Other books that might interest you

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  Goethe - A Very Short Introduction

  Ritchie Robertson

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  In 1878 the Victorian critic Matthew Arnold wrote: "Goethe is the greatest poet of modern times . . . because having a very considerable gift for poetry, he was at the same time, in the width, depth, and richness of his criticism of life, by far our greatest modern man."In this Very Short Introduction Ritchie Robertson covers the life and work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832): scientist, administrator, artist, art critic, and supreme literary writer in a vast variety of genres. Looking at Goethe's poetry, novels, and drama pieces, as well as his travel writing, autobiography, and essays on art and aesthetics, Robertson analyzes some of the key themes in his works: love, nature, religion, and tragedy. Dispelling the misconception of Goethe as a sedate Victorian sage, Robertson shows how much of his art was rooted in turbulent personal conflicts, and draws on recent research to present a complete portrait of the scientific work and political activity which accompanied Goethe's writings.

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  Ella Hickson Plays: One (NHB...

  Ella Hickson

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  When her first play, Eight, transferred from student theatre in Edinburgh to the West End and then New York, Ella Hickson was still in her early twenties. She has since built on that promise with a series of engaged and engaging dramas that pit romanticism and optimism against the realities of life as a young person in Britain.
  Eight (Edinburgh Fringe, 2008), that astonishing first success, is included here: a state-of-the-nation group portrait in monologues, 'an interactive Talking Heads for 21st-century teens and twentysomethings' (Independent).
  Also included is Hot Mess (Edinburgh Fringe, 2010), a dark and lyrical tale about twins born with just a single heart between them, and Precious Little Talent (Edinburgh Fringe, 2009; West End, 2011), about two young adults graduating into a world that's sold them down the river.
  In Boys (HighTide Festival, Nuffield Theatre Southampton and Soho Theatre, 2012), the Class of 2011 faces a tricky transition to adulthood in a play that 'powerfully captures the mood of a generation' (Independent).
  The volume also contains an introduction by the author and two short plays: the previously unpublished PMQ, part of the Coalition season at Theatre503, London, in 2010; and Gift, first seen as part of Headlong's immersive theatre production Decade in 2011.

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  Live or Die - Poems

  Anne Sexton

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  Winner of the Pulitzer Prize: A gripping poetry collection mapping the thorny journey from madness to hope With her emotionally raw and deeply resonant third collection, Live or Die, Anne Sexton confirmed her place among the most celebrated poets of the twentieth century. Sexton described the volume, which depicts a fictionalized version of her struggle with mental illness, as “a fever chart for a bad case of melancholy.” From the halls of a psychiatric hospital—“the scene of the disordered scenes” in “Flee on Your Donkey”—to a child’s playroom—“a graveyard full of dolls” in “Those Times . . .”—these gripping poems offer profound insight on the agony of depression and the staggering acts of courage and faith required to emerge from its depths.   Along with other confessional poets like Sylvia Plath and Robert Lowell, Sexton was known for grappling with intimate subjects traditionally considered taboo for poetry such as motherhood, menstruation, and drug dependence. Live or Die features these topics in candid and unflinching detail, as Sexton represents the full experience of being alive—and a woman—as few poets have before. Through bold images and startlingly precise language, Sexton explores the broad spectrum of human emotion ranging from desperate despair to unfettered hope.

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  Homecoming

  Andrew Forster

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  The poems in Andrew Forster's third collection continue his explorations of what it means to make a home: from Cumbria, where he now lives, to South Yorkshire where he grew up, this book is firmly rooted in the north of England. He works as Literature Officer for the Wordsworth Trust and the ghost of Wordsworth, that supreme poet of home, haunts many of these poems. As the poet approaches middle age, this is a book of settling down, of beginning to be content with what we have managed to distil from life.

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  Lionboy (NHB Modern Plays)

  Zizou Corder

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  Charlie Ashanti lives in a future where phones are powered by the sun, cars are banned and companies are more powerful than countries. Charlie is a perfectly normal boy, except for one thing: he can speak to cats.
  When his parents are kidnapped, he sets off on a rescue mission – with a little help from a floating circus and its pride of performing lions.
  Based on Zizou Corder's bestselling novels, Marcelo Dos Santos's adaptation fuses storytelling and circus in a gripping tale that provides great opportunities for amateur and school groups looking to perform a magical adventure.
  Lionboy was commissioned and first produced by award-winning theatre company Complicite in 2013, and was revived in 2014 for an international tour.
  'It twinkles with a sense of magical possibility... liveliness, invention and effortless appeal' - The Times
  'A wonderfully imaginative adventure' - Evening Standard

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  The Tower

  Paul Legault

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  W. B. Yeats meets Gregg Araki at a gay bar.
   
  The Tower is a "translation" of W. B. Yeats's The Tower—an homage and reinvention of the poet’s greatest work. Whereas Yeats’s book contended with his mortality as an aging spiritualist Irish Senator, this version contends with a new mortality: ours.
   
  The poems in this collection crystallize the transition from Legault’s late twenties to his early thirties, situated in North America during a time of political upheaval. It takes each of Yeats’s poems as a starting point and queers them. It translates Yeats’s modernist urge, on the other side of a long century.
   
  In her review of The Tower, Virginia Woolf says Yeats has “never written more exactly and more passionately.” One might imagine she’d conclude the same here. You can’t fault these poems for lacking passion.
   
  Yeats used to talk to ghosts. His wife would let ghosts talk through her. They would talk to Yeats, and he would write down what they say. Another way you could put it is that Yeats talked to his wife. Ghosts are much closer than you think. They like to live in books. So Legault spent some time talking to Yeats’s ghost. Or, Yeats’s ghost talked to him. This is him talking back.
   
  "Through Legault, the opening of Yeats’ words in the title poem shift and turn from absurdity to one of anxieties around ageing" —rob mclennan's Blog
   
  "If you've never cared about poetry, you will after reading these modern-day renderings..." —Maria-Claire

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