land and people of Austria and their then-recent Nazi past. As the translator James Reidel writes in his preface, "Bernhard found Austrian soil . . . to be like a hair shirt and a blanket. It is a killing ground but with a postcard setting." In poems that both subvert and pay homage to such influences as Georg Trakl, Bernhard begins to develop his characteristic dark humor while exploring themes of nature, death, meaninglessness, and faith.
A Boy Asleep under the Sun: Versions of Sandro Penna
by Sandro PennaPeter Valente’s first encounter with Sandro Penna’s poetry was while translating Pier Paolo Pasolini. At the time, Valente was reading a biography on Pasolini and learned of his close friendship with Penna. Pasolini insisted that among serious readers of poetry, Penna could not be ignored. Born in Perugia on June 12, 1906, Sandro Penna lived most of his life in Rome (he died there on January 21, 1977), except for a brief period in Milan where he worked as a library clerk. When Pasolini arrived in Rome in 1950 he sought out Penna to “show him around.” He knew that Penna was in love with the same ragazzi who prowled the outskirts of Rome. In his poetry Penna clearly says who he is and how he feels. That is a rare enough quality these days. He moves away from the trappings of identity toward an honest expression of love. In Penna’s work the beautiful is not conscious of itself and is therefore erotic: “Is not the beauty of those who are unaware of their beauty / more beautiful than those who are aware?”
We Sang Across The Sea: The Empire Windrush And Me
by Benjamin Zephaniah Onyinye IwuA powerfully moving and beautiful picture book about the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush from national treasure, Benjamin Zephaniah.
T. H. Parry-Williams (Writers of Wales)
by R. Gerallt JonesA study of the poet and writer T.H Parry-Williams in the 'Writers of Wales' series.
Poems Aloud: An anthology of poems to read out loud
by Joseph Coelho Daniel Gray-Barnett<p><strong>Poems are made to read OUT LOUD!<br /> <br /> A wittily illustrated anthology of poems, designed to be read aloud. Twenty poems by the award-winning Joseph Coelho arm children with techniques for lifting poetry off the page and performing with confidence.</strong><br /> <br /> Perfect for confident children and shy readers alike, this book teaches all sorts of clever ways to performing poetry. Children will learn 20 techniques for reading aloud by trying out <strong>20 funny and thoughtful original poems by the much-loved and award-winning performance poet, Joseph Coelho</strong>. There are tongue twisters, poems to project, poems to whisper, poems to make you laugh. There are poems to perform to a whole class and others to whisper in somebody's ear. Richly textured, warm and stylish illustration by Daniel Gray-Barnett bring each page to life.<br /> <br /> <strong>"Poetry for children is dead. Really? Not when there are young poets like Joseph Coelho" —<em>Books for Keeps</em></strong></p>
Down The Back Of The Chair
by Margaret Mahy Polly DunbarWhen Dad loses his car keys, toddler Mary has a suggestion: why not see what's hiding down the back of the chair? But when they look, they get more than a few surprises... This lively, eccentric poem is a visual explosion of fun and imagination, featuring dragons, pirates, treasure, lions, elephants and much more. Margaret Mahy's classic story celebrates the wonderful everyday, guaranteed to put a smile on the face of readers young and old. "The entertainment, humour, and exuberance of it all arises from what Dad finds... Mahy's text rollicks along in rhythm and rhyme, and Polly Dunbar's graphics are akin to a fireworks display on the page; words, phrases and pictorial images metaphorically pop up and explode like stardust over the double spreads" — School Librarian
Down The Back Of The Chair (PDF)
by Margaret Mahy Polly DunbarWhen Dad loses his car keys, toddler Mary has a suggestion: why not see what's hiding down the back of the chair? But when they look, they get more than a few surprises... This lively, eccentric poem is a visual explosion of fun and imagination, featuring dragons, pirates, treasure, lions, elephants and much more. Margaret Mahy's classic story celebrates the wonderful everyday, guaranteed to put a smile on the face of readers young and old. "The entertainment, humour, and exuberance of it all arises from what Dad finds... Mahy's text rollicks along in rhythm and rhyme, and Polly Dunbar's graphics are akin to a fireworks display on the page; words, phrases and pictorial images metaphorically pop up and explode like stardust over the double spreads" — School Librarian
New Russian Poets: 1953 - 1968
by George ReaveyA collection of poetry from Russian dissidents, and those part of the great poetic revival after Stalin was removed from power. A re-examination of the national conscience followed Stalin's death, when 14,000 people gathered in Moscow to hear a group of young poets reading their work.
