. . that blurs the boundaries between life and performance, dance, art, and viral video.”—Slate“Deftly blending highbrow intellectual concerns with the informality of Facebook-era communiqués, Browning’s newest is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.”—Publishers Weekly, starred reviewIn the midst of Occupy, Barbara Andersen begins spamming people indiscriminately with ukulele covers of sentimental songs. A series of inappropriate intimacies ensues, including an erotically charged correspondence and then collaboration with an extraordinarily gifted and troubled musician living in Germany.Barbara Browning teaches in the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. She received her PhD in Comparative Literature from Yale University. She is the author of the novels The Correspondence Artist (winner of a Lambda Literary Award) and I’m Trying to Reach You (short-listed for The Believer Book Award). She also makes dances, poems, and ukulele cover tunes.

    A regular columnist for MTV.com, Willis-Abdurraqib brings his interest in pop culture to these poems, analyzing race, gender, family, and the love that finally holds us together even as it threatens to break us. Terrance Hayes writes that Willis-Abdurraqib "bridges the bravado and bling of praise with the blood and tears of elegy." The poems in this collection are challenging and accessible at once, as they seek to render real human voices in moments of tragedy and celebration.

    H. Auden’s Selected Poems adds twenty poems to the hundred in the original edition, broadening its focus to better reflect the enormous wealth of form, rhetoric, tone and content in Auden’s work. Newly included are such favorites as “Funeral Blues” and other works that represent Auden’s lighter, comic side, giving a fuller picture of the range of his genius. Also new are brief notes explaining references that may have become obscure to younger generations of readers and a revised introduction that draws on recent additions to knowledge about Auden.As in the original edition, the new Selected Poems makes available the preferred original versions of some thirty poems that Auden revised later in life, making it the best source for enjoying the many facets of Auden’s art in one volume.

    Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue “ultramarine” paint used by Michelangelo was so expensive he couldn’t afford to buy it himself. Since ancient times, carmine red—still found in lipsticks and Cherry Coke today—has come from the blood of insects.

    This Is For You is a magical, romantic and touching story of thoughts and dreams, loneliness and longing, the personal and the universal. Each page has been cut out of paper using a scalpel, sprayed and photographed.

    The roads as yet untraveled far outnumber those down which Tolkien had time to wander.A Middle-Earth Traveller presents a walking tour of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, visiting not only places central to his stories, but also those just over the hill or beyond the horizon. Events from Tolkien’s books are explored – battles of the different ages that are almost part of legend by the time of The Lord of the Rings; lost kingdoms and ancient myths, as well as those places only hinted at: kingdoms of the far North and lands beyond the seas.Sketches that have an ‘on-the-spot’ feel to them are interwoven with the artist’s observations gleaned from Tolkien’s books and recollections of his time spent in Middle-earth while working alongside Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies. Combining concept work produced for films, existing Middle-earth art and many new paintings and sketches exclusive to this book, A Middle-earth Traveller will take the reader on a unique and unforgettable journey across Tolkien’s magical landscape.

    This funny, personal journey through the art world answers the basic questions that might occur to us in an art gallery but that we’re too embarrassed to ask. Questions such as: What is “good” or “bad” art—and does it even matter? Is art still capable of shocking us or have we seen it all before? And what happens if you place apiece of art in a rubbish dump?

    The ultimate survival guide for starving artists, writers, performers — and anyone whose dreams can’t be contained by an office cubicle.Filled with down-to-earth advice and sustenance for your most far-flung dreams, The Lost Soul Companion is the perfect guide for anyone grappling with the darker side of creativity.A source of support when your day job gets you down, a refreshing reservoir of humor when you’re knee-deep in rejection slips, this remarkable little book offers both inspiration and compassion, plus surefire strategies for surviving in what can sometimes seem like “a world of meanies.”From the anti-procrastination “chopstick plan,” to the importance of staying well nourished (toaster-oven-snack recipes included), The Lost Soul Companion will speak to anyone with big dreams and creative spirit who nonetheless finds it tough some days just to get out of bed.

    Catherine McCormack illuminates the assumptions behind these stereotypes whether writ large or subtly hidden. She ranges through Western art—think Titian, Botticelli, and Millais—and the image-saturated world of fashion photographs, advertisements, and social media, and boldly counters these depictions by turning to the work of women artists like Morisot, Ringgold, Lacy, and Walker, who offer alternative images for exploring women’s identity, sexuality, race, and power in more complex ways.

    Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.

    Here are "Birches," "Mending Wall," "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Two Tramps at Mudtime," "Choose Something Like a Star," and "The Gift Outright," which Frost read at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy." An essential addition to every home library, Robert Frost's Poems is a celebration of the New England countryside, Frost's appreciation of common folk, and his wonderful understanding of the human condition. These classic verses touch our hearts and leave behind a lasting impression.* Over 100 poems* All Frost's best known verses from throughout his life

    But as soon as he gets on campus, Ben finds out that Spy School is way more deadly than debonair. And given his total lack of coordination and failure to grasp even the most basic spying skills, Ben begins to wonder what he’s doing here in the first place.Luckily, through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he could actually become a halfway decent spy…if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life!Ideal for newcomers to the series and loyal fans alike, this collection includes paperback editions of Spy School, Spy Camp, Evil Spy School, Spy Ski School, and Spy School Secret Service.

    But Alison and her team know better. Trouble’s always coming for a Brownstone. Good thing she has an answer for them. Brownstone Security’s reputation is spreading, which means more jobs for the growing team. But more money means more mayhem looking for them. Can the team dig deeper and pull out another win? A Brownstone Solution: What could be harder for Alison than hunting magical beasties? Meeting Mason’s parents. Now she knows what Mason felt like meeting her father. Well, that was James Brownstone, so… maybe not.No time to ponder impressing the parents anyway – she has other issues to deal with.And an unknown person has reached out to Tahir and Hana about Omni’s owner. Something smells a bit fishy about the whole situation – and it’s not Omni being a fish. Keep Your Enemies Closer: Alison bloodied the Tapestry, but has she defeated them? With her foes operating under the radar, Alison thinks she has time, but when the mysterious magic-enhancing drug Ultimate arrives in Seattle, she is faced with a shocking conspiracy that might reach from Las Vegas to Seattle. Sadistic wizards willing to experiment are flocking to town. Rise Up: It’s hard to plan a wedding when the bad guys just won’t take a hint. Invite only… Brownstone Security is hired for what should be a relatively simple job. Nothing about the job is as it seems and Alison ends up working with the FBI’s first witch on the case. Dark Reunion: Sometimes even a Brownstone needs to get away from it all. Did the bad guys not get the memo? Alison Brownstone is on vacation. Do not disturb. Oh they disturbed.But when your mom is Shay Carson and she makes two requests of you, you take them seriously. 1. Go on a father-daughter bounty hunt. 2. Go on vacation. How can Alison say no? She can’t.Two Brownstone’s on a bounty. That dude’s going down hard. It’s not like Seattle will burn down because Alison isn’t there, right? Drow Conqueror: Alison Brownstone is a Drow Princess with no ordinary powers. Time to remind a few people just what that means. Kick ass, don’t bother taking names. Alison is in Mongolia to rescue Mr. D’s nephew, but things aren’t adding up. Are the other Drow trying to off Alison and her team to secure their succession? Drow Triumphant: It’s the beginning of the end. The other Drow princess and queen just don’t know it… yet. It’s business as usual for Brownstone Security. Drow threats or not, they still have work to do.

     A TIME OF PEACE tells the story of Kate Freeman, daughter of the inimitable Rose Webster, as she goes to London in 1960 to follow her dream of becoming a photographer. But Kate has a long journey to take before she realises her dreams and a lot of growing up to do. For Kate, her family and friends, the era that was dubbed 'A time of peace' proves to be anything but, as they cope with tragedy, upheaval and the tears and laughter of family life ...

    But he’s called away to deal with a crisis in Hong Kong and she’s left to settle into a new country on her own. One by one, her three grown-up children need help with major life problems and there’s only her to help them, because as usual, Paul puts his job first. Then she finds out that her husband's been unfaithful for years, and it’s the final blow to their marriage, especially as she’s met another man she finds attractive and kind. Her confidence grows as she wins acclaim as an embroidery artist and then she comes into an inheritance. Will her loyalty keep her with her husband, as it has before, or will Paul get more than he’d bargained for with the new, independent Rosalind?