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Sometimes Always True
by Jeremy BarrisSometimes Always True aims to resolve three connected problems. First, we need an undogmatic pluralist standpoint in political theory, metaphysics, and epistemology. But genuine pluralism suffers from the contradiction that making room for fundamental differences in outlook means making roomfor outlooks that exclude pluralism. Second, philosophy involves reflecting on the world and meaning as a whole, yet this means adopting a vantage point in some way outside of meaning. Third, our lived experience of the sense of our lives similarly undermines its own sense, as it involves having a vantage point in some way wholly outside ourselves. In detailed engagement with, among others, Davidson, Rorty, Heidegger, Foucault, Wilde, and gender and sexuality theory, the book argues that these contradictions are so thoroughgoing that, like the liar's paradox, they cancel the bases of their own meaning. Consequently, it argues, they resolvethemselves and do so in a way that produces a vantage point on these issues that is not dogmatically circular because it is, workably, both within and outside these issues' sense. The solution to a genuinely undogmatic pluralism, then, is to enter into these contradictions and the process of theirself-resolution.
Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward
by Elizabeth FordFrom the Executive Director of Mental Health for Correctional Services in New York City, comes a revelatory and deeply compassionate memoir that takes readers inside Bellevue, and brings to life the world—the system, the staff, and the haunting cases—that shaped one young psychiatrist as she learned how to doctor and how to love. Elizabeth Ford went through medical school unsure of where she belonged. It wasn’t until she did her psychiatry rotation that she found her calling—to care for one of the most vulnerable populations of mentally ill people, the inmates of New York's jails, including Rikers Island, who are so sick that they are sent to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for care. These men were broken, unloved, without resources or support, and very ill. They could be violent, unpredictable, but they could also be funny and tender and needy. Mostly, they were human and they awakened in Ford a boundless compassion. Her patients made her a great doctor and a better person and, as she treated these men, she learned about doctoring, about nurturing, about parenting, and about love. While Ford was a psychiatrist at Bellevue she becomes a wife and a mother. In her book she shares her struggles to balance her life and her work, to care for her children and her patients, and to maintain the empathy that is essential to her practice—all in the face of a jaded institution, an exhausting workload, and the deeply emotionally taxing nature of her work. Ford brings humor, grace, and humanity to the lives of the patients in her care and in beautifully rendered prose illuminates the inner workings (and failings) of our mental health system, our justice system, and the prison system.
Sometimes I Can Be Anything: Power, Gender, and Identity in a Primary Classroom (The practitioner inquiry series)
by Karen GallasIn her third book, Sometimes I Can Be Anything, Karen Gallas explores young children’s experience and understanding of gender, race, and power as revealed by the interactions within her first and second grade classroom. Presenting classroom research conducted over a four-year period, this experienced teacher-researcher focuses on the ways in which children collectively develop their social world.
Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away with Another Spoon (Reach and Teach)
by Jacinta Bunnell Nat KusinitzRe-creating nursery rhymes and fairy tales, this radical activity book takes anecdotes from the lives of real kids and mixes them with classic tales to create true-to-life characters, situations, and resolutions. Featuring massive beasts who enjoy dainty, pretty jewelry and princesses who build rocket ships, this fun-for-all-ages coloring book celebrates those who do not fit into disempowering gender categorizations, from sensitive boys to tough girls.
Sometimes Therapy is Awkward: A Collection of Life-Changing Insights for the Modern Clinician
by Nicole ArztSometimes therapy is awkward. And sometimes it's also painful, messy, and downright confusing. Yet, very few books capture what it's truly like to engage in this work. Instead, most books paint a picture-perfect ideal of psychotherapists and their abilities to support their clients. <p><p>This guide chronicles the strange nuances of working in mental health in the modern world. Sometimes Therapy Is Awkward provides refreshingly candid insight into what it takes to feel more confident and prepared to help others.
Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir
by Kao Kalia YangFrom “an exceptional storyteller,” Somewhere in the Unknown World is a collection of powerful stories of refugees who have found new lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, told by the award-winning author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet.All over this country, there are refugees. But beyond the headlines, few know who they are, how they live, or what they have lost. Although Minnesota is not known for its diversity, the state has welcomed more refugees per capita than any other, from Syria to Bosnia, Thailand to Liberia. Now, with nativism on the rise, Kao Kalia Yang—herself a Hmong refugee—has gathered stories of the stateless who today call the Twin Cities home.Here are people who found the strength and courage to rebuild after leaving all they hold dear. Awo and her mother, who escaped from Somalia, reunite with her father on the phone every Saturday, across the span of continents and decades. Tommy, born in Minneapolis to refugees from Cambodia, cannot escape the war that his parents carry inside. As Afghani flees the reach of the Taliban, he seeks at every stop what he calls a certificate of his humanity. Mr. Truong brings pho from Vietnam to Frogtown in St. Paul, reviving a crumbling block as well as his own family.In Yang’s exquisite, necessary telling, these fourteen stories for refugee journeys restore history and humanity to America's strangers and redeem its long tradition of welcome.
Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family
by Erika HayasakiAn NPR Best Book of 2022 An incredible, deeply reported story of identical twins Isabella and Hà, born in Viêt Nam and raised on opposite sides of the world, each knowing little about the other&’s existence until they were reunited as teenagers, against all odds. &“Stirring and unforgettable—a breathtaking adoption saga like no other.&” —Robert Kolker It was 1998 in Nha Trang, Việt Nam, and Liên struggled to care for her newborn twin girls. Hà was taken in by Liên&’s sister, and she grew up in a rural village with her aunt, going to school and playing outside with the neighbors. They had sporadic electricity and frequent monsoons. Hà&’s twin sister, Loan, was adopted by a wealthy, white American family who renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Việt Nam. Isabella and Olivia attended a predominantly white Catholic school, played soccer, and prepared for college. But when Isabella&’s adoptive mother learned of her biological twin back in Việt Nam, all of their lives changed forever. Award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members. She brings the girls&’ experiences to life on the page, told from their own perspectives, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life. Hayasaki contextualizes the sisters&’ experiences with the fascinating and often sinister history of twin studies, intercountry and transracial adoption, and the nature-versus-nurture debate, as well as the latest scholarship and conversation surrounding adoption today, especially among adoptees. For readers of All You Can Ever Know and American Baby, Somewhere Sisters is a richly textured, moving story of sisterhood and coming of age, told through the remarkable lives of young women who have redefined the meaning of family for themselves.
Somewhere Towards the End
by Diana AthillFar from the carefree advertising image of grey power Saga holidays, this is the process of approaching the end, with all its grisly possibilities. Athill, at least, has reached the age of 90 with precious few regrets about her life.
Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings
by Reyna Grande Sonia Guiñansaca""Wide-ranging yet consistently affecting, these pieces offer a crucial and inspired survey of the immigrant experience in America."" –Publishers Weekly"[These contributions] touch on so many different facets of the immigrant experience that readers will find much to ponder... [and] experience how creative writing enriches our understanding of each other and our lives." –BooklistIntroduction by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh NguyenA unique collection of 41 groundbreaking essays, poems, and artwork by migrants, refugees and Dreamers—including award-winning writers, artists, and activists—that illuminate what it is like living undocumented today.In the overheated debate about immigration, we often lose sight of the humanity at the heart of this complex issue. The immigrants and refugees living precariously in the United States are mothers and fathers, children, neighbors, and friends. Individuals propelled by hope and fear, they gamble their lives on the promise of America, yet their voices are rarely heard.This anthology of essays, poetry, and art seeks to shift the immigration debate—now shaped by rancorous stereotypes and xenophobia—towards one rooted in humanity and justice. Through their storytelling and art, the contributors to this thought-provoking book remind us that they are human still. Transcending their current immigration status, they offer nuanced portraits of their existence before and after migration, the factors behind their choices, the pain of leaving their homeland and beginning anew in a strange country, and their collective hunger for a future not defined by borders.Created entirely by undocumented or formerly undocumented migrants, Somewhere We Are Human is a journey of memory and yearning from people newly arrived to America, those who have been here for decades, and those who have ultimately chosen to leave or were deported. Touching on themes of race, class, gender, nationality, sexuality, politics, and parenthood, Somewhere We Are Human reveals how joy, hope, mourning, and perseverance can take root in the toughest soil and bloom in the harshest conditions.