Keeping Hope – Favourite Prayers for Modern Living: Selected Inspirational Prayers from World-Renowned Theologian Michel Quoist
by Michel QuoistPrayers from Michel Quoist, the multi-million bestselling publishing phenomenon, available for the first time as an ebookThe prayers of Michel Quoist are not prayers in the usual sense, but meditations on life. Beginning with seemingly ordinary events, suddenly the light of faith is thrown on some part of our ordinary, everyday existence. Set against the roads, offices and high-rise buildings that frame our modern world, this collection of practical prayers and meditations penetrates the heart of human experience.Rooted in the modern world and in the thoughts and feelings that define our everyday experience, they celebrate our small victories and offer support as we struggle with universal themes – among them self-acceptance, loneliness, despair, ageing, loss and grief. Quoist’s prayers encourage us to celebrate and harness the tools and talents we have at our disposal to make the best of what we have. Editorial Reviews'His greatest strength is that he shows humanity as an asset rather than a liability.' The Catholic Herald'To those long familiar with Quoist’s writing – and those who are new to him – this book may prove a landmark in the spiritual lives of many in a new century and a new millennium.' Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic'Michel Quoist sold millions of books in 27 different languages because of that ability to make prayer possible for the less contemplative among us.' Fr Brian D' Arcy, Sunday World
Patrick Kavanagh, A Biography: The Acclaimed Biography of One of the Foremost Irish Poets of the 20th Century
by Dr Antoinette QuinnAntoinette Quinn's acclaimed biography of Patrick Kavanagh, the most important Irish poet between the death of W.B. Yeats and the rise of Seamus Heaney, tells the triumphant story of his journey from homespun balladry through early journal and poetry publications to his eventual coronation as one of the most influential figures in Irish poetry.Kavanagh (1904–1967) was born in County Monaghan, the son of a cobbler-cum-small farmer. He left school at thirteen to work the land but continued to educate himself, reading and writing poetry in his spare time. In 1929 he began contributing verses to the Irish Statesman and was soon publishing in Irish and English journals. His first collection, Ploughman and Other Poems, appeared in 1936 and was followed by an autobiography, The Green Fool, in 1938. In 1939 he moved to Dublin where he spent the rest of his life as a freelance writer and as part of the social and literary scene, keeping company with a gifted generation of writers, among them Flann O’Brien and Brendan Behan. He gained recognition as an important literary voice with his long poem ‘The Great Hunger’ in 1942. Further collections and the novel Tarry Flynn appeared in the following decades to growing critical acclaim. Published to widespread praise, Patrick Kavanagh, A Biography traces Kavanagh's publishing history as well as revealing what he was writing in the long interval between his books. This engaging, well-researched account of his daily professional life as a writer, his revisions and redraftings, his negotiations with publishers and editors, dispels the view that he was an untutored, gormless genius visited by an occasional flash of inspiration.Patrick Kavanagh, A Biography is the definitive account of Patrick Kavanagh’s life and work and should be the standard for years to come.Patrick Kavanagh, A Biography: Table of ContentsIntroductionNo Genealogic Rosary (1850–1910)Childhood (1904–1918)Serving his Time (1918–1927)Dabbling in Verse (1916–1930)Farmer-Poet (1929–1936)Towards The Green Fool (1936–1937)The Green Fool and its Aftermath (1937–1939)I Had a Future (1939–1941)Bell-lettres (1940–1942)The Great Hunger (1941–1942)Pilgrim Poet (1940–1942)Marriage and Money? (1942–1944)The Enchanted Way (1944–1947)Film Critic (1946–1949)Tarry Flynn (1947–1949)From Ballyrush to Baggot Street (1948–1951)King of the Kids (1949–1951)Bluster and Beggary (1952–1953)Trial and Error (1954)The Cut Worm (1954–1955)The American Dream (1955–1957)Noo Pomes (1957–1958)Come Dance with Kitty Stobling (1959–1960)Roots of Love (1960–1964)Sixty-Year-Old Public Man (1964–1965)Four Funerals and a Wedding (1965–1967)‘So long’
