Literature Recent Picks

August 2009

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Women's work: modern women poets writing in English, edited by Eva Salzman & Amy Wack (2008).
"An inclusive selection of women’s poetry in English that features writers from 1900 through the present, this collection reflects aspects of women’s lives, such as work, childhood, God, and lust. Classic poems from Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Bishop, and Sylvia Plath complement those from recent prize-winners Alice Oswald, Deryn Rees-Jones, and Carol Ann Duffy. Showcasing the range, craft, intelligence, and skill of women’s poetry, this compilation contains authors from Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States." (Amazon)

Armageddon in retrospect: and other new and unpublished writings on war and peace, by Kurt Vonnegut; [introduction by Mark Vonnegut] (2008).
"The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death--a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence.
Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve new and unpublished writings on war and peace. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humour, the pieces range from a visceral nonfiction recollection of the destruction of Dresden during World War II--an essay that is as timely today as it was then--to a painfully funny short story about three Army privates and their fantasies of the perfect first meal upon returning home from war, to a darker, more poignant story about the impossibility of shielding our children from the temptations of violence. Also included are Vonnegut's last speech as well as an assortment of his artwork, and an introduction by the author's son, Mark Vonnegut. Armageddon in Retrospect says as much about the times in which we live as it does about the genius of the writer." (Amazon)

Paper view: the best of the Sunday Times television reviews, by A.A. Gill (2008).
"AA Gill has been the must-read television critic in the Sunday Times 'Culture' section for more than ten years. This collection of some of the best writing from his columns is broken down into themes - Sport, Costume Drama, Detectives, Children's Television, and News. And now it's over to AA Gill... "Those who complain, usually from the Parnassian heights of print journalism, that TV is dumbed-down and peddles dross to the lowest common denominator, citing Big Brother or Celibate Love Island, miss the point. Reality TV is the exception; it's a tiny proportion of television's output. Most of broadcasting tells you things, and it's TV's great gift to impart information. The real criticism should be that it doesn't differentiate enough. It doesn't know the value of the stuff it pours out in a constant warm stream. We absorb what's useful and interesting. In barely a generation, the information from television has changed the way we see the world and everyone in it. That's no small achievement. Television really does make a difference. There are obvious individual examples: 'Cathy Come Home'; the newsreel of the Vietnam War in America; the Ethiopian famine. And television has utterly changed sport. Do you imagine there'd be anything like this fuss over an Olympics bid if it was only going to be shown on Pathe newsreel? Charities and pressure groups, from pillar-box conservation to animal welfare and cancer research, glean power and funds from tiny exposures on the box. It can bring down walls, save lives and right wrongs. It can also tell you how to put a water feature on your patio..." (Amazon)

My first stabbing, by David Haywood (2008).
"A collection of strange meanderings by New Zealand writer David Haywood. "Apposite, biting and very funny." -- Keri Hulme, Booker Prize-winning author of 'The Bone People' "Hugely enjoyable... terribly, terribly funny." -- Kim Hill, Radio New Zealand "One of the best new writers to come on the scene for quite a while." -- Denis Welch, (former) Deputy-editor New Zealand Listener "Pure gold" - (Jolisa Gracewood, New Zealand Reviewer of the Year 2006)." (Amazon)

Posthumous Keats: a personal biography, by Stanley Plumly (2008).
""Posthumous Keats" is the result of twenty years of reflection on the enduring afterlife of one of England's greatest Romantic poets. John Keats' famous epitaph - 'Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water' - helped cement his reputation as the archetype of the genius cut off before his time. Keats, who died of tuberculosis at twenty-five, saw his mortality as fatal to his poetry and therein, Stanley Plumly argues, lies his tragedy: Keats thought he had failed in his mission 'to be among the English poets’. In this close narrative study, Plumly meditates on the chances for poetic immortality - an idea that finds its purest expression in Keats. Incisive in its observations and beautifully written, "Posthumous Keats" is an ode to an unsuspecting young poet - a man who, against the odds of his culture and critics, managed to achieve the unthinkable: the elevation of the lyric poem to sublime and tragic status." (Amazon)

