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Wendell Berry: Life and Work (Culture of the Land #Cull)
by Jason PetersA portrait of an American thinker with contributions by Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Sven Birkerts, Wes Jackson, and more: “A masterful collection.” —Charlotte ObserverEssayist, social critic, poet, “mad farmer,” novelist, teacher, and prophet: Wendell Berry has been called many things, but the broad sweep of his contemporary relevance and influence defies facile labels. With a unique perspective and far-reaching vision, Berry poses complex questions about humankind and our relationship to the land and offers simple but profound solutions. Berry’s writings give voice to a provocative but consistent philosophy that extends far beyond its agrarian core to include elements of sociology, the natural sciences, politics, religion, philosophy, linguistics, agriculture, and other seemingly incompatible fields of study.Wendell Berry: Life and Work examines this wise, original thinker, appraising his written work and exploring his influence as an activist and artist. Each of the contributors—including Hayden Carruth, Sven Birkerts, Barbara Kingsolver, Stanley Hauerwas, Donald Hall, Ed McClanahan, Bill McKibben, Scott Russell Sanders, Norman Wirzba, Wes Jackson, and Eric T. Freyfogle—examines an aspect of Berry’s varied yet cohesive body of work. Also included are highly personal glimpses of Berry: his career, academic influence, and unconventional lifestyle.These deft sketches show the purity of Berry’s agrarian lifestyle and demonstrate that there is nothing simple about the life to which he’s devoted himself. He embraces a life that sustains him not by easy purchase and haste but by physical labor and patience, not by mindless acquiescence to a centralized economy but by attention to local ways and wisdom. This book combines biographical sketches, personal accounts, literary criticism, and social commentary. The result is a rich portrait of one of America’s most profound and honest thinkers.
Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (Culture of the Land)
by Jeffrey Bilbro Jack R. BakerWhy the university should focus on community: “An enlightening interpretation of Wendell Berry’s philosophy for the pursuit of a holistic higher education.” —Publishers WeeklyProminent author and cultural critic Wendell Berry is well known for his contributions to agrarianism and environmentalism, but his commentary on education has received comparatively little attention. Yet Berry has been eloquently unmasking America’s cultural obsession with restless mobility for decades, arguing that it causes damage to both the land and the character of our communities. The education system, he maintains, plays a central role in this obsession, inculcating in students’ minds the American dream of moving up and moving on.Drawing on Berry’s essays, fiction, and poetry, Jack R. Baker and Jeffrey Bilbro illuminate the influential thinker’s vision for higher education in this path-breaking study. Each chapter begins with an examination of one of Berry’s fictional narratives and then goes on to consider how the passage inspires new ways of thinking about the university’s mission. Throughout, Baker and Bilbro argue that instead of training students to live in their careers, universities should educate students to inhabit and serve their places. The authors also offer practical suggestions for how students, teachers, and administrators might begin implementing these ideas.Baker and Bilbro conclude that institutions guided by Berry’s vision might cultivate citizens who can begin the work of healing their communities—graduates who have been educated for responsible membership in a family, a community, or a polity.
Wendy Wasserstein
by Jill DolanPlaywright Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), author of The Heidi Chronicles, wrote topical, humorous plays addressing relationships among women and their families, taking the temperature of social moments from the 1960s onward to debate women’s rightful place in their professional and personal lives. The playwright’s popular plays continue to be produced on Broadway and in regional theaters around the country and the world. Wasserstein’s emergence as a popular dramatist in the 1970s paralleled the emergence of the second-wave feminist movement in the United States, a cultural context reflected in the themes of her plays. Yet while some of her comedies and witty dramas were wildly successful, packing theaters and winning awards, feminists of the era often felt that the plays did not go far enough. Wendy Wasserstein provides a critical introduction and a feminist reappraisal of the significant plays of one of the most famous contemporary American women playwrights. Following a biographical introduction, chapters address each of her important plays, situating Wasserstein’s work in the history of the US feminist movement and in a historical moment in which women artists continue to struggle for recognition.
