The scenes in this one-act play, for all the characters' disagreements, stalemates, and seeming impasses, explore what happens if one is willing to stay in the room when it is painful to bear the pressure to listen and the obligation to respond.--from the introduction by Claudia RankineClaudia Rankine's first published play, The White Card, poses the essential question: Can American society progress if whiteness remains invisible?Composed of two scenes, the play opens with a dinner party thrown by Virginia and Charles, an influential Manhattan couple, for the up-and-coming artist Charlotte. Their conversation about art and representations of race spirals toward the devastation of Virginia and Charles's intentions. One year later, the second scene brings Charlotte and Charles into the artist's studio, and their confrontation raises both the stakes and the questions of what--and who--is actually on display.Rankine's The White Card is a moving and revelatory distillation of racial divisions as experienced in the white spaces of the living room, the art gallery, the theater, and the imagination itself.

    Or a reckless act?What makes a good mother? Maddie feels there's no such thing, and while her own style may be controversial, it works for her family and that's all that matters.Until one day she makes a fateful decision that has devastating consequences for another parent, and suddenly the world is lining up to vilify her.As the court of public opinion closes in, now she must defend every parental choice she's ever made - in a court of law.But this is not just a trial; it's a witch hunt - and everybody has an opinion.Is she a terrible mother? Or faced with the choice, might you have done the same?

    A world that is glamorous and alluring can blind its participants to certain truths. This euphoric illusion which is full of money, women, and power, can also be deceiving. You start to believe that the fame will last forever. That the people around you are really your friends, and that the scandalous woman at your side really loves you for the person that you are. Stardom can become dangerous for the naïve souls who rise to success without armor. Tangie, who has mastered The Art Of Deceit slithers her way into the heart of many and into the wallets of even more, her latest victim being Hip Hop’s newest sensation Tay’von-Too Fine- Miller. Tay’von is told by his record label that he needs a better looking woman on his arm because the public will deem his plus size girlfriend unbefitting for a rising star. So he pulls Tangie into his world hoping to use her for her looks, only to get rid of her when he is done. But he has highly underestimated her. Her charm is hypnotic, that of a snake charmer, and as strong as the magic from a voodoo priest. Once she has cast her spell, she is sure to bring any man or woman down to their knees. She rules with a blackened heart and shows no mercy to people like Shamika, the spiteful girlfriend of equally talented but not as successful rapper Black Dialect. Tangie will stop at nothing to secure her lifestyle, even if that means shaking hands with a record label owner who Tay’von has proclaimed a sworn enemy. Carmello wants Tay’von to sign to his record label, and Tangie wants revenge. Together they hatch a plan that will give them both what they want. What will happen when Tay’von, his bodyguard, the sexy R&B tour mate Amira, and Carmello all fall under Tangie’s spell? Death, Debauchery, and Deceit, now if only everything would go as planned.

    The Tony Award-winning play that focuses on the meaning of art (in the form of a solid white painting) as well as the meaning of friendship, to both the man who bought the painting and the two friends who come to see it."

    Visit any contemporary gallery, museum or theatre, and chances are the art on offer will be principally concerned with race, gender, sexuality, power and privilege.The quest for truth, freedom and the sacred has been thrust aside to make room for identity politics. Mystery, individuality and beauty are out; radical feminism, racial grievance and queer theory are in. The result is a drearily predictable culture and the narrowing of the space for creative self-expression and honest criticism, the things that draw most people to art in the first place.Sohrab Ahmari's book is a passionate cri de coeur against this state of affairs. The New Philistines takes readers deep inside a cultural scene where all manner of ugly, inept art is celebrated so long as it toes the ideological line, and where the glories of the Western canon are revised and disfigured to fit the rigid doctrines of identity politics. Pop culture is under assault, too: compliance with identity politics is the measure by which we judge our movies, TV and music.The degree of politicisation means that art no longer plays its historical function, as a mirror and repository of the human spirit - something that should alarm not just art lovers but anyone who cares about the future of liberal civilisation.

    A collection of twenty of Paglia's out-spoken essays on contemporary issues in America's ongoing cultural debate such as Anita Hill, Robert Mapplethorpe, the beauty myth, and the decline of education in America.

    

    Following a grand betrayal, Khaled's father and uncles, the respected right-hand men to the King of Afghanistan, become targets of the new regime. Khaled's father is exiled, his uncles are executed, and their families are locked away in a forgotten corner of Kabul. So begins a decades-long struggle in captivity where Khaled faces the hardship of prison life while enduring tragedies as more of his loved ones are executed and succumb to diseases. Despite the tribulations he experiences, Khaled never gives up hope, choosing to make the most of his time by studying five different languages, advanced literature, and philosophy. Eventually, Khaled and his family are released from prison, but are they truly free? Forbidden from leaving the country, one thing continues to haunt Khaled: a longing to reunite with his father. SHACKLED is a raw, heart-opening story about resilience. It follows the Charkhi family from the 1932 coup to the 1979 Soviet invasion. Amidst national and personal upheaval, Khaled finds his freedom by choosing to lead a life of optimism, kindness, joy, and love. Adam Siddiq is the grandson of Khaled Siddiq. Adam wrote SHACKLED alongside his grandfather, Khaled—a shared journey they hope will inspire others to become more involved in the sacred bond between the youth and their elders.

