Arachne's Daughter


Book Description

Arachne's Daughter: A tale of murder, mayhem and madness is a modern day Greek tragedy, with multiple threads weaving a strange, yet familiar pattern. In this spellbinding story, a beautiful young witch named Antigone finds herself constantly vilified by religious bigotry, superstition and ignorance that feed off 17th-century witch paranoia. One day a mysterious parcel arrives. It is a powerful and magical gift from the past, one that keeps cropping up at unexpected moments with strange outcomes. Antigone's story is one of being discriminated against, and of being sexually abused and tortured, but the day comes when Antigone the victim becomes Antigone the ruthless assassin. In her deadly wake, she leaves communities cringing, the authorities baffled, and the mental health system in chaos. Amid the murder, mayhem and madness, Antigone must also battle her own demons of mental illness and a deeply scarred childhood. From Mount Olympus in ancient Greece to Mount Wellington in 20th-century Tasmania, and places in-between, Arachne's Daughter is a journey fraught with madness, danger, death and sacrifice. About the Author: Dannii Lane was one of thirty-five alternate personalities (alters) in a multiple personality system (MPD). Dannii was also a witch. Inspiration for the book came from a love of Greek history and myths, and a background of child abuse and mental illness. When not writing, Dannii worked tirelessly advocating for mental health reform. Sadly, due to spontaneous integration, Dannii did not survive to see her novel published. Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/DanniiLane




Toxicon & Arachne


Book Description

'The power of McSweeney's work cannot be separated from its association with forms of oracle and soothsaying, and so it is uncanny that it should arrive in the middle of a global pandemic... Frightening and brilliant' Dan Chiasson, New Yorker How does the body gestate grief? How does toxicity birth catastrophe? In the months leading up to her daughter Arachne's birth, US poet Joyelle McSweeney set out to write a quiver of poems like a quiver of poison arrows: formally and sonically virtuosic, laced with the poet's obsessive concerns with contamination, decay and the sublime, featuring a crown of 'toxic sonnets' for the tuberculosis bacterium that killed Keats. But when Arachne was born with an unexpected birth defect, lived briefly and died, the poet was visited by a second welter of poems, odes of love, grief, perplexity and rage. These two books, Toxicon & Arachne, form a double collection of poems weighing love, grief, art and survival in increasingly toxic days. Toxicon & Arachne is the culmination of eight years of engagement with lyric under a regime of global and personal catastrophes.




Roads of Her Own


Book Description

Reading Jack Kerouac’s classic On the Road through Virginia Woolf’s canonical A Room of One’s Own, the author of this book examines a genre in North American literature which, despite its popularity, has received little attention in literary and cultural criticism: women’s road narratives. The study shows how women’s literature has inscribed itself into the American discourse of the Whitmanesque “open road”, or, more generally, the “freedom of the road”. Women writers have participated in this powerful American myth, yet at the same time also have rejected that myth as fundamentally based on gendered and racial/ethnic hierarchies and power structures, and modified it in the process of writing back to it. The book analyzes stories about female runaways, outlaws, questers, adventurers, kidnappees, biker chicks, travelling saleswomen, and picaras and makes theoretical observations on the debates regarding discourses of spatiality and mobility—debates which have defined the so-called spatial turn in the humanities. The analytical concept of transdifference is introduced to theorize the dissonant plurality of social and cultural affiliations as well as the narrative tensions produced by such pluralities in order to better understand the textual worlds of women’s multiple belongings as they are present in these writings. Roads of Her Own is thus not only situated in the broader context of a constructivist cultural studies, but also, by discussing narrative mobility under the sign of gender, combines insights from social theory and philosophy, feminist cultural geography, and literary studies. Key names and concepts: Doreen Massey – Rosi Braidotti – Literary Studies – Spatial Turn – Gendered Space and Mobility – Nomadism – Road writing – Transdifference – American Culture – Popular Culture – Women’s Literature after the Second Wave – Quest – Picara.




Arachne


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Spin


Book Description




Ovid's Metamorphoses


Book Description

This introduction to Ovid's Metamorphoses considers how Ovid defined and shaped his narrative, its cultural context, and its vivid depictions of the cruelty of jealous gods, the pathos of human love, and the imaginative fantasy of flight, monsters, magicand illusion.










Greek Myths and Their Art


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Yale Classics - Roman Classical Literature


Book Description

Yale Classics - Roman Classical Literature represents a formidable assembly of some of the most pivotal figures and texts that have shaped the Western literary tradition. This anthology traverses an expansive terrain of themes - from the philosophical musings and stoic reflections in Senecas works to the epic narratives of Virgil, and the keen satirical voices of Juvenal and Persius. The collection highlights a stunning array of literary styles, from the eloquent orations of Cicero to the intricate verse of Catullus and the potent histories penned by Tacitus and Sallust. Such diversity not only underscores the richness of Roman literature but also provides readers with a comprehensive insight into the ancient world's complexities and contradictions. The anthology encapsulates the evolution of Roman thought, presenting works that reflect upon love, power, ethics, and the human condition, making it an indispensable resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. The contributing authors, ranging from poets and philosophers to historians and statesmen, bring with them not just their literary talents but also a mosaic of backgrounds that illuminate the socio-political and cultural tapestry of ancient Rome. These figures were instrumental in heralding significant literary and intellectual movements, offering insights into everything from the decadence of the late Roman Republic to the philosophical inquiries of the Empires twilight. The anthology effectively captures the zeitgeist of an era that is at once ancient and remarkably resonant with contemporary themes, bridging millennia through the enduring relevance of its subjects. Together, these works and authors exemplify the height of Roman literary achievement and its lasting influence on subsequent generations. Yale Classics - Roman Classical Literature is essential reading for anyone seeking a deep and varied exploration of Roman intellectual and cultural life. This anthology is not just a testament to the historical importance of Roman literature but also an invitation to engage with the timeless questions and narratives that continue to captivate the modern imagination. Offering both breadth and depth, it promises to enrich ones understanding of not only the Roman world but also the enduring human themes that connect us across time. Scholars, students, and general readers alike will find in this collection a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Roman thought, brought to life by some of historys most influential voices.