Wenn Selbstliebe bewegt: (Neu-)Bewertende Verständnisse von Motivation und Selbstliebe in der spanischen Literatur von Gracián bis Galdós
by Martha WalczakEs gehört Mut dazu, etwas Neuartiges zu wagen: So gibt es in der Literaturwissenschaft zwar unterschiedliche Methoden, mit Texten umzugehen, aber eine psychologische ist weniger üblich. Dieses Buch nähert sich dem Thema der Selbstliebe, das in der begriffsgeschichtlichen und literaturwissenschaftlichen Forschung ausgiebig behandelt worden ist, mit eben dieser psychologischen Perspektive. Selbstliebe erscheint jahrhundertelang als buchstäblich zu verteufeln. Heute hingegen wird Selbstliebe als unabdingbar erachtet. Ihr Fehlen wird für eine Bandbreite an Erkrankungen, die gar im Suizid gipfeln können, verantwortlich gemacht. Kurzum werden der Selbstliebe handlungstreibende Wirkungen zugeschrieben. Sie gilt als Grundvoraussetzung für Solidarität, für soziales Miteinander, für Empathie. Ist sie nun also förderlich oder schädlich? Deutete alles darauf hin, dass ein Wandel von einer negativen zu einer positiven Bewertung stattfand, so zeigt die Arbeit, dass dies zu simplistisch wäre. Anhand weit erforschter literarischer Beispiele wird auf noch nicht dagewesene Weise deutlich, wie die positive Bewertung der Selbstliebe für eine psychische Konstante der Menschheit gehalten werden muss.
Wer sagt Spanisch lernen macht keinen Spaß?
by Zavier JepsonSuchen Sie nach einem Weg Ihr Spanisch zu verbessern und wollen Sie es so schnell wie möglich für Ihren nächsten Urlaub oder ihr nächstes Familientreffen lernen? Dann haben Sie genau das richitge Buch gefunden. Mit "Wer sagt Spanisch lernen macht keinen Spaß?" lernen Sie die Sprache in kürzester Zeit fließend. Mit den besonderen Lerntechniken können Sie die Sprache sogar innerhalb von drei Tagen lernen!
Wer sehen will, muss spüren: Warum uns manche Serien und Filme berühren und uns andere kaltlassen (Über/Strom: Wegweiser durchs digitale Zeitalter)
by Wiebke SchwelgengräberWarum berühren uns Serien wie „Game of Thrones“, „Breaking Bad“, „Sex Education“ und Filme wie „Es“, „Sieben“, oder „Mamma Mia!“? Manchmal sind wir gefesselt von einem Film oder einer Serie und vergessen alles um uns herum. Und ein anderes Mal vergeht die Zeit einfach nicht und der Film langweilt uns zu Tode. Wieder andere Filme und Serien können wir gar nicht erst aushalten, weil Gewalt, Ekel, und Demütigungen von Figuren uns unangenehm vereinnahmen und geradezu einschnüren.In diesem Buch erfahren Sie, wie Filme und Serien uns emotional berühren - oder eben auch nicht. Anhand zahlreicher Beispiele lernen Sie, wie Langeweile, Freude, Angst, Empathie, Ekel, Nervosität, Scham, Schrecken oder Sehnsucht beim Film- und Serienschauen geradezu leiblich spürbar werden. Diese philosophischen Betrachtungen werden jeweils psychologisch eingeordnet, um einen umfassenden Blick auf das ‚Spüren beim Sehen‘ zu erlangen. .Der InhaltGeschichten verbinden unsGeschichten berühren unsKatharsis nach AristotelesLeibphänomenologieDas Phänomen Binge-WatchingGeschichten wollen erinnert werdenEntladung von Wut und EnttäuschungEntladung von SehnsuchtGeschichten lassen uns trotzdem manchmal kaltGeschichten verändern unsDie ZielgruppePersonen, die Filme und Serien schauen, Rezensionen/Kritiken lesen, im Alltag über ebenjene mit anderen sprechen
„Wer wird nicht einen Klopstock loben?“: Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstocks poetische Innovationen und ihre produktive Rezeption (Abhandlungen zur Literaturwissenschaft)
by Alexander Nebrig Lutz HagestedtFriedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803) war in der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts die zentrale Figur der deutschen Poesie. Er revolutionierte Theorie und Praxis des Verses, wertete die Position von Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftstellern im Literaturbetrieb auf, schrieb das wichtigste Epos des 18. Jahrhunderts und ist mit seinen Oden und Gedichten für Lyrikerinnen und Lyriker weiterhin mustergültig und stilbildend. Die 26 richtungsweisenden Beiträge der internationalen Quedlinburger Konferenz, die im 300. Jubiläumsjahr Klopstocks erscheinen, diskutieren die innovative Leistung dieser Dichterpersönlichkeit sowie die facettenreiche und vielseitige Rezeption seiner Werke.