Somewhere We Are Human \ Donde somos humanos (Spanish edition): Historias genuinas sobre migración, sobrevivencia y renaceres
by Reyna Grande Sonia GuiñansacaCon una introducción del ganador del Premio Pulitzer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, En algún lugar somos humano es una antología de cuarenta y cuatro ensayos y poemas atrevidos, importantes y revolucionarios escritos por inmigrantes, refugiados y Dreamers, incluidos escritores galardonados, artistas y activistas, que iluminan la realidad del día a día de un indocumentado. Hoy en día, existe un efusivo debate sobre el tema de la inmigración en los Estados Unidos, pero se pierde de vista lo más importante: que los migrantes y refugiados viviendo precariamente en este país son madres y padres, hermanos y hermanas, hijos e hijas; individuos impulsados por la esperanza y el miedo que se juegan la vida con la promesa del sueño americano. Sus historias, sin embargo, caen a menudo en el olvido.En estos tiempos de inquietudes, agitación política e incertidumbre, esta antología de ensayos, poesía y arte intenta transformar la xenófoba y estereotipada perspectiva colectiva que tenemos sobre los inmigrantes y refugiados en una basada en la justicia y humanidad. Les autores de esta colección alterarán la visión que tienen de sí mismes y de sus respectivas comunidades a través de la narración y el arte para así declarar orgullosamente que, tanto aquí como en cualquier otro lugar, todos somos humanos a pesar de la militarización de las fronteras, la detención masiva y la legislación draconiana y antiinmigrante en los Estados Unidos.En algún lugar somos humanos revela cómo la alegría, la esperanza, el duelo y la perseverancia nos ayudan a florecer en los terrenos más áridos y en las condiciones más extremas.
Somiant la pau: Una mirada femenina al nou Afganistan dels talibans
by Nadia GhulamAgost del 2021. La narradora i activista afganesa Nadia Ghulam, veient que els talibans avançen per l'Afganistan, comença a moure's desesperadament per poder ajudar els seus. Aquestes pàgines van néixer després de converses entre la Nadia i la periodista Ariadna Oltra, en les quals van parlar de com han viscut aquest darrer any ella i els seus familiars, el que va haver de fer per aconseguir portar a Espanya part de la seva família i el que estan vivint a Kabul els que no han pogut marxar. La història d'uns pocs i, tanmateix, la realitat de milers de famílies afganeses i d'altres llocs del món. Aquell agost, els mitjans de comunicació ens bombardejaven amb imatges esfereïdores d'homes que queien d'un avió mentre intentaven fugir desesperadament de l'ocupació. Després de mesos, ningú ens parla del que està passant allà, ni tampoc de com es troben les persones que van poder fugir i que han estat acollides a diferents llocs delplaneta. La veu de la Nadia és la de tots ells. Aquella nena afganesa que es va fer passar per un noi durant deu anys per poder tenir dels drets que com a dona li negaven, viu a Barcelona des d'en fa setze. El seu objectiu vital i el d'aquestes pàgines és ajudar les dones del seu país perquè puguin seguir estudiant i per aconseguir que esdevinguin «agents per la pau» per multiplicar-se en un Afganistan que torna a estar sota poder talibà.
