Other books that might interest you

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  Leaves of Grass

  Walt Whitman

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  American poet Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, is a collection of poems notable for its frank delight in and praise of the senses, during a time when such candid displays were considered immoral. Where much previous poetry, especially English, relied on symbolism, allegory, and meditation on the religious and spiritual, Leaves of Grass exalted the body and the material world.    Whitman was inspired to begin Leaves of Grass after reading an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson which expressed a need for a uniquely American poet. When the book was first published, Whitman sent a copy to Emerson, whose praiseful letter of response helped launch the book to success. Whitman’s hero, Abraham Lincoln, read and enjoyed an early version of Leaves of Grass. Despite such high recommendations, Whitman faced charges of obscenity and immorality for his work, but this only led to increased popularity of the book.    Whitman continually revised and republished Leaves of Grass throughout his lifetime, notably adding the “Drum-Taps” section after Lincoln’s assassination. The book grew from 12 poems in its first publication, which Whitman paid for and typeset himself, to nearly 400 poems in its final, “Death Bed Edition.” This recording is of the final edition.    (Summary adapted from wikipedia.org by Annie Coleman)

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  Mark O'Rowe Plays: One (NHB...

  Mark O'Rowe

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  Five plays from the sensational voice of new writing for Irish theatre.
  Since winning the George Devine Award for Howie the Rookie in 1999, Mark O'Rowe has electrified audiences with his distinctive dramatic style and dark, dangerous storytelling.
  In O'Rowe's first play, The Aspidistra Code (1995), Brendan and Sonia, head over heels in debt, are forced to hire their own protection against a volatile loan shark.
  From Both Hips (1997) sees Paul, a Dublin man shot in the hip during a bungled police raid, embark on a violent journey of revenge.
  In Howie the Rookie (which also won the 'Rooney Prize for Irish Literature'), brutal events take on mythical significance in a white-knuckle ride through a nightmare Dublin.
  In Made in China (2001), a dreadful accident sparks a savage tug-of-war between two criminal foot soldiers.
  And Crestfall (2003) - so dark that all but the tiniest glimmer of light has been extinguished, depicts three women trapped between nightmares and waking.
  'A writing force to contend with... outstanding' - Irish Independent
  'Gripping, grotesque and deliriously good' - Sunday Times

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  100 Great Plays For Women

  Lucy Kerbel

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  Lucy Kerbel's 100 Great Plays for Women is an inspiring guide to a hundred plays that put female performers centre stage, dispelling the myth that 'there aren't any good plays for women'. With a foreword by Kate Mosse.
  Women buy the majority of theatre tickets, make up half the acting profession and are often the largest cohort of any youth theatre or drama club. And yet they have traditionally been underrepresented on stage. 100 Great Plays for Women seeks to address this gap by celebrating plays that put female performers centre stage.
  Lucy Kerbel's myth-busting book features compact and insightful introductions to 100 plays, each of which has an entirely or predominantly female cast, with the female characters taking an equal or decisive role in driving the on-stage action. Also featured are 10 plays for solo female performers. The result is a personal but wide-ranging reappraisal of the theatrical canon, a snapshot of the very best writing - from ancient times right up to the present day - that has female protagonists at its heart.
  A fascinating mixture of familiar and less well-known works dealing with a broad range of themes, it is an essential resource for all directors and producers looking for plays to stage, writers seeking inspiration and actors trying to track down a new audition piece. It is also an exciting provocation that will have readers, both male and female, championing their own personal favourites.
  The book is the culmination of a project by Tonic Theatre and the National Theatre Studio. Tonic Theatre was founded by Lucy Kerbel in 2011 to support the theatre industry in achieving greater gender equality in its workforces and repertoires; it partners with leading theatre companies around the UK on a range of projects, schemes and creative works. The National Theatre Studio provides support and resources for both emerging and established theatre-makers of outstanding talent, and contributes to the National's ongoing search for and training of new artists.
  'A gem of a book' Lucy Kerbel has done hard-working directors and artistic directors, of spaces large and small, a great service.' Kate Mosse, from her foreword

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  The Recluse

  William Wordsworth

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  In the prefatory advertisement to the First Edition of the Prelude, 1850, it is stated that that poem was designed to be introductory to the Recluse, and that the Recluse, if completed, would have consisted of three parts. The second part is the Excursion. The third part was only planned. The first book of the first part was left in manuscript by Wordsworth. It is now (1888) published for the first time in extenso. (Summary from the Preface)

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  Stroking Cerberus - Poems from...

  Jacqueline Haskell

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  'This dazzling series shows that if the barriers can be vaulted there is true beauty to be had from the lesser-walked streets of literature. These works are both nourishing and inspiring, and a gift to any reader.' —Kerry Hudson
  The living have always told themselves stories about the dead, but few of us stop to wonder if the dead ever tell tales of the living. Through the prism of Haskell's identity as a deaf poet come the themes of communication—or miscommunication—across worlds, languages and between the living and the dead.
  Mythical dogs, the dead who mourn the living, and the sorrow of those reincarnated, join hands around Jacqueline Haskell's unique and very personal poetic Ouija board to resonate with the living, the dead and all those in-between. As forcible as they are humorous, these are poignant and thought-provoking poems.
  Spotlight Books is a collaboration between Creative Future, New Writing South and Myriad Editions to discover, guide and support writers who are under-represented due to mental or physical health issues, disability, race, class, gender identity or social circumstance.

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  The Winter Years

  Eugenia Fain

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  The Winter Years is a book of contemporary modern poetry written for teens and adults. It has a variety of topics and moods. It explores poetry forms from around the world.

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