Product Description: The first thematic series published for American literature, THE WADSWORTH THEMES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE SERIES is currently comprised of 21 themes spanning the time period normally covered in the two-semester American literature survey course--1492 to the present...read more

Poetry doesn’t matter to most people, observes Jay Parini at the opening of this book. But, undeterred, he commences a deeply felt meditation on poetry, its language and meaning, and its power to open minds and transform lives. By the end of the book, Parini has recovered a truth often obscured by our clamorous culture: without poetry, we live only partially, not fully conscious of the possibilities that life affords. Poetry indeed matters. A gifted poet and acclaimed teacher, Parini begins by looking at defenses of poetry written over the centuries. He ponders Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus, and moves on through Sidney, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Eliot, Frost, Stevens, and others. Parini examines the importance of poetic voice and the mysteries of metaphor. He argues that a poet’s originality depends on a deep understanding of the traditions of political poetry, nature poetry, and religious poetry. Writing with a casual grace, Parini avoids jargon and makes his case in concise, direct terms: the mind of the poet supplies a light to the minds of others, kindling their imaginations, helping them to live their lives. The author’s love of poetry suffuses this insightful book—a volume for all readers interested in a fresh introduction to the art that lies at the center of Western civilization.

Product Description: The official script book to the Golden Globe-nominated tragicomedy about the last year of Tolstoy's life in 1910 Russia, written and directed by Michael Hoffman (A Midsummer Night's Dream, One Fine Day) and starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, and James McAvoy...read more

Product Description: A rich new collection of poems, a testament to Axinn's steady and evolving vision.

Product Description: The American Writers Supplements include authors who have never been featured in American Writers. In this latest supplement, look for entries on twentieth-century short story writer, novelist, feminist, anarchist, part-time bohemian --and a mother of four, narrative historian, playwright, documentary editor, and hooker of rugs Neith Boyce; novelist Michael Connelly; award-winning short story writer Jhumpa Lahiri; humorist, raconteur, and provocateur Sam Pickering; and more...read more

Product Description: An intimate, authorized, yet frank biography of Gore Vidal (1925-2012), one of the most accomplished, visible, and controversial American novelists and cultural figures of the past century.The product of thirty years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parini's Empire of Self probes behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidal's colorful life to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truth underlying his celebrity-strewn life...read more