Somos sobrevivientes: Crónicas de abuso sexual en la infancia
by Claudia Piñeiro Felix Bruzzone Sergio OlguínOcho escritores entrevistaron a ocho sobrevivientes de abuso sexual en la infancia y nos cuentan sus historias. ¿Cómo se narra el abuso? ¿Cómo se rompe el secreto que el abusador impone con amenazas? ¿Cómo se habla de un dolor y una vergüenza que la mayoría de las veces ocurre dentro de la familia? ¿Cómo se cuenta que alguien ha sido sometido por un padre, una madre, un hermano, un abuelo, un vecino? Este es un libro incómodo, habla de la violencia ejercida por adultos contra menores de edad que dejaron marcas y condicionaron sus vidas. Habla de situaciones difíciles que ocurrieron en infancias que no fueron cuidadas, en las que se abusó de su confianza, de su integridad física y de su salud mental. Ocho escritores escucharon a ocho sobrevivientes de abuso y contaron sus historias desde un lugar de empatía y de denuncia con la mejor herramienta que poseen: la palabra. Ahí donde el silencio es cómplice del abusador, la palabra es aliada de las víctimas. Las historias reflejadas en esta antología permiten ver más allá de lo silenciado, conectando dolores solitarios con el dolor común, en una invitación a dejar de callar y animarnos a soñar juntos con un futuro más luminoso. «Sentí mucha vergüenza: yo me había casado con esta bestia. De pronto soy esa nena y todos mis demonios me rodean, me dañan, me atomizan.»Claudia Aboaf habla con Silvia «Blas no es de hablar mucho [...]. Pero después de un tiempo sí, empezó a hablar. Antes de la denuncia, y antes de las amenazas [...]. Habla Blas. Dice encierros. Dice toqueteos. Habla de violencia física.»Félix Bruzzone habla con G. «Yo de chica fui abusada por un vecino. [...] ¿Y a quién le iba a decir en ese momento? Lo que esperaba todo el mundo era que mi papá abusara de mí o de alguno de mis hermanos, y no pasó. Pero este vecino sí.»Gabriela Cabezón Cámara habla con Nadia «Varias veces papá quiere entrar a mi cuarto, sigue convencido de que puede hacerme lo que quiere, grito antes que pueda ponerme una mano encima [...]. Mamá lo sabe y no hace nada.»Juan Carlos Kreimer habla con Tatiana «El psicólogo le preguntó su nombre, qué edad tenía, a qué colegio iba, cuántos hermanos..., finalmente le pidió que le dijera por qué estaba ahí. Sofía respiró profundo y le dijo que había sido violada por su padre.»Fabián Martínez Siccardi habla con Sofía «Equis le vendaba los ojos. Le hacía cosas o lo obligaba a que él las hiciera. Imposible que un nene de siete u ocho años pudiera saber que se había convertido en víctima de alguien diez años mayor, de alguien que él consideraba su amigo, el mayor de sus amigos.»Sergio Olguín habla con Jota «De parte del colegio, escuché argumentos inconcebibles [...]. Dijeron que lo que había hecho con nosotros era "un juego inapropiado", lo calificaron como "cosas feas". Y que gracias a esas acciones se había encendido "una luz amarilla". La luz amarilla apenas alcanzó para trasladarlo de localidad.»Claudia Piñeiro habla con Sebastián «Mi vida actual me gusta, a veces llego a sentirme orgullosa de mí misma. Pude sanar. Pero vive adentro mío la sombra de un silencio que supo ser el mandato más poderoso, un hueco en la memoria que me llevó a olvidar eso que de todas maneras regresaba una y otra vez hecho lágrimas, angustia y bronca.»Dolores Reyes habla con Silvia Beatiz
The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World #49)
by Gregory ClarkA surprising look at how ancestry still determines social outcomesHow much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? How much does it influence our children? More than we wish to believe. While it has been argued that rigid class structures have eroded in favor of greater social equality, The Son Also Rises proves that movement on the social ladder has changed little over eight centuries. Using a novel technique—tracking family names over generations to measure social mobility across countries and periods—renowned economic historian Gregory Clark reveals that mobility rates are lower than conventionally estimated, do not vary across societies, and are resistant to social policies.Clark examines and compares surnames in such diverse cases as modern Sweden and Qing Dynasty China. He demonstrates how fate is determined by ancestry and that almost all societies have similarly low social mobility rates. Challenging popular assumptions about mobility and revealing the deeply entrenched force of inherited advantage, The Son Also Rises is sure to prompt intense debate for years to come.
Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces
by Elamin AbdelmahmoudAn enlightening and deliciously witty collection of essays on Blackness, faith, pop culture, and the challenges—and rewards—of finding one&’s way in the world, from a BuzzFeed editor and podcast host.&“A memoir that is immense in its desire to give . . . a rich offering of image, of music, of place.&”—Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black PerformanceONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—The MillionsAt twelve years old, Elamin Abdelmahmoud emigrates with his family from his native Sudan to Kingston, Ontario, arguably one of the most homogenous cities in North America. At the airport, he&’s handed his Blackness like a passport, and realizes that he needs to learn what this identity means in a new country. Like all teens, Abdelmahmoud spent his adolescence trying to figure out who he was, but he had to do it while learning to balance a new racial identity and all the false assumptions that came with it. Abdelmahmoud learned to fit in, and eventually became &“every liberal white dad&’s favorite person in the room.&” But after many years spent trying on different personalities, he now must face the parts of himself he&’s kept suppressed all this time. He asks, &“What happens when those identities stage a jailbreak?&” In his debut collection of essays, Abdelmahmoud gives full voice to each and every one of these conflicting selves. Whether reflecting on how The O.C. taught him about falling in love, why watching wrestling allowed him to reinvent himself, or what it was like being a Muslim teen in the aftermath of 9/11, Abdelmahmoud explores how our experiences and our environments help us in the continuing task of defining who we truly are. With the perfect balance of relatable humor and intellectual ferocity, Son of Elsewhere confronts what we know about ourselves, and most important, what we&’re still learning.
Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces
by Elamin AbdelmahmoudFrom one of the most beloved media personalities of his generation comes a one-of-a-kind reflection on Blackness, faith, language, pop culture, and the challenges and rewards of finding your way in the world.Professional wrestling super fandom, Ontario's endlessly unfurling 401 highway, late nights at the convenience store listening to heavy metal—for writer and podcast host Elamin Abdelmahmoud, these are the building blocks of a life. Son of Elsewhere charts that life in wise, funny, and moving reflections on the many threads that weave together into an identity. Arriving in Canada at age 12 from Sudan, Elamin's teenage years were spent trying on new ways of being in the world, new ways of relating to his almost universally white peers. His is a story of yearning to belong in a time and place where expectation and assumptions around race, faith, language, and origin make such belonging extremely difficult, but it's also a story of the surprising and unexpected ways in which connection and acceptance can be found. In this extraordinary debut collection, the process of growing—of trying, failing, and trying again to fit in—is cast against the backdrop of the memory of life in a different time, and different place—a Khartoum being bombed by the United States, a nation seeking to define and understand itself against global powers of infinite reach. Taken together, these essays explore how we pick and choose from our experience and environment to help us in the ongoing project of defining who we are—how, for instance, the example of Mo Salah, the profound grief practices of Islam, the nerdy charm of The O.C.'s Seth Cohen, and the long shadow of colonialism can cohere into a new and powerful whole. With the perfect balance of relatable humor and intellectual ferocity, Son of Elsewhere confronts what we know about ourselves, and most important, what we&’re still learning.
Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents, and Diaries of David Berkowitz
by Lawrence Klausner40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CASE THAT ROCKED THE NATION Discover the harrowing true story of the notorious serial killer who terrorized New York City forty years ago during the summer of 1977—David Berkowitz, otherwise known as Son of Sam—for true crime fans and viewers of The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam documentary now on the Smithsonian Channel.Son of Sam recounts the incredible, “can’t miss” (Kirkus Reviews) story of how a single man killed six innocent people, wounded several others, and sent millions of New Yorkers into a panic from July 1976 through August 1977. It is also the story of the greatest manhunt in the history of the New York Police Department—the intimate narrative of the men assigned to tracking down a lone killer who prowled supposedly safe neighborhoods and randomly shot pretty young women with his .44-caliber revolver. The police task force investigated more than 3,000 suspects while politicians watched a city fall into panic. Yet the interest didn’t fade after an arrest was made, and the criminal justice system showed itself incapable of coping with the man who committed such horrendous crimes. Now, based on more than three hundred recorded conversations between David Berkowitz and psychiatrists, police, district attorneys, and his defense counsel, along with his own handwritten notes and diaries, as well as the accounts of the survivors and the families of victims, this chilling book thoroughly explores the full horror of Son of Sam.
'The Son of Sam' and Me: The Truth About Why I Wasnt Shot By David Berkowitz
by Brian Whitney Carl DenaroAn alleged victim of the Son of Sam shares his search for the truth about who really tried to kill him in this true crime story.In 1976, a killer who called himself “The Son of Sam” shot and killed a half dozen people and wounded as many more in New York City. During his crime spree, the madman left bizarre letters mocking the police and promising more deaths.After months of terrorizing the city while garnering front-page headlines and international attention, a man named David Berkowitz was arrested. He confessed to the shootings, claiming to be obeying a demon that resided in a dog belonging to his neighbor “Sam.”Among the alleged victims was Carl Denaro. On the night he was shot, Denaro was hanging out with some friends at a bar when he met up with a woman named Rosemary Keenan. The couple left the bar and went to Keenan’s car for some privacy. However, a few minutes later, the windows of the car exploded as Denaro was shot in the head by an unseen assailant. Miraculously, Denaro survived the attack.When Berkowitz was arrested, he was charged with trying to kill Denaro. However, there was a twist. Although he confessed to the other shootings, after his conviction Berkowitz denied attacking Denaro.Now, after years of research, Denaro is convinced that Berkowitz was telling the truth, and that someone else tried to kill him . . .In “The Son of Sam” and Me, author Carl Denaro with co-author Brian Whitney (The “Supreme Gentleman” Killer) reveals his search for the truth and his shocking conclusion regarding the real shooter’s identity. Denaro also discusses his friendship and investigative partnership with Maury Terry, the author of The Ultimate Evil, which is considered the definitive case study on the theory that Berkowitz did not act alone.Includes never-revealed correspondence between Denaro and Berkowitz
Son of the Cypresses: Memories, Reflections, and Regrets from a Political Life
by Meron Benvenisti Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta Michael Kaufman-Lacusta"Now that I am seventy years of age, it is my prerogative to offer a summing up," says Meron Benvenisti, internationally known author and columnist, Jerusalem native, and scion of Israel's founders. Born in Palestine in 1934 to a Sephardic father and an Ashkenazi mother, Benvenisti has enjoyed an unusual vantage point from which to consider his homeland's conflicts and controversies. Throughout his long and provocative career as scholar, elected official, and respected journalist, he has remained intimately involved with Israel's social and political development. Part memoir and part political polemic,Son of the Cypresses threads Benvenisti's own story through the story of Israel. The result is a vivid, sharply drawn eyewitness account of pre-state Jerusalem and Israel's early years. He memorably sets the scene by recalling his father's emotional journey from Jewish Salonika in 1913 to Palestine, with all its attendant euphoria and frustration, and his father's pioneer dedication to inculcating Israeli youth with a "native's" attachment to the homeland. In describing the colorful and lively Jerusalem in which he grew up, Benvenisti recalls the many challenges faced by new Jewish immigrants, who found themselves not only in conflict with the Arab population but also with each other as Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He revisits his own public disagreements with both Zionists and Palestinians and shares indelible memories such as his boyhood experiences of the 1948 War. In remembering his life as an Israeli sabra, Benvenisti offers a vivid record of the historical roots of the conflict that persists today.
