Critical Terms for Literary Study


Book Description

Since its publication in 1990, Critical Terms for Literary Study has become a landmark introduction to the work of literary theory—giving tens of thousands of students an unparalleled encounter with what it means to do theory and criticism. Significantly expanded, this new edition features six new chapters that confront, in different ways, the growing understanding of literary works as cultural practices. These six new chapters are "Popular Culture," "Diversity," "Imperialism/Nationalism," "Desire," "Ethics," and "Class," by John Fiske, Louis Menand, Seamus Deane, Judith Butler, Geoffrey Galt Harpham, and Daniel T. O'Hara, respectively. Each new essay adopts the approach that has won this book such widespread acclaim: each provides a concise history of a literary term, critically explores the issues and questions the term raises, and then puts theory into practice by showing the reading strategies the term permits. Exploring the concepts that shape the way we read, the essays combine to provide an extraordinary introduction to the work of literature and literary study, as the nation's most distinguished scholars put the tools of critical practice vividly to use.




The Book of the British Library


Book Description

As well as holding some of the world's most prized cultural treasures, the British Library is the repository of the nation's collective memory. Owing its origin to the generosity and far-sightedness of a handful of 18th-century scholars and booklovers, and built up over 250 years, the Library's very extensive collections--of books, manuscripts, maps, music, newspapers, photographs, sound recordings, stamps, and digital media--offer keys to the understanding of human achievement in literature, art, music, politics, journalism, exploration, and much else, from ancient times to the present day. In this highly illustrated book, Michael Leapman tells the Library's story, highlighting the most significant and beautiful items in its care, as well as exploring some of the lesser known, more surprising artifacts housed in its iconic building in the heart of London.




Reference Guide to English Literature


Book Description

Concise discussions of the lives and principal works of writers from Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and English-speaking Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Written by subject experts.




Reading Contemporary African American Literature


Book Description

Reading Contemporary African American Literature focuses on the subject of contemporary African American popular fiction by women. Bragg’s study addresses why such work should be the subject of scholarly examination, describes the events and attitudes which account for the critical neglect of this body of work, and models a critical approach to such narratives that demonstrates the distinctive ways in which this literature captures the complexities of post-civil rights era black experiences. In making her arguments regarding the value of popular writing, Bragg argues that black women’s popular fiction foregrounds gender in ways that are frequently missing from other modes of narrative production. They exhibit a responsiveness and timeliness to the shifting social terrain which is reflected in the rapidly shifting styles and themes which characterize popular fiction. In doing so, they extend the historical function of African American literature by continuing to engage the black body as a symbol of political meaning in the social context of the United States. In popular literature Beauty Bragg locates a space from which black women engage a variety of public discourses.




1000 Years of English Literature


Book Description

The British Library is home to an unparalleled collection of original manuscripts of great English literature, from the tenth-century manuscript of Beowulf to the work of such twentieth-century authors as T. S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, and Angela Carter. With 1000 Years of English Literature, Chris Fletcher shares some of the gems from the collection. Originally published in 2003, this updated and expanded paperback edition chronicles the life and work of more than one hundred of the best-loved British writers, with greater attention paid to the writers of the twentieth century. Each spread begins with an engaging sketch of the life and significance of the author, then offers a reproduced portion of manuscript on the facing page. Among the writers included are Shakespeare, Dickens, Wordsworth, and Larkin, and the volume also presents such masterpieces as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, and Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. Whether written on parchment, vellum, or paper, and whether poems, short stories, novels, or diaries, these documents offer fascinating insights into the world of the writer at work and at times reveal major amendments and corrections carried out during the course of writing. An inspiring vision of literary achievement, 1000 Years of English Literature will not only teach and delight but also enrich the pleasure of reading and rereading the best literature Britain has to offer.




Writing Well in the 21st Century


Book Description

Writing Well in the 21st Century: The Five Essentials provides students, career-builders, and professional writers with the basic elements needed for writing in the 21st century. The book fully explains—and links—the five essentials of good writing: punctuation, grammar, fact-checking, style, and voice. Throughout history technology has changed both language and writing. Today in the digital age, language and writing are changing at a phenomenal pace. Students, career-builders, and professional writers need this guide that reviews those changes and connects the essentials for creating good writing in the digital age. Writing Well in the 21st Century: The Five Essentials gives writers the tools needed today. Among other essentials, the book: Resolves comma issues by explaining the Open and Close Punctuation systems. Writers select which system to use in their writing. Clarifies active and passive voice verbs and advocates using strong, specific verbs in writing. Provides guidelines for choosing credible online websites when searching for resources. Examines attributes of essentials that contribute to a writing style and urges a critical review of verbs. Connects elements that combine to create a voice in a written piece. Relevant and succinctly written, Writing Well in the 21st Century: The Five Essentials gives readers the basics they need to know to create well-written documents for school, work and in their professional writing.




Memory's Library


Book Description

In Jennifer Summit’s account, libraries are more than inert storehouses of written tradition; they are volatile spaces that actively shape the meanings and uses of books, reading, and the past. Considering the two-hundred-year period between 1431, which saw the foundation of Duke Humfrey’s famous library, and 1631, when the great antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton died, Memory’s Library revises the history of the modern library by focusing on its origins in medieval and early modern England. Summit argues that the medieval sources that survive in English collections are the product of a Reformation and post-Reformation struggle to redefine the past by redefining the cultural place, function, and identity of libraries. By establishing the intellectual dynamism of English libraries during this crucial period of their development, Memory’s Library demonstrates how much current discussions about the future of libraries can gain by reexamining their past.




Essay and General Literature Index


Book Description

- Indexes some 3,800 essays from over 300 collections and anthologies each year. - Electronic version available, see p. 30. - Annual Subscription: $310 ($360 outside U.S. & Canada)




American Bibliography: Items 1-50192


Book Description

Author index also includes a list of corrections.