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Essays
Shedding all polemic, Bloom addresses the solitary reader, who, he urges, should read for the purest of all reasons: to discover and augment the self. His ultimate faith in the restorative power of literature resonates on every page of this infinitely rewarding and important book.
Eavan Boland was a trailblazing poet, critic, teacher, and essayist. Carving a path for the next generation, she broke open the male-dominated canon of Irish literature and mapped her poetic journey through the contours of life as a mother, daughter, and citizen. This generous and wise volume contains essays selected from Object Lessons (1995) and A Journey with Two Maps (2011); later writings addressing the changing nature of poetry; and a draft of a reflective memoir called "Daughter," on which Boland was working at the time of her death.
A compelling blend of memoir, analysis, and argument, Citizen Poet traces the arc of Boland's pioneering view of nationhood through the lens of womanhood.
"We reserve this space for our humanity in all of its fond, ironic, elated, grief-stricken, confused glory . . . When you find yourself alone and downtrodden, when the news is too much, return to these pages. This one is for you." --from the introduction by Cole Brown and Natalie Johnson
"There's something particularly special about Black Love. When you consider the history of our people, the strife and adversity we've overcome, love seems an almost illogically ambitious act of resistance." --from the foreword by John Legend
From celebrated Black writers, creators, and thinkers--and with a foreword by John Legend--comes a collection of letters and original illustrations on the subject of Black love, a powerful and heartfelt celebration of Blackness in all its many forms.
In this exquisite anthology of letters and illustrations, Cole Brown and Natalie Johnson bring together a constellation of influential Black figures to write to the people, places, and moments that mean the most to them. With a foreword from John Legend and contributions from Brontez Purnell, Morgan Jerkins, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Dr. Imani Perry, among many others, Black Love Letters is an ode to a phenomenal community: a testament to the fact that where there has been pain and suffering, there has also always been immeasurable, irrepressible joy and love. With letters from: Akili King - Reverend Al Sharpton - Alexandra Elle - Allisa Charles-Findley - Barbara Edelin - Belinda Walker - Ben Crump - Bill Whitaker - Bilquisu Abdullah - Brianna Holt - Brontez Purnell - Cole Brown - Danez Smith - Dick Parsons - Deborah Willis - Doug Jones - Douglas Kearney - Imani Perry - Jamila Woods - Jan Menafee - Jayne Allen - Jeh Charles Johnson - Jenna Wortham - Jonathan Capehart - John Legend - Joel Castón - Joy-Ann Reid - Justus Cornelius Pugh - Kwame Dawes - Lynae Vanee Bogues - Mahogany Browne - Malachi Elijah - Michael Eric Dyson - Morgan Jerkins - Nadia Owusu - Natalie Johnson - Raka Reynolds - Rhianna Jones - Chef Rōze Traore - Sojourner Brown - Tarana Burke - Tembe Denton-Hurst - Topaz Jones - Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts - VJ Jenkins
With a forward by Hilton Als, these twelve pieces from 1968 to 2000, never before gathered together, offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of a legendary figure. They showcase Joan Didion's incisive reporting, her empathetic gaze, and her role as an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time (The New York Times Book Review). Here, Didion touches on topics ranging from newspapers (the problem is not so much whether one trusts the news as to whether one finds it), to the fantasy of San Simeon, to not getting into Stanford. In Why I Write, Didion ponders the act of writing: I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. From her admiration for Hemingway's sentences to her acknowledgment that Martha Stewart's story is one that has historically encouraged women in this country, even as it has threatened men, these essays are acutely and brilliantly observed. Each piece is classic Didion: incisive, bemused, and stunningly prescient.
Both Doug and Elsie loved this book. Doug says: Classic Didion, as if the essays were held in casks and distilled to single-malt maturity. The flavors are ginger-rich like a potion in the hands of a shaman. Do not miss these previously uncollected essays from 1968-2000.
Four new and revelatory essays by the author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lost Daughter.
In 2020, Claire Luchette in O, The Oprah Magazine described the beloved Italian novelist Elena Ferrante as "an oracle among authors." Here, in these four crisp essays, Ferrante offers a rare look at the origins of her literary powers. She writes about her influences, her struggles, and her formation as both a reader and a writer; she describes the perils of "bad language" and suggests ways in which it has long excluded women's truth; she proposes a choral fusion of feminine talent as she brilliantly discourses on the work of Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, Ingeborg Bachmann, and many others.
Here is a subtle yet candid book by "one of the great novelists of our time" about adventures in literature, both in and out of the margins.
"Everyone should read everything with Elena Ferrante's name on it."--The Boston Globe
From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us.
In Ross Gay's new collection of small, daily wonders, again written over the course of a year, one of America's most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight.For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the "nefarious" scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world--sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor's fig tree--and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us.
The Book of (More) Delights is a volume to savor and share.
From beloved and bestselling author Roxane Gay, "a strikingly fresh cultural critic" (Washington Post) comes an exhilarating collection of her essays on culture, politics, and everything in between.
Since the publication of the groundbreaking Bad Feminist and Hunger, Roxane Gay has continued to tackle big issues embroiling society--state-sponsored violence and mass shootings, women's rights post-Dobbs, online disinformation, and the limits of empathy--alongside more individually personalized matters: can I tell my co-worker her perfume makes me sneeze? Is it acceptable to schedule a daily 8 am meeting? In her role as a New York Times opinion section contributor and the publication's "Work Friend" columnist, she reaches millions of readers with her wise voice and sharp insights.
Opinions is a collection of Roxane Gay's best nonfiction pieces from the past ten years. Covering a wide range of topics--politics, feminism, the culture wars, civil rights, and much more--with an all-new introduction in which she reflects on the past decade in America, this sharp, thought-provoking anthology will delight Roxane Gay's devotees and draw new readers to this inimitable talent.