John Updike's sixth collection of essays and literary criticism opens with a skeptical overview of literary biographies, proceeds to five essays on topics ranging from China and small change to faith and late works, and takes up, under the heading "General Considerations," books, poker, cars, and the American libido. The last, informal section of Due Considerations assembles more or less autobiographical pieces--reminiscences, friendly forewords,...

An impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for poetry’s accessibility to all readers, by critically acclaimed poet Matthew Zapruder.

An exploration of poetry and feeling. In language at once acute and emotional, Edward Hirsch writes about what poetry is, why it matters, and how we can open up our imaginations so that its message can reach us and make a difference. In a reading of verse from around the world, including works by Wallace Stevens, Charles Baudelaire, Sylvia Plath, and Pablo Neruda, Hirsch discovers the meaning of their words and ideas and brings their sublime message...

Tracing the emergence of a distinctly American voice, History of American Literature presents a rich survey of literary works crafted within the United States and Colonial America. The book delves into the nation's literary beginnings when early writers, primarily British colonists, chronicled the promise and perils of the New World for European and colonial audiences. Figures like Captain John Smith, William Penn, and Daniel Denton painted vibrant...

Representing Reality is the first book to offer a conceptual overview of documentary filmmaking practice. It addresses numerous social issues and how they are presented to the viewer by means of style, rhetoric, and narrative technique. The volume poses questions about the relationship of the documentary tradition to power, the body, authority, knowledge, and our experience of history. This study advances the pioneering work of Nichols's earlier book,...

"Jessica Hopper's music criticism has earned her a reputation as a firebrand, a keen observer and fearless critic not just of music but the culture around it. With this volume spanning from her punk fanzine roots to her landmark piece on R. Kelly's past, The First Collection leaves no doubt why The New York Times has called Hopper's work "influential." Not merely a selection of two decades of Hopper's most engaging, thoughtful, and humorous writing,...

Hemingway. Fitzgerald. Faulkner. These and other giants of literature are immediately recognizable to anyone who loves to read fiction and even to many who don't.Now, thanks to these 32 lectures, you can develop fresh insight into some of the greatest American authors of the 20th century. Professor Weinstein sheds light not only on the sheer magnificence of these writers' literary achievements but also explores their uniquely American character

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