#WeRateDogs: The Most Hilarious and Adorable Pups You've Ever Seen
by Matt NelsonThe ultimate book for our obsession with dogs on social media!“Over-the-top and hilarious.” —Barkpost <P><P>Based on the Twitter and Instagram sensation, #WeRateDogs features the most heroic, over-the-top adorable, wildly successful, all-around entertaining dogs the world has ever seen! It combines extraordinary photos with ridiculous captions to expand the knowledge and overall lives of its readers. It is not only an exceptionally reliable source for dog greatness, it is also a one stop shop for happiness. <P><P>This book takes readers on a journey through the strict science of dog rating and the unwavering rules associated with it. Questioning the accuracy of these ratings is ill-advised. They are certainly not arbitrary and this book is absolutely not just about how cute dogs are. It truly is all about precision and ethics in dog rating. <P><P>The #WeRateDogs book will produce an audible reaction with every flip of the page—whether a groan from a terrible pupper pun or an “aww” of seeing a super floofer. If #WeRateDogs takes you away from reality and pushes you into this conglomerate of absurdity for even a second, then it has fulfilled its purpose.
We're All Journalists Now
by Scott GantAs the internet continues to reshape almost all corners of our world, no institution has been more profoundly altered than the practice of journalism and distribution of information. In this provocative new book, Scott Gant, a distinguished Washington attorney and constitutional law scholar, argues that we as a society need to rethink our notions of what journalism is, who is a journalist and exactly what the founding fathers intended when they referred to "the freedom of the press." Are bloggers journalists, even if they receive no income? Even if they are unedited and sometimes irresponsible? Many traditional news organizations would say no. But Gant contends otherwise and suggests we think of these sometimes unruly online purveyors of information and opinion as heirs to those early pamphleteers who helped shape our fledgling democracy. He gives us a persuasive and engaging argument for affording bloggers and everyone else who disseminates information and opinion in the U.S. the same rights and privileges that traditional journalists enjoy. The rise of the Internet and blogosphere has blurred the once distinct role of the media in our society. It wasn't long ago that the line between journalists and the rest of us seemed relatively clear: Those who worked for news organizations were journalists and everyone else was not. Those days are gone. On the Internet, the line has totally disappeared. It's harder than ever to answer the question, "Who is a journalist?" Yet it is a question asked routinely in American courtrooms and legislatures because there are many circumstances where those deemed "journalists" are afforded rights and privileges not available to the rest of us. The question will become increasingly important as the transformation of journalism continues, and bloggers and other "citizen journalists" battle for equal standing with professional journalists. Advancing arguments that are sure to stir controversy, Scott Gant leads the debate with a serious yet accessible discussion about whether, where, and how the government can decide who is a journalist. Challenging the mainstream media, Gant puts forth specific arguments about how to change existing laws and makes elegant suggestions for new laws that will properly account for the undeniable reality that We're All Journalists Now. For all of us who care about the ways in which the digital revolution is sweeping through our culture, this is a work of opinion that will be seen as required reading.
