Over a career of 30+ years, Melanie Tem received the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Awards for her writing, which included almost a hundred short stories, twelve solo novels, as well as scripts, poems, and storytelling performances. At the time of her death in 2015, she left behind numerous plays, several of which had been produced, but none had appeared in print. These plays arguably contain some of the finest writing of her final ten years. FRY DAY collects the best of these plays, along with a selection of her poetry.
Comedian and actor Stephen Fry's witty and practical guide, now in paperback, gives the aspiring poet or student the tools and confidence to write and understand poetry. Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled, he invites readers to discover the delights of writing poetry for pleasure and provides the tools and confidence to get started. Through enjoyable exercises, witty insights, and simple step-by-step advice, Fry introduces the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Most of us have never been taught to read or write poetry, and so it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But Fry, a wonderfully competent, engaging teacher and a writer of poetry himself, sets out to correct this problem by explaining the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. Fry's method works, and his enthusiasm is contagious as he explores different forms of poetry: the haiku, the ballad, the villanelle, and the sonnet, among many others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is not just the survey course you never took in college, it's a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try.
In 'The Complete Works of Charles Dickens: Novels, Short Stories, Plays, Poetry, Essays, Articles, Speeches, Travel Sketches & Letters (Illustrated)', readers are offered a comprehensive look into the diverse literary talents of one of the most prominent Victorian authors. Dickens' works, known for their social commentary, intricate plots, and vivid characters, showcase his mastery of the serial format and his ability to capture the essence of 19th-century London. The collection includes classics such as 'Great Expectations', 'A Tale of Two Cities', and 'Oliver Twist', as well as lesser-known gems. The illustrations accompanying the texts provide added depth to the reading experience. Dickens' writing style is marked by a combination of humor, sentimentality, and realism, making his works both entertaining and thought-provoking. Charles Dickens, a prolific writer influenced by his own experiences of poverty and social injustice, used his platform to shed light on the harsh realities of Victorian society. His works continue to resonate with readers today, highlighting the timeless themes of class struggle, redemption, and the human capacity for kindness. Dickens' dedication to social reform and his gift for storytelling have secured his legacy as one of the greatest novelists of the 19th century. I highly recommend 'The Complete Works of Charles Dickens' to any reader seeking to explore the depth and breadth of Dickens' literary contributions. Whether you are a seasoned fan or new to Victorian literature, this collection offers a comprehensive overview of Dickens' versatile talent and enduring relevance.
Poetry occupied a complex position in the social life of nineteenth-century America. While some readers found in poems a resource for aesthetic pleasure and the enjoyment of linguistic complexity, many others turned to poems for spiritual and psychic wellbeing, adapted popular musical settings of poems to spread scandal and satire, or used poems as a medium for asserting personal and family memories as well as local and national affiliations. Poetry was not only read but memorized and quoted, rewritten and parodied, collected, anthologized, edited, and exchanged. Michael C. Cohen here explores the multiplicity of imaginative relationships forged between poems and those who made use of them from the post-Revolutionary era to the turn of the twentieth century. Organized along a careful genealogy of ballads in the Atlantic world, The Social Lives of Poems in Nineteenth-Century America demonstrates how the circulation of texts in songs, broadsides, letters, and newsprint as well as in books, anthologies, and critical essays enabled poetry to perform its many different tasks. Considering the media and modes of reading through which people encountered and made sense of poems, Cohen traces the lines of critical interpretations and tracks the emergence and disappearance of poetic genres in American literary culture. Examining well-known works by John Greenleaf Whittier and Walt Whitman as well as popular ballads, minstrel songs, and spirituals, Cohen shows how discourses on poetry served as sites for debates over history, literary culture, citizenship, and racial identity.