Son Preference: Sex Selection, Gender and Culture in South Asia
by Navtej K. PurewalThe preference for male children transcends many societies and cultures, making it an issue of local and global dimensions. While son preference is not a new phenomenon and has existed historically in many parts of Asia, its contemporary expressions illustrate the gendered outcomes of social power relations as they interact and intersect with culture, economy and technologies. Son Preference brings together key debates on the subject of son preference by assessing existing work in the field and providing new insights through primary research. The book covers a broad range of social science discussions and draws upon textual and ethnographic material from India. Son Preference will be useful to students, scholars, activists and anyone interested in the issues surrounding gender inequity, sex selection and skewed sex ratios.
Song: A History in 12 Parts
by John PotterFrom one of our most innovative singers, a vibrant history of song stretching from Hildegard von Bingen and Benjamin Britten to Björk &“Songs can be intensely personal (whether you hear them or sing them) and none of us would choose the same twelve songs as anyone else. My choices are based on decades of performing experience in many different genres, but I hope they will reveal aspects of our common humanity as the story evolves from the Middle Ages to the present.&” In this celebratory account, author and singer John Potter tells the European story of song. The form has captivated audiences and excited performers for centuries, from the music of the troubadours and the Christian liturgy through classical composers such as Bach and Schumann up to Britten, Berio, and the rise of popular music. Choosing twelve key works, Potter offers a personal tour through this vital tradition, from John Dowland&’s &“Flow My Tears&” to George Gershwin&’s &“Summertime.&” Throughout, he reveals who wrote and sang these joyful masterpieces—and what they mean to singers and audiences today.
Song and Democratic Culture in Britain: An Approach to Popular Culture in Social Movements (Routledge Library Editions: Folk Music #11)
by Ian WatsonOriginally published in 1983. Song has always been a natural way to record everyday experiences – an expression of celebration, commiseration, complaint and protest. This innovative book is a study of popular and working-class song combining several approaches to the subject. It is a history of working-class song in Britain which concentrates not simply on the songs and the singers but attempts to locate such song in its cultural context and apply principles of literary criticism to this essentially oral medium. It triggered controversy: some critics castigated its Marxist approach, others enthused that ‘such unabashed partisanship amply reveals the outstanding characteristic of Watson's book’. The author discusses the way in which the popular song, from Victorian times onwards, has been forced by the entertainment industry out of its roots in popular culture, to become a blander form of art with minimal critical potential. The book ends by considering the possibilities for a continued flourishing of a genuine popular song culture in an electronic age. It has become a standard title in bibliographies and curricula. Much has changed since 1983, not least in music; but this then innovative book still has a lot to say about popular song in its social and historical context.
Song and Silence: Ethnic Revival on China's Southwest Borders
by Sara DavisIn the sunny, subtropical Sipsongpanna region, Tai Lues perform flirtatious, exoticized dances for an increasingly growing tourist trade. Endorsed by Chinese officials, who view the Tai Lues as a "model minority," these staged performances are part of a carefully sanctioned ethnic policy. However, behind the scenes and away from the eyes and ears of tourists and the Chinese government, a different kind of cultural resurgence is taking place.In this vivid and beautifully told ethnography, Sara L. M. Davis reveals how Tai Lues are reviving and reinventing their culture in ways that contest the official state version. Carefully avoiding government repression, Tai Lues have rebuilt Buddhist temples and made them into vital centers for the Tai community to gather, discuss their future, and express discontent. Davis also describes the resurgence of the Tai language evident in a renewed interest in epic storytelling and traditional songs as well as the popularity of Tai pop music and computer publishing projects. Throughout her work, Davis weaves together the voices of monks, singers, and activists to examine issues of cultural authenticity, the status of ethnic minorities in China, and the growing cross-border contacts among Tai Lues in China, Thailand, Burma, and Laos.
