A collection of astonishing originality and intensity, it spoke of politics, sexual emancipation, and what it meant to be an American. From the joyful “Song of Myself” and “I Sing the Body Electric” to the elegiac “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” Whitman’s art fuses oratory, journalism, and song in a vivid celebration of humanity. Containing all Whitman’s known poetic work, this edition reprints the final, or “deathbed,” edition of Leaves of Grass (1891–92). Earlier versions of many poems are also given, including the 1855 “Song of Myself.”Features a completely new—and fuller—introduction discussing the development of Whitman's poetic career, his influence on later American poets, and his impact on the American cultural sensibilityIncludes chronology, updated suggestions for further reading, and extensive notes

    Written in a lean and muscular style and brimming with both violence and compassion, these stories unflinchingly explore the lives of those — MMA fighters, the institutionalized, small-town criminals — who exist on the fringes of society, unveiling the blood and guts and beauty of life in our flyover regions.

    Containing poems chosen from her first four acclaimed volumes, this collection also includes six poems from the later 'The World's Wife'.

    It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.Marked by Milton's characteristic erudition is a work epic both in scale and, notoriously, in ambition. For nearly 350 years it has held generation upon generation of scholars, students and readers in rapt attention and its profound influence can be seen in almost every corner of Western culture.

    The PLAIN ENGLISH version you’ve been waiting for! Now a new, improved Kindle-friendly edition! Nothing else like it! Between-the-lines format! More choices! Easy navigation! Still hated by your teacher!

    Emily wasn't born perfect - so one might think. She was born with Down Syndrome and many would jump to the conclusion that she would have very little hope for a life with any significance. Two years later came the diagnosis of leukemia. What little hope remaining turned to no hope whatsoever - or so one might think. The life of this little girl, with all its perceived imperfections, had great meaning. Her loving nature and courage touched the hearts of everyone she met. She also taught them how to value their own lives - even with their many "imperfections."

    No other version has so vividly expressed the horror, cruelty, beauty, and outrageous imaginative flight of Dante's original vision.

    Fifteen-year-old Annie Anderson was adopted by Sylvia and Hugh after the death of their own daughter. Annie is told that her own mother in childbirth and her father died before she was born.A chance encounter introduces Annie to local lad Andrew Fraser. Their friendship blossoms, but once Annie’s adoptive parents learn of it they forbid her from seeing him. When Annie asks why, it sets her on a path to discover more about her origins – but will what she learns bring heartache or joy? Don’t miss this rich and vivid saga by one of Liverpool’s best-known novelists, perfect for fans of Kitty Neale and Katie Flynn.

    A must-have for all Twain collectors, The Quotable Mark Twain is filled with his opinions about the people he knew, the places he's been, and the books he wrote, as well as more far-ranging topics, such as writers, billiards, smoking, his family, and more. The book also includes 150 illustrations taken from the original editions of Twain's publications, source citations for each quotation, an annotated bibliography, and a complete index.

    Wild and poignant, hilarious and touching, stories about die-hard fans, crusty veterans, would-be diamond heroes, and baseball as a boyhood bond fill this delightful collection.

    But will he reach her in time? And will he have the courage to say what he couldn’t say before? His phone is buzzing, his mind is racing, and he can’t concentrate on the significance of what is happening. Should he try to solve his friend’s family crisis? Should he reconsider his separation from his wife? Why does he feel so utterly confused and paralysed?In his most exhilarating book to date, Tim Parks explores how profoundly our present identity is rooted in our family past. Can we ever really change?

    The second book of Dante Alighieri's classic poem "The Divine Comedy," this version of "Purgatorio" couples a clever literary adaptation incorporating modern urban speech and contemporary references with powerful illustrations inspired by Gustave Dore's famous engravings. Whereas "Inferno" was primarily situated in a city that bears a curious resemblance to modern Los Angeles, "Purgatorio" is set in a surreal San Francisco Bay Area, an outlandish and hopeful milieu for those who have a chance to wash their sins away. Together, the sardonic yet playful combination of text and images comprise a vivid retelling of this masterpiece.

    Kenyon's fourth collection is built around two perfectly orchestrated poem sequences. In the first, the speaker contrasts memories of her baby carriage with other images from her childhood, such as her parents' toiling away at low-paying jobs. She also recalls the present-day life of her aging, increasingly dependent mother. Melancholia, the subject of the second sequence and several poems surrounding it, has been played to death in modern poetry, but still Kenyon offers new insights and gives even the most depressing poems an uplifting lilt in their final lines. In her hands a list of the latest medications becomes fit material for poetry: "The coated ones smell sweet or have / no smell; the powdery ones smell / like the chemistry lab at school / that made me hold my breath." She writes, in addition to illness, of sleep, insomnia and death. She interacts with the insects, birds and flowers in her New Hampshire landscape, relying on their fragility to teach her of her own. Kenyon describes afterlife, or "the Other Side," with the same precise, hard-edged imagery that fills her other poems." from Publisher's Weekly

    Table of Contents:- The Metamorphosis- A Country Doctor- A Hunger Artist- A Report for an Academy- An Imperial Message- Before the Law- In the Penal Colony- Jackals and Arabs- The Great Wall of China- The Hunter Gracchus- The Trial- Up in the Gallery

    Poor Folk]Published in 1846, Dostoevsky's first novel was written when the author was 24 years old, and it made him famous immediately. Although it shows the influence of Gogol's The Overcoat, this novel is written with a sympathy and understanding that enable it to stand on its own as an original work. So great was its impact upon the critics of its time that it became responsible for the literary term, 'the natural school', which was applied to an entire group of Russian novels.Malen'kij geroj (Маленький герой) [English: A Little Hero]Written in 1849 while he was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress in Petersburg, A Little Hero reflects Dostoevsky's involvement with the Petrashevsky circle, a group of radicals headed by the young and rich political dilettante Mikhail Butashevich Petrashevsky. Dostoevsky was arrested with other members of the group. A Little Hero is not only an amazingly frank portrait of Petrashevsky, but also a fine analysis of the mentality of an 11-year-old boy who falls in love with a young married woman.