We're Alone: Essays
by Edwidge DanticatA collection of exceptional new essays by one of the most significant contemporary writers on the world stage Tracing a loose arc from Edwidge Danticat’s childhood to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent events in Haiti, the essays gathered in We’re Alone include personal narrative, reportage, and tributes to mentors and heroes such as Toni Morrison, Paule Marshall, Gabriel García Márquez, and James Baldwin that explore several abiding themes: environmental catastrophe, the traumas of colonialism, motherhood, and the complexities of resilience.From hurricanes to political violence, from her days as a new student at a Brooklyn elementary school knowing little English to her account of a shooting hoax at a Miami mall, Danticat has an extraordinary ability to move from the personal to the global and back again. Throughout, literature and art prove to be her reliable companions and guides in both tragedies and triumphs.Danticat is an irresistible presence on the page: full of heart, outrage, humor, clear thinking, and moral questioning, while reminding us of the possibilities of community. And so “we’re alone” is both a fearsome admission and an intimate invitation—we’re alone now, we can talk. We’re Alone is a book that asks us to think through some of the world’s intractable problems while deepening our understanding of one of the most significant novelists at work today.
Werner Kofler intermedial (Kontemporär. Schriften zur deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur #6)
by Anke Bosse Claudia Dürr Wolfgang StraubIn wenigen schriftstellerischen Œuvres steht die Reflexion zeitgenössischer Medienpraxis sowie die Medialität des eigenen Schreibens so im Zentrum wie im Werk Werner Koflers. Die Beiträge zu Kofler intermedial untersuchen die verschiedenen Aspekte des Medienwechsels und der intermedialen Bezüge in seinen Prosatexten, seinen auditiven und filmischen Arbeiten. Dadurch entsteht ein Gesamtbild eines in seinen verschiedenen medialen Ausformungen motivisch und thematisch intensiv verwobenen Werks – von intertextuellen Aspekten über die enorme Bedeutung von Musik bis zur Verknüpfung mit Fotografie.
Wert- und Interessenkonflikte in der strategischen Kommunikation: Kommunikationswissenschaftliche Analysen zu Organisationen im Spannungsfeld zwischen Gemeinwohl und Partikularinteressen
by Kerstin Thummes Anna Dudenhausen Ulrike RöttgerDer Band sammelt aktuelle Modelle, Analysen und Befunde dazu, wie strategische Kommunikation im Spannungsfeld zwischen Gemeinwohl und Partikularinteressen verortet und gestaltet werden kann. Bisherige Ansätze der Forschung zur strategischen Kommunikation, etwa zur CSR-Kommunikation oder zu dialogorientierter Public Relations, ordnen die Verfolgung gesellschaftlicher Interessen oft in den größeren Rahmen des Strebens nach Partikularinteressen ein und zeigen auf, wie gesellschaftliche Verantwortungsübernahme zu organisationalen Interessen beitragen kann und soll. Demgegenüber gelangen die Beiträge des Sammelbands durch die Kontrastierung von Gemeinwohl und Partikularinteresse zu neuen Erkenntnissen. Dabei stehen zwei Fragen im Zentrum: 1. Wie kann strategische Kommunikation modelliert und praktiziert werden, die systematisch neben Partikularinteressen auch oder vornehmlich Gemeinwohlinteressen bedient? 2. Welche typischen Wertkonflikte existieren im Kontext der strategischen Kommunikation und welche theoretisch begründeten und/oder empirisch erprobten Ansätze gibt es zum Umgang mit solchen Konflikten?
Werte. Sprache. Integration: Zur Konstruktion von Werten in DaZ-Lehrmaterialien
by Michael Hofer-RobinsonMit dem neuen Integrationsgesetz 2017 wurden Werte verpflichtender Bestandteil von Integrationskursmaßnahmen in Österreich. In dieser Studie werden Lehrbücher untersucht, die vom Österreichischen Integrationsfonds (ÖIF) für den Einsatz in ,Deutschkursen mit Werte- und Orientierungswissen‘ empfohlen werden. Es werden Möglichkeiten und Perspektiven betrachtet, die das didaktische Material eröffnet und danach gefragt, wie Werte in den Materialien konstruiert werden, wie Lernende (und Lehrende) durch Lehrmaterialien adressiert werden (können), welche Vorstellungen von gesellschaftlicher Wirklichkeit und Subjekten rekonstruierbar sind und welche gesellschaftliche Positionen Lernenden gegenüber angeregt werden. Bei der Analyse wird eine migrationspädagogisch, rassismuskritisch und subjektivierungstheoretisch informierte Perspektive eingenommen und mit dem Ansatz der Thematischen Diskursanalyse verschränkt, um das Wissen aus den Werte-Materialien zu rekonstruieren. Auf der Grundlage der theoretischen und methodischen Vorannahmen werden Lehrbücher von drei Verlagen analysiert und anhand dieser Rekonstruktionen typischer Adressierungen und Konstruktionen von Wirklichkeit dargestellt.