Song for my Fathers
by Tom SanctonSong for My Fathers is the story of a young white boy driven by aconsuming passion to learn the music and ways of a group of agingblack jazzmen in the twilight years of the segregation era.Contemporaries of Louis Armstrong, most of them had played in localobscurity until Preservation Hall launched a nationwide revival ofinterest in traditional jazz. They called themselves "the mens." Andthey welcomed the young apprentice into their ranks. The boy was introduced into this remarkable fellowship by hisfather, an eccentric Southern liberal and failed novelist whose powerfularticles on race had made him one of the most effective polemicistsof the early Civil Rights movement. Nurtured on his father's belief inracial equality, the aspiring clarinetist embraced the old musicianswith a boundless love and admiration. The narrative unfolds againstthe vivid backdrop of New Orleans in the 1950s and '60s. But thatmagical place is more than decor; it is perhaps the central player, forthis story could not have taken place in any other city in the world.
Song from the Forest
by Michael Obert Louis Sarno Alex ShoumatoffAs a young man, American Louis Sarno heard a song on the radio that gripped his imagination. With some funding from musician Brian Eno, he followed the mysterious sounds all the way to the Central African rain forest and found their source with the Bayaka Pygmies, a tribe of hunters and gatherers. Nothing could have prepared him for life among the Pygmies, a people legendary for their short stature and musical wealth. Sarno never left.Considered outwardly lazy by some, scrounging, and near alcoholic, the Pygmies Sarno met had seemingly lost all desire to hunt or make music. Only after he had lived with them for some time (on a diet of tadpoles) was he allowed to join them in the rain forest where they still in relative harmony with nature. There Sarno experienced the extraordinary beauty and spiritual sophistication of their culture and the supreme importance of music as the principal means by which they communicate with the rain forest and its magical spirits.Over the decades Sarno has recorded more than 1,000 hours of unique Bayaka music. He is a fully accepted member of the Bayaka society and married a Bayaka woman. Permanently changed by his experience and captivated by a Bayaka culture, In Song from the Forest Sarno has chronicled his attempt to protect the fragile existence of the Pygmies in an increasingly destructive world.Once, when his son, Samedi, became seriously ill and Sarno feared for his life, he held his son in his arms through a frightful night and made him a promise: "If you get through this, one day I'll show you the world I come from." Now the time has come to fulfill his promise.In a new major documentary film, Sarno tells the story of the Bayaka as he travels with Samedi from the African rain forest to another jungle, one of concrete, glass, and asphalt: New York City. Together, they meet Louis' family and old friends, including his closest friend from college, Jim Jarmusch. Carried by the contrasts between rainforest and urban America, and a fascinating soundtrack, Louis' and Samedi's stories are interwoven to form a touching portrait of an extraordinary man and his son. SONG FROM THE FOREST is a modern epic film set between rainforest and skyscrapers.
Song Interpretation in 21st-Century Pop Music (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
by André Doehring Allan Moore Ralf AppenExisting books on the analysis of popular music focus on theory and methodology, and normally discuss parts of songs briefly as examples. The impression often given is that songs are being chosen simply to illuminate and exemplify a theoretical position. In this book the obverse is true: songs take centre stage and are given priority. The authors analyse and interpret them intensively from a variety of theoretical positions that illuminate the song. Thus, methods and theories have to prove their use value in the face of a heterogeneous, contemporary repertoire. The book brings together researchers from very different cultural backgrounds and encourages them to compare their different hearings and to discuss the ways in which they make sense of specific songs. All songs analysed are from the new millennium, most of them not older than three years. Because the most widely popular styles are too often ignored by academics, this book aims to shed light on how million sellers work musically. Therefore, it encompasses a broad palette, highlighting mainstream pop (Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Lucenzo, Amy McDonald), but also accounting for critically acclaimed ’indie’ styles (Fleet Foxes, Death Cab for Cutie, PJ Harvey), R&B (Destiny’s Child, Janelle Monae), popular hard rock (Kings of Leon, Rammstein), and current electronic music (Andrés, Björk). By concentrating on 13 well-known songs, this book offers some model analyses that can very easily be studied at home or used in seminars and classrooms for students of popular music at all academic levels.