Here are some of the most-loved poems in the English language, chosen not merely for their popularity, but for their literary quality as well. Dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, these splendid poems remain evergreen in their capacity to engage our minds and refresh our spirits. Among them are Marlowe: «The Passionate Shepherd to His Love»; Shakespeare: «Sonnet XVIII» («Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?»); Donne: «Holy Sonnet X» («Death, be not proud»); Marvell: «To His...
Focusing on popular verse from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this treasury of great American poems offers a taste of the nation's rich poetic legacy. Selected for both popularity and literary quality, the compilation includes Robert Frost's «Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,» Walt Whitman's «I Hear America Singing,» and Ralph Waldo Emerson's «Concord Hymn,» as well as poems by Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, T. S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, and...
Joan Lindsay's classic novel Picnic at Hanging Rock is a subtle blend of mysterious and sinister events set in a period of Australian social life drawn with loving nostalgia. The final chapter of the novel was removed at the request of her publishers, creating a mystery to which thousands have begged to know the solution.<br /> <br />The missing chapter reveals what did happen to the schoolgirls who vanished from the Rock after a St Valentine's Day picnic in 1900, and holds...
Shortly before his death in 2014, an elderly man brought his publisher friend a crumpled purple folder filled with type-written pages. <i>Cleaning the Stables</i> he called it: a selection of stories, poems and a recipe that he didn't want left behind. <br /> <br />In this posthumous collection we are given a feast of mostly unpublished treasures from the great literary life of Morris Lurie. Written in the wry and ironic style he was celebrated for, these pieces are...
Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable—and most parodied—names in western literature. Bill Mason, BSI, collects and annotates these parody names, from the first one that appeared in 1891, to the present day. As Mason says in his introduction:<P> One of the great aspects of Sherlock Holmes is the fact that, just as the character himself is subject to endless variation, so is his name. Ellery Queen noted that the name itself “is particularly susceptible to the twistings and...
Darrell Schweitzer's third collection of essays and reviews, a successor to the well-received «Windows of the Imagination» and «The Fantastic Horizon,» is a balanced mixture of scholarship and entertainment, ranging over the entire spectrum of imaginative literature, from the oldest novel in the world (1st century B.C.) to classic (and not-so-classic) pulp fiction, to childhood reading, to examinations of the works of such masters as H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Robert Bloch, Stanley...
Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) was an American writer, philosopher, publisher and artist, who founded the Roycroft Arts and Crafts community in East Aurora, New York. Hubbard set up a small printing shop next to his family home, where he began printing «The Philistine» magazine. The publication, quite popular in its time, was filled with Hubbard's sardonic wit, satire and often controversial commentary. An 1899 edition of the magazine included «A Message to Garcia», an inspirational essay...
Bushido, which literally means “the way of warriors” is a code of conduct, based upon a set of honors and ideals associated with the samurai way of life, that has greatly influenced the culture and people of Japan. The origin of bushido likely dates to sometime between the 16th and 20th century in Japan, though some scholars argue that it may have been built upon much earlier traditions. Born from the Neo-Confucianism of the Edo period, bushido emphasizes the eight virtues of righteousness,...
Originally published in 1938, this classic by Brenda Ueland is considered by many to be one of the best books ever written on how to be a writer. Part a lesson on writing and part a philosophy on life, Ueland believed that anyone could be a writer and everyone had something important to say. Heavily influenced by the ideas of William Blake, Ueland outlines 12 points to keep in mind while writing and encourages writers to find their true, authentic selves and write from there. Born in Minneapolis...
Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, lived in the 4th century B.C. and is thought of as one of the most important figures from classical antiquity. Aristotle was probably the most famous member of Plato’s Academy in Athens, whose writings would ultimately form the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. His writings were not constrained to simply one field of inquiry but covered such various subjects as physics, biology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, rhetoric,...