The Vintage Book of African American Poetry


Book Description

In The Vintage Book of African American Poetry, editors Michael S. Harper and Anthony Walton present the definitive collection of black verse in the United States--200 years of vision, struggle, power, beauty, and triumph from 52 outstanding poets. From the neoclassical stylings of slave-born Phillis Wheatley to the wistful lyricism of Paul Lawrence Dunbar . . . the rigorous wisdom of Gwendolyn Brooks...the chiseled modernism of Robert Hayden...the extraordinary prosody of Sterling A. Brown...the breathtaking, expansive narratives of Rita Dove...the plaintive rhapsodies of an imprisoned Elderidge Knight . . . The postmodern artistry of Yusef Komunyaka. Here, too, is a landmark exploration of lesser-known artists whose efforts birthed the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts movements--and changed forever our national literature and the course of America itself. Meticulously researched, thoughtfully structured, The Vintage Book of African-American Poetry is a collection of inestimable value to students, educators, and all those interested in the ever-evolving tradition that is American poetry.







Shakespeare as Children's Literature


Book Description

Although William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, he traditionally receives little notice in studies of children's literature. However, there is a fascinating relationship between Shakespeare and children's interests, and the Bard's works have been successfully adapted for children's use over several centuries. This book continues and parallels the author's previous study, Chaucer as Children's Literature, as part of a greater endeavor to evaluate the significance of traditional literature retold as children's literature in modern English studies. It examines the ways in which William Shakespeare's stories have been adapted for children, particularly in Mary and Charles Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, which was almost immediately recognized as a classic of children's literature when it was first published in 1807. The author describes the significance of the Lamb's Tales as the pre-eminent children's adaptation of Shakespeare's literature, focusing particularly on the lavishly illustrated Edwardian editions which used pictures to convey Shakespeare's stories for children. Other topics include Victorian alternatives to the Lambs' stories, including anthologies from David Murray Smith, Abby Sage Richardson, and Mary Seymour; the lavish illustrations of Shakespeare's stories found in antique English textbooks; Shakespeare in nursery books, including sophisticated collections from Mary Macleod, Thomas Carter, Alice S. Hoffman, and other noted authors; and Shakespeare in multi-volume American collections, including The Children's Hour, Journeys through Bookland, and The Junior Classics.




The Greatest Feminist Classics in One Volume


Book Description

DigiCat presents to you this meticulously edited collection of feminist masterpieces - from fictional protagonists who influenced generations of young women to the real heroines of the past, their life stories and their legacy. Fiction: Camilla (Fanny Burney) Maria; Or, The Wrongs of Woman (Mary Wollstonecraft) Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) Lady Macbeth of the Mzinsk District (Nikolai Leskov) Hester (Margaret Oliphant) Life in the Iron Mills (Rebecca Davis) Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) The Portrait of a Lady (Henry James) Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy) North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell) The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) Herland (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen) Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen) The Awakening (Kate Chopin) The Woman Who Did (Grant Allen) Miss Cayley's Adventures (Grant Allen) New Amazonia (Elizabeth Corbett) A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton-Porter) The Iron Woman (Margaret Deland) My Ántonia (Willa Cather) The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton) Summer (Edith Wharton) Sister Carrie (Theodore Dreiser) Sisters (Ada Cambridge) Hagar (Mary Johnston) Samantha on the Woman Question (Marietta Holley) The Precipice (Elia Wilkinson Peattie) To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf) Miss Lulu Bett (Zona Gale) Lady Chatterley's Lover (D. H. Lawrence) The Enchanted April (Elizabeth von Arnim) Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Emily of New Moon (Lucy Maud Montgomery) Memoirs: Madame Vigée Lebrun Jane Austen Caroline Herschel Mrs. Seacole Elizabeth Cady Stanton Emmeline Pankhurst Biographies: Lucretia Sappho Aspasia of Cyrus Portia Octavia Cleopatra Julia Domna Zenobia Valeria Hypatia Roswitha the Nun Marie de France Mechthild of Magdeburg Joan of Arc Catharine of Arragon Anne Boleyn Queen Elizabeth Mary, Queen of Scots Queen Anne Maria Theresa Marie Antoinette Madame de Stael Augustina Saragoza Charlotte Brontë Florence Nightingale Harriet Tubman







The Independent


Book Description




The Faerie Queene as Children's Literature


Book Description

Edmund Spenser's vast epic poem The Faerie Queene is the most challenging masterpiece in early modern literature and is praised as the work most representative of the Elizabethan age. In it he fused traditions of medieval romance and classical epic, his religious and political allegory creating a Protestant alternative to the Catholic romances rejected by humanists and Puritans. The poem was later made over as children's literature, retold in lavish volumes and schoolbooks and appreciated in pedagogical studies and literary histories. Distinguished writers for children simplified the stories and noted artists illustrated them. Children were less encouraged to consider the allegory than to be inspired to the moral virtues. This book studies The Faerie Queene's many adaptations for a young audience in order to provide a richer understanding of both the original and adapted texts.