The Hidden Ireland – A Study of Gaelic Munster in the Eighteenth Century: A Study Of Gaelic Munster In The Eighteenth Century
by Daniel CorkeryDaniel Corkery’s classic book The Hidden Ireland is a study of Irish language poetry and culture in eighteenth-century Munster. The ‘Hidden Ireland’ of the title is literary Ireland: Corkery’s famous book is an attempt to reclaim Munster’s Irish language poets from the hands of grammarians who read them only for their preposition and participle use and to restore them to their rightful place as vibrant and vital lyricists and visionaries.The Hidden Ireland, an instant classic when first published in 1924, was listed as one of the top 50 most influential Irish books in The Books That Define Ireland by Tom Garvin and Bryan Fanning. The Hidden Ireland was revolutionary in its recognition of the contribution of Irish language poets to Irish culture, a contribution that had previously been minimised or even erased in the Anglo-Irish versions of history that preceded it. Corkery’s groundbreaking study of Irish poetry and culture in eighteenth century Munster is widely acknowledged as having had a profound influence on the shaping of modern Anglo-Irish literature in its foregrounding of the role of the Irish language in literature as a repository of Irishness and a specifically Irish worldview .Daniel Corkery’s The Hidden Ireland (1924), arguing for an Irish cultural revival based on the Gaelic tradition of Munster in the eighteenth century, became almost official dogma after 1924, and led to impassioned debate among Irish writers and academics for decades afterwards, including Sean O’Faolain and Frank O’Connor, Corkery’s rebellious students.Tom Garvin and Bryan Fanning, The Books That Define Ireland (2014)
Syncopated Blue
by Ryan HennessyInfluenced by his father’s and grandfather’s poetry, Ryan Hennessy started writing poems as a young boy growing up in Co. Kildare. As lead singer of Picture This, Ryan’s songwriting reveals the unguarded spirit of a young man unafraid to wear his heart on his leopard-print sleeve. In his first book of poetry, Ryan reveals his natural gifts of self-expression to cover topics such as love, relationships, growing up and identity. At once defiantly romantic and nakedly vulnerable, he deftly chips away at the barriers many young men build in self-defence as he explores the euphoria of young love and its subsequent heartbreak. With striking illustrations by Irish illustrator Megan Luddy, Syncopated Blue features over ninety relatable yet deeply intimate poems, resulting in an extraordinary collection that reflects the free spirit of its creator.
Adrian Mole: The Collected Poems
by Sue Townsend'It's really, really, really funny' David Walliams Mole Press - a brand new imprint of Penguin Books - is proud to announce the first publication of The Collected Poems of Adrian Mole to mark the author's 50TH birthday.--------------------------- 'Edgy politics, tortured eroticism, misunderstood intellect, changing Britain - a whiff of the sublime. Mole's contribution is significant' Daily Telegraph Featuring poems scattered over nearly thirty years of writing and salvaged from the diaries 'authored' by one Sue Townsend, this slim volume features more than thirty pieces of Adrian's unique art. From his timeless first documented poem - The Tap - via classic odes to his muse, first and only true love Pandora (I adore ya), we follow Adrian's life in verse form. We not only witness his burgeoning political anger in works like Mrs Thatcher (Do you weep, Mrs Thatcher, do you weep?) but also see in later poems his merciless examination of the hollow shell of masculinity as well as documenting his declining libido in tragic pieces like To My Organ. For the first time in a single volume, these are the collected poems of misunderstood intellectual and tortured poet Adrian Mole. 'I ruthlessly exploited Adrian. But he can't afford to sue me' Sue Townsend 'Wonderfully funny and sharp as knives' Sunday Times 'One of the great comic creations' Daily Mirror 'The funniest person in the world' Caitlin Moran
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey ChaucerIn The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight's account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath's Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook.