Werte und Metaphern in der Unternehmenskommunikation: Sensemaking, Mindset, Sprache
by Annika Schach Ulrike Buchholz Victoria von der HaarDie Transformation durch Digitalisierung und Kulturwandel in Unternehmen bewirken eine Konzentration auf Werte. Stärkere Kollaboration und weniger Hierarchie erfordern Halt und Orientierung aus der Organisation heraus. Purpose, Sensemaking und Mindset spiegeln sich in Texten der Unternehmenskommunikation – besonders in Leitbildern und der Unternehmensphilosophie. Hilfreich ist die Beschäftigung mit Metaphern. So lassen sich sinnstiftende Konzepte identifizieren, in Texte integrieren und im Kommunikationsmanagement einsetzen. Das Buch beschäftigt sich mit dem werteorientierten Kommunikationsmanagement und der Wertevermittlung mit Metaphern in Unternehmenstexten. Der InhaltEinleitung • Werteorientierte Unternehmensführung und Kommunikationsmanagement • Wertevermittlung durch Sprache und Text • Metaphern in der werteorientierten Unternehmenskommunikation Die AutorinnenDr. Ulrike Buchholz ist Professorin für Unternehmenskommunikation an der Hochschule Hannover, Fakultät III – Medien, Information und Design.Dr. Annika Schach ist Professorin für Angewandte PR an der Hochschule Hannover, Fakultät III – Medien, Information und Design.Victoria von der Haar ist Referentin für Unternehmenskommunikation bei der Dr. Wolff-Gruppe, Bielefeld.
Wertschätzende Kommunikation mit Spenderinnen und Spendern: Gewinnung und Bindung von Unterstützerinnen und Unterstützern durch empathische Gespräche (essentials)
by Stephanie NeumannJe detaillierter eine Organisation die Motive ihrer Unterstützerinnen und Unterstützer kennt, desto besser kann sie sie langfristig binden. Dabei ist es wichtig zu verstehen, dass Zuhören nicht gleich Zustimmen ist. Stephanie Neumann beschreibt in diesem essential die von Marshall Rosenberg entwickelte Methode der „Gewaltfreien Kommunikation“ (GFK) – ein Handlungskonzept, in dem es darum geht, die Gefühle und Bedürfnisse der Gesprächspartnerin oder des Gesprächspartners zu verstehen, damit Vertrauen entstehen kann. Dies ist in der Kommunikation mit Spenderinnen und Spendern eine Grundvoraussetzung, da eine Organisation nur mit deren Unterstützung existieren kann. Wenn die Mitarbeitenden der Organisation verstehen, was ihre Spenderinnen und Spender bewegt, werden sie erfolgreich Mittel generieren.
West African Women in the Diaspora: Narratives of Other Spaces, Other Selves (Routledge African Diaspora Literary and Cultural Studies)
by Rose A. SackeyfioThis book examines fictional works by women authors who have left their homes in West Africa and now live as members of the diaspora. In recent years a compelling array of critically acclaimed fiction by women in the West African diaspora has shifted the direction of the African novel away from post-colonial themes of nationhood, decolonization and cultural authenticity, and towards explorations of the fluid and shifting constructions of identity in transnational spaces. Drawing on works by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Buchi Emecheta, Ama Ata Aidoo, Sefi Atta, Chika Unigwe and Taiye Selasie, this book interrogates the ways in which African diaspora women’s fiction portrays the realities of otherness, hybridity and marginalized existence of female subjects beyond Africa’s borders. Overall, the book demonstrates that life in the diaspora is an uncharted journey of expanded opportunities along with paradoxical realities of otherness. Providing a vivid and composite portrait of African women’s experiences in the diasporic landscape, this book will be of interest to researchers of migration and diaspora topics, and African, women’s and world literature.
