A middle-aged, out-of-shape spellsinger yearns for one last great adventure, in this rollicking fantasy by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author. Jon-Tom and Mudge are bored. Their adventuring days long behind them, the spellsinger and his once-thieving otter sidekick have settled into a life of tepid domesticity, and they are sick of it. They hunger for an old-fashioned adventure, but there are no more great evils to combat. And so they decide to follow the music. Literally. A drifting cloud of lost chords has taken to floating around Jon-Tom, and following it puts them on the trail of an evil that terrifies the spellsinger. Something is stealing music. Finding out who, and why, is responsible for the silencing of the instruments will put Jon-Tom and Mudge into great peril, at the hands of a selfish elephant, a greedy black bear, and a whirlpool with a filthy sense of humor. Seeking adventure, they’ve stumbled into one turn that may turn out to be their last.
The attack on Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships set the stage for a Winter Olympics spectacle: Tonya versus Nancy. Women on Ice collects the writings of a diverse group of feminists who address and question our national obsession with Tonya and Nancy and what this tells us about perceptions of women in twentieth century America.
Harry B. Smith was the most prolific writer for the American musical theatre in history, working with every major American composer between 1880 and 1920. This examination of his work is thus highly instructive of the history of the American musical.
Michigan's Upper Peninsula is blessed with a treasure trove of storytellers, poets, and historians, all seeking to capture a sense of Yooper Life from settler's days to the far-flung future. Since 2017, the U.P. Reader has offered a rich collection of their voices that embraces the U.P.'s natural beauty and way of life, along with a few surprises. The sixty-plus short works in this 7th annual volume take readers on U.P. road and boat trips from the Keweenaw to the Soo and from St. Ignace to Escanaba. Every page is rich with descriptions of the characters and culture that make the Upper Peninsula worth living in and writing about. U.P. writers span genres from humor to history and from science fiction to poetry. This issue also includes imaginative fiction from the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award winners, honoring the amazing young writers enrolled in all of the U.P.'s schools. Featuring the words ofMikel B Classen, Sharon Kennedy, Ellen Lord, Deborah K Frontiera, Bill Sproule, Maria Vezzetti Matson, Tamara Lauder, Tyler R Tichelaar, Emilie Lancour, M Kelly Peach, Richard Hill, Roslyn McGrath, Becky Ross Michael, Julie Dickerson, John Adamcik, August Whitney, Tricia Carr, Elizabeth Fust, Ninie Gaspariani Syarikin, Mack Hassler, Donna Searight Simons, Leigh Mills, Raymond Luczak, J L Hagen, Nina Craig, Art Curtis, Brandy Thomas, Kathleen Carlton Johnson, Chris Kent, Ben Bohnsack, Edd Tury, Allan Koski, Jaclyn Jukkala, Lilli Gast, Miah Billie, Halle Wakkuri, Serah Oommen, and Betty Harriman. "Funny, wise, or speculative, the essays, memoirs, and poems found in the pages of these profusely illustrated annuals are windows to the history, soul, and spirit of both the exceptional land and people found in Michigan's remarkable U.P. If you seek some great writing about the northernmost of the state's two peninsulas look around for copies of the U.P. Reader. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books "U.P. Reader offers a wonderful mix of storytelling, poetry, and Yooper culture. Here's to many future volumes!" --Sonny Longtine, author of Murder in Michigan's Upper Peninsula "As readers embark upon this storied landscape, they learn that the people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula offer a unique voice, a tribute to a timeless place too long silent." --Sue Harrison, international bestselling author of Mother Earth Father Sky The U.P. Reader is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) a non-profit corporation. A portion of proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the UPPAA for its educational programming. Learn more at www.UPReader.org
This 2003 Companion is a fascinating and accessible exploration of the world of grand opera. Through this volume a team of scholars and writers on opera examine those important Romantic operas which embraced the Shakespearean sweep of tragedy, history, love in time of conflict, and the struggle for national self-determination. Rival nations, rival religions and violent resolutions are common elements, with various social or political groups represented in the form of operatic choruses. The book traces the origins and development of a style created during an increasingly technical age, which exploited the world-renowned skills of Parisian stage-designers, artists, and dancers as well as singers. It analyses in detail the grand operas by Rossini, Auber, Meyerbeer and Halévy, discusses grand opera in Russia and Germany, and also in the Czech lands, Italy, Britain and the Americas. The volume also includes an essay by the renowned opera director David Pountney.
A hero’s quest begins in this first book of “perhaps [the] most highly regarded fantasy trilogy” from the New York Times–bestselling author (Black Gate). They washed up on the beach, dead men clad in strange, intricate garments. The Naumkib tribe will eat well tonight. Simple herdsman Etjole Ehomba is wandering among the corpses, when he hears a faint cry . . . One of the men is still alive—and he implores Etjole for help. His countess-to-be, the Visioness Themaryl of Laconda, has been abducted, carried off by Hymneth the Possessed. The dying man charges Etjole with the duty to find her and restore her to the people of Laconda. Etjole—herder, fisherman, father, warrior, tracker—is a man of conviction. He cannot ignore a brave and noble man’s plea. So he sets off on a journey to find a woman many men were willing to die for and to face his destiny in the Unstable Lands, where people are swallowed up by unreality—by things that should not even exist . . . “Odd and engaging . . . A wondrous journey.” —Locus “Inventive and filled with flavorsome incident.” —Kirkus Reviews “An epic series which is sure to please many readers.” —SF Site
When Gordon Crossland was growing up in the 1940’s in Orillia, Ontario, the town was not about to embrace a boy wanting to be a figure skater or ballet dancer. Male figure skaters were so rare that boys’ figures skates were hard to come by. However, Gordon had a dream and luckily, he also had supportive parents who would dye girls’ skates black for him. All he had to do was learn to skate faster than the bullies who tried to trip him on the ice. From these humble beginnings, Gordon, an ever-evolving, passionately committed artist became a top skater with the Ice Follies. He transitioned into highly successful careers of dancing with the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera Ballet Companies in England, as well as choreographing and skating in popular productions world–wide. It’s a journey spotted with moments of hilarity, high drama and occasional deep sorrow. A Nobody’s Dream Came True is a case study of a life in the Arts. It makes no attempt to sugar-coat the demands, difficulties and disappointments.... while fully revelling in the joys and deep fulfillment achieved through perseverance. Gordon’s story captures his dreams and gives readers profound insight into artistic temperament and the ever-burning passion that fuel’s artists’ choices.