    We’re each trying to describe what we know about life, to create a collective sense of “safety in numbers.” When we reach the end of our traditional descriptive powers, it’s time to weave collective meaning from poetry, painting, writing, dancing, photographing, filmmaking, storytelling, singing, animating, designing, performing, carving, sculpting, and a million other ways we daily create Order out of the Chaos and share it with each other for comfort.On this journey we need a creative philosophy which will help us find our voice, discover our message, deal with the responses to our work, maintain inspiration, and stay mentally healthy and motivated creators as we strive to find “the meaning in the making.”

    Scientists referred to the event as The Anomaly. A byproduct of The Anomaly was the advent of hybrid beings—people who became mixed with whatever animal or object was closest to them the moment the event occurred. Humans, or pedigrees, soon relegated fairy refugees and hybrids into ghetto zones in large cities.Seventy years later, Wolfgang Rex, a second-generation hybrid—part human, part Rhodesian Ridgeback—is a retired police detective who runs a private investigation business in Chicago’s Southside. It’s a one-hybrid show; though Rex couldn’t survive without his assistant, the faerie Sally Sandweb.One night, two vampires visit Rex and offer him a substantial reward for the recovery of a stolen scroll. Later that same evening, Charlotte Sweeney-Jarhadill, a pedigree woman from Louisiana, visits Rex and hires him to exorcize the headless ghost of a Confederate soldier from her home.To complicate matters, the private detective ends up falling for Charlotte. Meanwhile, the vampires demand results in the search for the missing scroll. When Rex’s assistant Sally goes missing, he must stay alive long enough to find her. Charlotte and the vampires, however, have other plans for Rex.

    Moliere's farcical, tragic, anarchic Don Juan (1665) is the inspiration for Patrick Marber's new play in which the action of the original is relocated to present day Soho, London.Whereas Moliere condemned his anti-hero to a literal Hell, Marber condemns him to a hell of his own making.Don Juan in Soho premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in December 2006.

    Music has a unique ability to unsettle the most fundamental political and social conventions—or, alternatively, to stabilize the status-quo.  Sound System is the story of one musician’s journey to discover what exactly makes music so powerful. Years of touring, protesting, and performing have given Dave Randall an insider’s view of the music industry, enabling him to shed light on the most tightly held secrets of celebrity, commodification, and culture. He finds remarkable examples of music as a force of social change as well as something that has been used to keep people in their place throughout history. From the Glastonbury Festival to the Arab Spring, Pop Idol to Trinidadian Carnival, Randall finds political inspiration across the musical spectrum.   A blistering, intelligent polemic about the political power of music, Sound System investigates the raves, riots, and revolution of contemporary culture to answer the question—how can we make music serve the interest of the many, rather than the few?

    Months later, though, she hears a different account: that one brother killed the other. Determined to uncover the truth-and to keep her family from being ripped apart-Iris winds up uncovering something shocking about her siblings, her supposedly idyllic family, and herself.

    I loved this novel." --5 Star Review Alyssa Elmore, Reader's Favorite Reviewer "The themes of sisterhood and financial freedom, prominent in the book, are very relevant to many women today. I especially liked how the women stood together and helped each other out when any of them was in need... [Trust] features real issues affecting many women and it also provides practical solutions." --5 Star Review Edith Wairimu, Reader's Favorite Reviewer How do you free your family when you're not sure how to free yourself? For Ruthena Gentry and her book club friends, problems with relationships, kids, and money bring new frustrations every day. But, when Ruthena is forced to flee here tumultuous marriage-- and the lives of her friends come tumbling down, too-- the ladies fear that a future fraught with turmoil is becoming inevitable. Caught in the quicksand of daily survival and desperate for a change, Ruth and her friends make a bold move towards freedom. Ending the legacy of poverty that has plagued their families for generations will require epic faith and these friends are down for the cause. The problem is that time is not on their side and freedom is never free. Don't miss Trust , the first novel of the Trust Series by Daines L. Reed. It's an inspirational, soul-stirring story about sisterhood and resilience that will stay with you long after you read the last page. Grab your copy today.

    In the words of Ken Ghosh, acclaimed Bollywood Director, “A refreshingly poignant plot that keeps its readers engrossed till the very end.”Back cover blurb:Even the most artistic of imaginings can sometimes seem callow in the face of truth. That which appears may not be and that which lies hidden might just be the stark, naked face of reality.Rahul had everything going his way – a soaring career, a happy family and all else a man his age could yearn for. And then suddenly his life began to crumble all around him, disintegrating element after precious element, leaving him to watch in helpless horror.Where had he gone wrong? Was there still hope for redemption, even a solitary ray that he could cling on to?Avantika, a pretty, vivacious girl who had come into Rahul’s life by pure accident, literally, has suddenly gone missing. Just like that, without as much as a trace.Where is Avantika? Will Rahul be able to find her? Is it her own past that has come back to consume her or is it something even more vicious and sinister?Shalini, Rahul’s first love and a girl accustomed to leading life on her own terms. Hailing from a family that exerts considerable influence in the galleries of politics and power, she certainly has the wherewithal to impact a lot of things. Even lives.Is Shalini fostering a grudge that could displace not one but many lives? Could she be the one behind Avantika’s mysterious disappearance?