Miyazawa Kenji: Selections collects a wide range of his poetry and provides an excellent introduction to his life and work. Miyazawa was a teacher of agriculture by profession and largely unknown as a poet until after his death. Since then his work has increasingly attracted a devoted following, especially among ecologists, Buddhists, and the literary avant-garde. This volume includes poems translated by Gary Snyder, who was the first to translate a substantial body of Miyazawa’s work into English. Hiroaki Sato’s own superb translations, many never before published, demonstrate his deep familiarity with Miyazawa’s poetry. His remarkable introduction considers the poet’s significance and suggests ways for contemporary readers to approach his work. It further places developments in Japanese poetry into a global context during the first decades of the twentieth century. In addition the book features a Foreword by the poet Geoffrey O’Brien and essays by Tanikawa Shuntaro, Yoshimasu Gozo, and Michael O’Brien.

    It was in sixteenth-century Japan, as Shakespeare was writing his masterworks half a world away, that the spirit of Kabuki theater was born out of a single woman's passions and dedication to her art. In Kabuki Dancer, the popular Japanese novelist Sawako Ariyoshi (The Doctor's Wife, The River Ki, The Twilight Years) retells the story of Okuni, the legendary temple dancer who first performed among jugglers and freak shows on a stage along the riverbank in the heart of the imperial city of Kyoto. Blending the rhythms and movements of religious festivals with the words of popular love songs, she and her troupe became sensations. Their affairs and rivalries, infatuations and jealousies, were transformed into the very fabric of their performance, as it began its evolution into the classic drama of today. Against a backdrop of civil war, dynastic conflict, and social turmoil, Okuni and her companions and lovers, together with their audience of artisans, merchants, and aristocrats, struggled to survive the birth pangs of a glorious--yet sometimes deadly--new age. Based on fact, transmuted into powerful and moving artistic expression, Kabuki Dancer is at once a turbulent love story, a recreation of an exotic and colorful historical period, and an almost mythic representation of the miraculous moment in which an immortal art form appears.

    His problems worsen following the emergence of a strange voice - a woman who is trying to contact him. Tsuneo desperately chases this woman, and the mystery behind what happened eight years earlier.

    Kiki has recently become engaged to Eric, a handsome, successful New York City lawyer. But at the same time she is haunted--quite literally--by the memory of her friend Phillip, killed the previous year in a mountaineering accident.Kiki has never met her grandmother Yukiko, for whom she is named. Still, thoroughly American though she is, she feels a secret kinship with her. Kiki is swept up by the story of this strong, proud, passionate woman who, against all odds, in a time and place far different from her own, was sold by her impoverished family, became a famous geisha, and found the love that has so far eluded the rest of the Takehashi women.Lyrical, haunting, and stunningly evocative, One Hundred and One Ways introduces a powerful and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.

    Whether he is ready for her or not, little Julie needs a father. Or maybe she needs two. Tyler and Jake have been best friends, inseparable since college. Now they have to adjust to Tyler's new role as a dad. As Jake helps him cope with being a new father to a little girl, Tyler might be looking at two big changes in his life.

    Well not yet anyway. But at twenty-eight I'd already given up on finding Mr. Perfect and I was honestly willing to settle for Mr. Has-a-job-and-doesn't-fart-in-bed. That is until Declan Colbert entered my life. He's perfect. Literally perfect and I have no idea what he sees in me, but hey, if the guy wants to stick around, who am I to argue? Except that…well, my cats don't like him. I mean they seriously don't like him at all, and I have no idea what to do with that reaction. Are my cats just being brats or are they trying to warn me that not everything about Declan is what it seems? Hey, maybe he's just a dog person. I mean, he does have that tattoo…

    It is the third of three plays written over twelve years (1957-1969) meant to symbolize the different stages of life, usually shown together. The first, representing birth, is "The Suitcase". The second, "The Cliff of Time," represents life itself, or "The Process," and the third, "The Man who Turned into a Stick," is death.This play has been considered as a main example of the current of Magic Realism in Japanese Literature. Other Japanese authors with considerable literary contributions to this genre are: Yasunari Kawabata, Oe Kenzaburo and Yasushi Inoue.