West/Border/Road: Nation and Genre in Contemporary Canadian Narrative
by Katherine Ann RobertsThe North American entertainment industry is rapidly consolidating, and new modes of technological delivery challenge Canadian content regulations. An understanding of how Canadian culture negotiates its rapport with American genres has never been more timely. West/Border/Road offers an interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary Canadian manifestations of three American genres: the western, the border, and the road. It situates close readings of literary, film, and television narratives from both English Canada and Quebec within a larger context of Canadian generic borrowing and innovation. Katherine Ann Roberts calls upon canonical works in Canadian studies, theories of genre, and a wide range of scholarship from border studies, cultural studies, and film studies to examine how genre is appropriated and sometimes reworked and how these cultural narratives engage with discourses of contemporary Canadian nationhood. The author elucidates Guy Vanderhaeghe’s rewriting of the codes of the historical western to include the trauma of Aboriginal peoples, Aritha van Herk’s playful spoof on American western iconography, the politics and perils of the representation of the Canada-US border in CBC-produced crime television, and how the road genre inspires and constrains the Québécois and Canadian road movie. A reminder of the power and limitations of American genres, West/Border/Road provides a nuanced perspective on Canadian engagement with cultural forms that may be imported but never foreign.
West Coast Wild ABC (West Coast Wild #3)
by Deborah HodgeExplore the wild and wonderful Pacific west coast from A to Z! Bears amble, cougars prowl and eagles nest in this beautiful nature alphabet book celebrating the Pacific west coast. Babies and toddlers will delight in the gorgeous watercolor illustrations and fascinating creatures that inhabit the ancient rainforest, rugged beach and majestic Pacific Ocean. Large upper and lowercase alphabet letters on each page encourage letter recognition. Key Text Features illustrations
West from Home: The Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915 (Little House #11)
by Roger Lea Macbride Laura Ingalls WilderLaura Ingalls Wilder described her 1915 voyage to San Francisco to visit her daughter, Rose Lane. Laura's husband, Almanzo, was unable to leave their Missouri farm and these are her faithful letters home, vividly describing every detail of her journey.
West of the Jordan
by Laila HalabyA poignant novel of four Arab women; the first Bluestreak original. This is a brilliant and revelatory first novel by a woman who is both an Arab and an American, who speaks with both voices and understands both worlds. Through the narratives of four cousins at the brink of maturity, Laila Halaby immerses her readers in the lives, friendships, and loves of girls struggling with national, ethnic, and sexual identities. <p><p> Mawal is the stable one, living steeped in the security of Palestinian traditions in the West Bank. Hala is torn between two worlds--in love in Jordan, drawn back to the world she has come to love in Arizona. Khadija is terrified by the sexual freedom of her American friends, but scarred, both literally and figuratively, by her father's abusive behavior. Soraya is lost in trying to forge an acceptable life in a foreign yet familiar land, in love with her own uncle, and unable to navigate the fast culture of California youth. <p> Interweaving their stories, allowing us to see each cousin from multiple points of view, Halaby creates a compelling and entirely original story, a window into the rich and complicated Arab world.
West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders, and Killers in the Golden State
by Mark AraxTeddy Roosevelt once exclaimed, "When I am in California, I am not in the West. I am west of the West," and in this book, Mark Arax spends four years travelling up and down the Golden State to explore its singular place in the world. This is California beyond the clichés. This is California as only a native son, deep in the dust, could draw it.Compelling, lyrical, and ominous, his new collection finds a different drama rising out of each confounding landscape. "The Summer of the Death of Hilario Guzman" has been praised as a "stunningly intimate" portrait of one immigrant family from Oaxaca, through harrowing border crossings and brutal raisin harvests. Down the road in the "Home Front," right-wing Christians and Jews form a strange pact that tries to silence debate on the War on Terror, and a conflicted father loses not one but two sons in Iraq. "The Last Okie in Lamont," the inspiration for the town in the Grapes of Wrath, has but one Okie left, who tells Arax his life story as he drives to a funeral to bury one more Dust Bowl migrant. "The Highlands of Humboldt" is a journey to marijuana growing capital of the U.S., where the old hippies are battling the new hippies over "pollution pot" and the local bank collects a mountain of cash each day, much of it redolent of cannabis. Arax pieces together the murder-suicide at the heart of a rotisserie chicken empire in "The Legend of Zankou," a story included in the Best American Crime Reporting 2009. And, in the end, he provides a moving epilogue to the murder of his own father, a crime in the California heartland finally solved after thirty years.In the finest tradition of Joan Didion, Arax combines journalism, essay, and memoir to capture social upheaval as well as the sense of being rooted in a community. Piece by piece, the stories become a whole, a stunning panorama of California, and America, in a new century.