Sing a Song of Bottoms!
by Jeanne WillisJoin Jeanne Willis in the funniest talent show ever. In a fabulous rhyming text, meet bears with baggy bottoms, pigs with perky pinky ones and peacocks who love to put theirs on display. Perfect for reading aloud and guaranteed to cause fits of giggles, one thing's for sure - whoever is the winner, bottoms are top!From the dynamic duo behind Bottoms Up!
Sing a Song of Bottoms!
by Jeanne WillisThis eBook has been optimised for viewing on colour devices.Join Jeanne Willis in the funniest talent show ever. In a fabulous rhyming text, meet bears with baggy bottoms, pigs with perky pinky ones and peacocks who love to put theirs on display. Perfect for reading aloud and guaranteed to cause fits of giggles, one thing's for sure - whoever is the winner, bottoms are top!
The Complete Poetry
by George Herbert John Drury Victoria MoulA wonderful edition of Herbert's poetry, edited by his acclaimed biographer John Drury and including elegant new translations of his Latin verse by Victoria Moul.George Herbert wrote, but never published, some of the very greatest English poetry, recording in an astonishing variety of forms his inner experiences of grief, recovery, hope, despair, anger, fulfilment and - above all else - love. This volume, edited by John Drury, collects Herbert's complete poetry - including such classics of English devotional poetry as 'The Altar', Easter-Wings' and 'Love'. It also includes the verse Herbert wrote in Latin, newly translated into English by Victoria Moul.George Herbert was born in 1593 and died at the age of 39 in 1633, before the clouds of civil war gathered. He showed worldly ambition and seemed sure of high public office and a career at court, but then for a time 'lost himself in a humble way', devoting himself to the restoration of a church and then to his parish of Bemerton, three miles from Salisbury. When in the year of his death his friend Nicholas Ferrar published Herbert's poems under the title The Temple, his fame was quickly established.John Drury is Chaplain and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His books include The Burning Bush (1990), Painting the Word (1999), and, most recently, Music at Midnight, the culmination of a lifetime's interest in Herbert.Victoria Moul is Lecturer in Latin Literature and Language at Kings College London. She is author of Jonson, Horace and the Classical Tradition (2010) and editor of Neo-Latin Literature (2014).
The Zoo of the New: A Book of Exceptional Poems from Sappho to Paul Muldoon (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Don Paterson Nick Laird'So open it anywhere, then anywhere, then anywhere again. We're sure it won't be long before you find a poem that brings you smack into the newness and strangeness of the living present, just as it did us' (from the Introduction)In The Zoo of the New, poets Don Paterson and Nick Laird have cast a fresh eye over more than five centuries of verse, from the English language and beyond. Above all, they have sought poetry that retains, in one way or another, a powerful timelessness: words with the thrilling capacity to make the time and place in which they were written, however distant and however foreign they may be, feel utterly here and now in the 21st Century.This book is the condensed result of that search. It stretches as far back as Sappho and as far forward as the recent award-winning work of Denise Riley, taking in poets as varied as Thomas Wyatt, William Shakespeare, T. S. Eliot, Frank O'Hara, Sylvia Plath and Gwendolyn Brooks along the way. Here, the mournful rubs shoulders with the celebratory; the skulduggerous and the foolish with the highfalutin; and tales of love, loss and war with a menagerie of animals and objects, from bee boxes to rubber boots, a suit of armour and a microscope.Teeming with old favourites and surprising discoveries, this lovingly selected compendium is sure to win lifelong readers.