The Essential Feminist Collection – 60 Powerful Classics in One Volume


Book Description

The Essential Feminist Collection 60 Powerful Classics in One Volume' is a seminal anthology that encapsulates the multifaceted nature of feminist literary expression across two centuries. This collection traverses a vast landscape of literary styles from the penetrating realism of Henrik Ibsen to the nuanced social commentary of Charlotte Brontë, and the pioneering environmentalism of Gene Stratton-Porter. It underscores the incredible diversity and significant impact of feminist literature, showcasing standout pieces that have fundamentally shifted the cultural and literary discourse surrounding gender, society, and human rights. The range of narratives, from novels and essays to speeches and letters, provides a comprehensive view of the feminist literary canon, highlighting the enduring relevance of its themes. The contributing authors and editors, coming from varied backgrounds, epochs, and disciplines, bring together a rich tapestry of perspectives that reflect the historical, cultural, and literary movements of their times. From the enlightened essays of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill to the poignant novels of Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton, each contributor has played a pivotal role in shaping the contours of feminist thought. The anthology serves not only as a literary collection but as a dynamic conversation among some of the most influential feminist voices, examining the intersectionality of gender, class, and race, and advocating for social and political reform. 'The Essential Feminist Collection 60 Powerful Classics in One Volume' is an indispensable resource for readers seeking to delve into the depths of feminist literature. It offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the works of trailblazing authors who have articulated the struggles, aspirations, and triumphs of women across generations. This anthology is recommended for its educational value, its breadth of insights, and the rich dialogue it fosters between the diverse authors' works. Readers are invited to explore this comprehensive collection, which serves not only as a testament to the progress of feminist thought but also as an inspiration for ongoing advocacy and discourse in the quest for gender equality.




The American Discovery of the Norse


Book Description

"The interest of a group of American writers in the Norse (Viking Age Scandinavians) began to develop in the late 1830s, reaching its high point at mid-century and tapering off after the Civil War as the members of the group neared the end of their careers (only one of the authors discussed, Julia Clinton Jones, joins the club at the end of the period)." "This period, defined as the original phase of the American discovery of the Norse, features two essayists, Emerson and Thoreau, who refer to the Norse in writing on a variety of topics. Fiction is represented by Melville alone (American writers of fiction like Stowe and Hawthorne shun the Norse). Neither the essayists nor Melville uses Norse themes as their primary subject. That is reserved for the poets: Lowell, Whittier, Taylor, Longfellow, and Julia Clinton Jones."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved




STRANGE STRANGE THINGS: 550+ Supernatural Mysteries, Macabre & Horror Classics


Book Description

The biggest collection of supernatural, macabre, eerie, and gothic tales is here! Grab your copy and get ready for the chills down your spine: Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart The Cask of Amontillado The Black Cat… Henry James: The Turn of the Screw The Ghostly Rental… H. P. Lovecraft: The Dunwich Horror The Shunned House… Mary Shelley: Frankenstein The Mortal Immortal The Evil Eye… John William Polidori: The Vampyre Bram Stoker: Dracula The Jewel of Seven Stars The Lair of the White Worm… Algernon Blackwood: The Willows A Haunted Island A Case of Eavesdropping Ancient Sorceries… Gaston Leroux: The Phantom of the Opera Marjorie Bowen: Black Magic Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Théophile Gautier: Clarimonde The Mummy's Foot Richard Marsh: The Beetle Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles The Silver Hatchet… Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla Uncle Silas… M. R. James: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary A Thin Ghost and Others Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White The Haunted Hotel The Devil's Spectacles E. F. Benson: The Room in the Tower The Terror by Night… Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Birth Mark The House of the Seven Gables… Ambrose Bierce: Can Such Things Be? Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories Arthur Machen: The Great God Pan The Terror… William Hope Hodgson: The House on the Borderland The Night Land M. P. Shiel: Shapes in the Fire Ralph Adams Cram: Black Spirits and White Grant Allen: The Reverend John Creedy Dr. Greatrex's Engagement… Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto William Thomas Beckford: Vathek Matthew Gregory Lewis: The Monk Ann Radcliffe: The Mysteries of Udolpho Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights Rudyard Kipling: The Phantom Rickshaw Guy de Maupassant: The Horla Jerome K. Jerome: Told After Supper…