The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages
by Harold BloomThe literary critic defends the importance of Western literature from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Kafka and Beckett in this acclaimed national bestseller.NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDHarold Bloom's The Western Canon is more than a required reading list—it is a &“heroically brave, formidably learned&” defense of the great works of literature that comprise the traditional Western Canon. Infused with a love of learning, compelling in its arguments for a unifying written culture, it argues brilliantly against the politicization of literature and presents a guide to the essential writers of the western literary tradition (The New York Times Book Review).Placing William Shakespeare at the &“center of the canon,&” Bloom examines the literary contributions of Dante Alighieri, John Milton, Jane Austen, Emily Dickenson, Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, Pablo Neruda, and many others. Bloom's book, much-discussed and praised in publications as diverse as The Economist and Entertainment Weekly, offers a dazzling display of erudition and passion.&“An impressive work…deeply, rightly passionate about the great books of the past.&”—Michel Dirda, The Washington Post Book World
The Western Flyer: Steinbeck's Boat, the Sea of Cortez, and the Saga of Pacific Fisheries
by Kevin M. BaileyIn January 2010, the Gemini was moored in the Swinomish Slough on a Native American reservation near Anacortes, Washington. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the rusted and dilapidated boat was in fact the most famous fishing vessel ever to have sailed: the original Western Flyer, immortalized in John Steinbeck's nonfiction classic The Log from the Sea of Cortez. In this book, Kevin M. Bailey resurrects this forgotten witness to the changing tides of Pacific fisheries. He draws on the Steinbeck archives, interviews with family members of crew, and more than three decades of working in Pacific Northwest fisheries to trace the depletion of marine life through the voyages of a single ship. After Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts--a pioneer in the study of the West Coast's diverse sea life and the inspiration behind "Doc" in Cannery Row--chartered the boat for their now-famous 1940 expedition, the Western Flyer returned to its life as a sardine seiner in California. But when the sardine fishery in Monterey collapsed, the boat moved on: fishing for Pacific ocean perch off Washington, king crab in the Bering Sea off Alaska, and finally wild Pacific salmon--all industries that would also face collapse. As the Western Flyer herself faces an uncertain future--a businessman has bought her, intending to bring the boat to Salinas, California, and turn it into a restaurant feature just blocks from Steinbeck's grave--debates about the status of the California sardine, and of West Coast fisheries generally, have resurfaced. A compelling and timely tale of a boat and the people it carried, of fisheries exploited, and of fortunes won and lost, The Western Flyer is environmental history at its best: a journey through time and across the sea, charting the ebb and flow of the cobalt waters of the Pacific coast.
Western Icelandic Short Stories
by Kirsten Wolf Árný HjaltadóttirThis selection of Western Icelandic writings, the first of its kind in English, represents a wide collection of first and second generation Icelandic-Canadian authors.The stories, first published between 1895 and 1930, are set mainly in North America (especially Manitoba). They reflect a weath of literary activity, from the numerous Western Icelandic newspapers and journals, to the reading circles and cultural and literary societies that supported them. The stories show a wide range of experiences and influences, including Old Norse Icelandic literature and romantic nationalism, but they also reveal the emergence of a literature that bears a unique cultural imprint.Western Icelandic Short Stories includes some of the best wirting from the period--- narrative, descriptive, comical, satirical, and serious. The stories may be read as much for enjoyment as for what they reveal about the Western Icelandic literary tradition.