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes
by Beatrix PotterThis original, authorised version has been lovingly recreated electronically for the first time, with reproductions of Potter's unmistakeable artwork optimised for use on colour devices such as the iPad. Beatrix Potter gathered material for a book of rhymes over many years. In 1917, when her publisher was in financial difficulties and needed her help, she suggested that Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes could be brought out quickly, using her existing collection of rhymes and drawings. The fact that the illustrations were painted at different times explains why the style occasionally varies.Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes is number 22 in Beatrix Potter's series of 23 little books, the titles of which are as follows:1 The Tale of Peter Rabbit2 The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin3 The Tailor of Gloucester4 The Tale of Benjamin Bunny5 The Tale of Two Bad Mice6 The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle7 The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher8 The Tale of Tom Kitten9 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck10 The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies11 The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse12 The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes13 The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse 14 The Tale of Mr. Tod15 The Tale of Pigling Bland16 The Tale of Samuel Whiskers17 The Tale of The Pie and the Patty-Pan18 The Tale of Ginger and Pickles19 The Tale of Little Pig Robinson20 The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit21 The Story of Miss Moppet22 Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes23 Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes (The Psammead Ser.)
by Beatrix PotterThis original, authorised version has been lovingly recreated electronically for the first time, with reproductions of Potter's unmistakeable artwork optimised for use on colour devices such as the iPad. Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes is a sequel to Beatrix Potter's first rhyme collection, Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes. Like the previous book it contains material she had produced and collected over a period of many years. the Cecily Parsley sequence of illustrations, for example, were first made into a little booklet twenty-five years earlier, in 1897.Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes is the last of Beatrix Potter's series of 23 little books, the titles of which are as follows:1 The Tale of Peter Rabbit2 The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin3 The Tailor of Gloucester4 The Tale of Benjamin Bunny5 The Tale of Two Bad Mice6 The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle7 The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher8 The Tale of Tom Kitten9 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck10 The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies11 The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse12 The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes13 The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse 14 The Tale of Mr. Tod15 The Tale of Pigling Bland16 The Tale of Samuel Whiskers17 The Tale of The Pie and the Patty-Pan18 The Tale of Ginger and Pickles19 The Tale of Little Pig Robinson20 The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit21 The Story of Miss Moppet22 Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes23 Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
My People
by Noonuccal OodgerooImmerse yourself in the poetry of one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous artists My People is a compilation of the poetry of Oodgeroo, of the tribe Noonuccal, Custodian of the land Minjerribah. This collection of captivating poetry detailing the struggle of Australia’s Indigenous peoples is more relevant today than ever before. While she passed away in 1993, Oodgeroo remains one of Australia’s most influential Aboriginal poets. Her poetry leaves little room to argue why that shouldn’t be the case. Razor-sharp and incisive, while simultaneously haunting and beautiful, Oodgeroo’s poems will enchant both young and old alike. My People is a bewitching collection of Oodgeroo’s poems that belongs on the bookshelves of every art lover and anyone with an appreciation of the written word.
My People
by Noonuccal OodgerooImmerse yourself in the poetry of one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous artists My People is a compilation of the poetry of Oodgeroo, of the tribe Noonuccal, Custodian of the land Minjerribah. This collection of captivating poetry detailing the struggle of Australia’s Indigenous peoples is more relevant today than ever before. While she passed away in 1993, Oodgeroo remains one of Australia’s most influential Aboriginal poets. Her poetry leaves little room to argue why that shouldn’t be the case. Razor-sharp and incisive, while simultaneously haunting and beautiful, Oodgeroo’s poems will enchant both young and old alike. My People is a bewitching collection of Oodgeroo’s poems that belongs on the bookshelves of every art lover and anyone with an appreciation of the written word.