    The stone's power makes Sheeta defy gravity?and float down into the life of Pazu, a tough young orphan boy inventor. What ancient secrets link Sheeta's stone to the incredible dangers and mysteries of the Castle In The Sky ? Unlike other graphic novels, this series features full-color illustrated stills from the movie printed on quality paper and is published in the original right-to-left format. Together, these four volumes give readers the complete story of the animated feature, and are the perfect gift for fans of the movie and Japanese graphic novels.A legend of the days of the first flying machines, where fantastic adventure takes to the air! Pirates greedy for treasure and secret agents hungry for power are both chasing Sheeta, a young girl who wears a mysterious blue stone around her neck. The stone's power makes Sheeta defy gravity and float down into the life of Pazu, a tough young orphan boy inventor. Soon Pazu and Sheeta are caught up together--way up, into the clouds, where somewhere awaits Laputa, a floating city built by a lost race of people. What ancient secrets link Sheeta's stone to the incredible dangers and mysteries of the Castle In The Sky ?

    Martha Howard is prim, educated, and middle class. She's had many advantages in life, but she's stuck in the past, ruminating about the death of her infant son. Nettie Lee Jones is fat, poor, and caustically outspoken. She's raised five children and two grandchildren, including her daughter Yolanda, who's addicted to crack and who, as the novel opens, has just given birth to, then abandoned, her premature daughter. Although these women at first view each other with suspicion and contempt, they soon discover a profound mutual need. What begins as animosity ends in understanding.

    Sir James McKenna, second son of the powerful McKenna Chief, knows he has found his destiny when he falls in love with sweet Lady Davina Armstrong, niece of the Armstrong Chief. Orphaned in childhood, Davina has always felt like an outsider, and with James finally feels that she belongs. But their plans for a happy future are shattered after a brutal attack by a band of rogues. Horrified, Davina’s overprotective family quickly shelters her from everyone—including James… Five years later, James is a changed man. His fighting skills sharpened to perfection, he is hardened by the war and destruction he’s endured as a Scottish knight—and by the loss of Davina. Weary, he returns home—and is shocked to find Davina there. Is it too late for them to start anew, or will the past dare to lay claim to their future once more?

    But it hasn’t gotten any easier. Condemned by the press, tormented by secrets he can never reveal, forced to give up the girl of his dreams—at times the lonely burden of Spider-Man seems almost too great to bear . . . and the temptation to give up grows stronger by the hour.Enter the archfiend Doc Ock, armed with a lethal invention powerful enough to destroy half the city. If Spider-Man tries to stop Doc Ock, he’ll be placing the lives of those closest to him in mortal danger. If he doesn’t, it could be the end of the Big Apple. With millions of lives hanging in the balance, high about Manhattan’s glittering skyline, Spider-Man confronts his destiny, his fiercest enemy, and himself.

    Sometimes you need dessert. And sometimes, it's a little of both. Runner-Up of the Winter 2017 Dramione Fanfiction Awards, "Best Epic-Sized Fic."

    . .The Christmasaurus wants more than anything to be able to fly, and help pull Santa's sleigh across the sky on Christmas Eve. But flying turns out to be much harder than he thought, even with Santa's help! One special Christmas, however, he falls down a chimney and meets a dinosaur-obsessed little boy who teaches him the magic of believing . . .With Shane Devries' breathtaking illustrations, a pitch-perfect, read-aloud rhyming text and two magical surprise gate-fold pages, The Christmasaurus Picture Book is the perfect Christmas gift.

    Now Vivian needs a home—a “for real” forever home, and Josh would love to be the one who takes her in. But Josh’s partner, Sammy, isn’t a fan of children of any size or stamp. Will Josh have to choose between being a lover or a parent, or will Josh’s niece work her baby magic on Sammy, giving them all the best Christmas present of all?

    Not only is there a large age difference between Thalia and the middle-aged pastor, but he also happens to be the father of Madison, her best friend since junior high school. Madison isn't trying to deal with her father dating anyone after her mother's death. Thalia asks Isaac to keep their relationship a secret, but he's been intrigued by her ever since she was a teenager, and now he wants the world to know. When tragedy strikes, their love is exposed to her family, his colleagues, his congregation, and her best friend. Now it seems like the whole town is in an uproar. The gossiping church mothers in Mount Pleasant aren't the only problem that Thalia and Isaac have, though. A former lover rears his ugly head and forces their relationship to change for the absolute worst. Can this May-December romance survive when it seems fate is just not on their side?