Your voice is your calling card: how to power-charge your voice, boost your confidence, and speak with joy, ease, and conviction , by Suzann Rye (2009).
"Are you a speaker or do you dream of being one? Do you sometimes need to debate, present, or perform in front of people? I bet you do.
We are all performers. Whether we are professional stage performers, teachers, coaches, or business professionals presenting our ideas to bosses, colleagues, or employees ... essentially, we all perform. The world is a stage. So what if you suffer from stage fright? What if your voice gets stuck and seems to take on a rebellious life of its own when you're trying to express yourself?
"Your Voice Is Your Calling Card" is the ultimate voice and performance coaching package for overcoming nerves and stage fright and becoming a remarkable, inspiring speaker and performer." (Amazon)

Words & pictures: writers, artists and a peculiarly British tradition, by Jenny Uglow. (2008)
"Words and Pictures explores three fascinating examples of relationships between artists and writers: the illustrations of "Paradise Lost" and "Pilgrim's Progress"; "Hogarth and Fielding", a writer and artist dealing with common material; Wordsworth and Thomas Bewick, a poet and engraver working separately, but imbued with the spirit of their age. A brief coda turns to a fourth kind of relationship, the writers and artists who collaborate from the start, beginning with Dickens and Phiz. Illustrated throughout with a wide variety of examples, this is a book to pore over and enjoy." (Amazon)

The best American spiritual writing 2008, edited by Philip Zaleski; introduction by Jimmy Carter.
"In his introduction to this volume, President Jimmy Carter writes that The Best American Spiritual Writing “approaches the writing of both poetry and prose as a spiritual discipline, a way to explore the mysteries of the soul and the soul’s relationship with God.” As always, editor Philip Zaleski has assembled a wide-ranging and wonderfully eclectic collection that delves headlong into that spiritual discipline, looking to inspire, provoke, and offer insight into modern spirituality and religion.
Here you will find Walter Isaacson’s brilliant and provocative portrait of Einstein’s religious life—a cross between his parents’ secularism, his native Judaism, and his Catholic grade-school education. Drawing from his own experience of trying to inhabit multiple worlds, Noah Feldman examines the difficulties facing faith communities as they adhere to tradition yet also strive to be modern, in “Orthodox Paradox.” When “Meeting the Chinese in St. Paul,” Natalie Goldberg, with the help of a broken rhinoceros fan, grapples with this question: how should I live, knowing the world is a confusing place? Pico Iyer weighs in on his tranquil retreat, the holiest place in Japan; Oliver Sacks gives a moving account of a man with retrograde amnesia, striving for a meaningful life devoid of memory; and Ursula K. Le Guin passionately explains, as only she can, the appeal and subtle morality of A. E. Housman’s “A Shropshire Lad: XXXII”." (Amazon)

On the origin of stories: evolution, cognition, and fiction , by Brian Boyd (2009).
"A century and a half after the publication of Origin of Species, evolutionary thinking has expanded beyond the field of biology to include virtually all human-related subjects—anthropology, archaeology, psychology, economics, religion, morality, politics, culture, and art. Now a distinguished scholar offers the first comprehensive account of the evolutionary origins of art and storytelling. Brian Boyd explains why we tell stories, how our minds are shaped to understand them, and what difference an evolutionary understanding of human nature makes to stories we love.
Art is a specifically human adaptation, Boyd argues. It offers tangible advantages for human survival, and it derives from play, itself an adaptation widespread among more intelligent animals. More particularly, our fondness for storytelling has sharpened social cognition, encouraged cooperation, and fostered creativity." (Amazon)

Year of the rat, by Roy Smiles (2008).
"1948: George Orwell is attempting to finish his final novel -Nineteen Eighty Four - before ill-health forces him off the isolated Scottish island he has made his home. Holed up with a shotgun and literary-circle bombshell Sonia Brownell for company he’s desperately hoping for a last chance at happiness.
But George is no womaniser and is sure to make a hash of things particularly after his childhood friend and notorious lecher Cyril Connolly turns up. Will he seduce Sonia or will Cyril scupper his plans? Can he survive his friends, both real and imaginary, and finish his masterpiece before death comes knocking?" (Amazon)
(This play was recently performed at Circa to considerable critical acclaim)

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