Other books that might interest you

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  Sweet William - A User's Guide...

  Michael Pennington

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  Michael Pennington's solo show about Shakespeare, Sweet William, has been acclaimed throughout Europe and in the US as a unique blend of showmanship and scholarship. In this book, he deepens his exploration of Shakespeare's life and work - and the connection between the two - that lies at its heart.
  It is illuminated throughout by the unrivalled insights into the plays that Pennington has gained from the twenty thousand hours he has spent working on them as a leading actor, an artistic director and a director - and as the author of three previous books on individual Shakespeare plays.
  With practical analysis, wonderfully detailed and entertaining interpretations of characters and scenes, and vivid reflections on Shakespeare's theatre and ours, the result is a masterclass of the most enjoyable kind for theatregoers, professionals, students and anyone interested in Shakespeare.
  'A brilliant and intimate insider's guide to Shakespeare from one of our greatest classical actors.' Gregory Doran
  'Shakespeare comes wonderfully to life in Michael's beautifully written book.' Rupert Everett
  'engaging, absorbing, congenial, informative... a must-read for anyone interested in Shakespeare from almost any angle - actor, drama student, teacher, director, technician, literature student or audience member' The Stage

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  A Complete Encyclopedia of...

  Gabe Foreman

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  People who rely on stereotypes are often vilified. But really, is there a better way to classify people? There are some taxonimical difficulties, though. Exactly how many types of people are there? What behaviours are characteristic of each particular group? How do you know if you’ve spotted an armchair psychologist or a kleptomaniac?
  
   
  Gabe Foreman's A Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People is not your average reference book. It turns a series of sociological case studies into a functional encyclopedia that doubles as a unique, achingly funny, always engaging collection of poems. 'Bridesmaids,' 'Day Traders,' 'Entomologists' and 'Number Crunchers' are all dutifully catalogued in a series of luminously strange, compellingly original lyric and prose poems
  
   
  The resulting field guide to our disparate humanity is often absurd, sometimes sad and frequently a mixture of both, as each entry unravels according to its own spidery logic.

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  The Australaise

  C. J. Dennis

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  LibriVox volunteers bring you 6 recordings of The Austra--laise by C.J.Dennis. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for January 13, 2013.THE AUSTRALAISE is a poem composed by C.J. Dennis, widely considered to the poet laureate of vernacular verse in Australia. It first appeared in his collection, Backblock Ballads and Other Verses, the first edition of which was published in 1913. A source from which Dennis drew inspiration was W.T. Goodge's poem The Great Australian Adjective, which first appeared in the Bulletin in 1898.Designed to be sung to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers, this poem features two prominent aspects of Australian literature - profanity and patriotism. While the profanity is extremely mild today's standards, the poem is still extremely appealing because of Dennis' mocking subversion of the grandiloquence that characterizes most national anthems.(Summary by Algy Pug)

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  The End of the Alphabet - Poems

  Claudia Rankine

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  A “harrowing and hallucinogenic” collection of poems from author of the New York Times–bestselling National Book Award-finalist Citizen: An American Lyric (Library Journal).   Claudia Rankine’s book-length poem about rising racial tensions in America, Citizen: An American Lyric, won numerous prizes, including the The National Book Critic’s Circle Award. Her new collection of poems—intrepid, obsessive, and erotic—tell the story of a woman’s attempt to reconcile herself to her own despair.   Drawing on voices from Jane Eyre to Lady MacBeth, Rankine welds the cerebral and the spiritual, the sensual and the grotesque. Whether writing about intimacy or alienation, what remains long after is her singular voice—its beguiling cadence and vivid physicality. There is an unprotected quality to this writing, as if each word has been pushed out along the precipice, daring us to go with it. Rankine’s power lies in the intoxicating pull of that dare.   From one of contemporary poetry’s most powerful and provocative authors, The End of the Alphabet is a work where “wits at once keen and tenacious match themselves against grief’s genius” (Boston Review).

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  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:...

  J. R. R. Tolkien

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  A collection of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour. 
  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values. 
  Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like Gawain it is also a sophisticated and moving debate on much less tangible matters. 
  Sir Orfeo is a slighter romance, belonging to an earlier and different tradition. It was a special favourite of Tolkien’s. 
  The three translations represent the complete rhyme and alliterative schemes of the originals. 
  The collection of these epic poems, steeped in the rich history of Britain, offers a glimpse into the English, Welsh, and Scottish cultures during the period of 1066-1485. The tales, a blend of fantasy and reality, are a testament to the conquests and the Norman influence that shaped the European landscape. 
  For fans of Christopher A. Snyder (Making of Middle-earth), Tom Shippey (The Road to Middle-Earth), Alan Sisto (Why We Love Middle-earth), John Garth (The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien), and Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass).

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  Pride and Predjudice

  Jane Austen, Christina Calvit

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  A full-cast stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel.
  The dour, Mr. Darcy is anything but popular with the Bennets, especially when he fancies a member of their clan. And as Elizabeth reluctantly deals with Mr. Darcy’s advances, their romance seems destined to fail.
  Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set the standard for romantic comedies when it debuted in 1813, and it still speaks to audiences worldwide through countless adaptations.
  Includes a roundtable interview with the entire cast.
  An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:Julia McIlvane as Elizabeth Bennet;Nick Toren as Mr. Darcy;Jane Carr as Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine; alongside Diane Adair, Nicholas Hormann, Chloe Dworkin, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Jill Renner, and Darren Richardson. 
  
  Adapted for the stage by Christina Calvit. Directed by Brian Kite. Recorded by L.A. Theatre Works before a live audience.
  (P)2013 L.A. Theatre Works, All Rights Reserved

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