English Classics Books

There is a small volume of Hardy verse collected by Russian/American poet (and, Nobel laureate), Joseph Brodsky. It is part of a series published by Ecco press -- "The Essential Poets." "The Essential Hardy," the last in the series, is a small anthology of about 100 poems. The really interesting thing about this edition is an extensive introduction (66 pages), in which the poet Brodsky analyzes in considerable depth, five of Hardy's poems. His discussion is, I think, quite brilliant and provocative. He views Hardy as a "poet's poet," and one that will, after the millennium, win a huge following. What I enjoyed the most was his gleanings of Hardy's craft -- matters of meter, imagery, and tone that might, I think, elude traditional scholars but appeal to professional poets. From subtle pictorialism in "Convergence of the Twain," to social commentary in "In the Moonlight," I found myself sensitized to Hardy's poetry in new, refreshing ways. His exuberance and insight are noteworthy, especially coming from a non-native-English writer. Brodsky's prose is lively and compelling throughout.

Sadly, though, this volume was written a year before Brodsky's untimely death. One would have wanted more from him.

Just the commentary by Nobelist Brodsky (died 1997,God rest his untimely soul) justifies reading this book multiple times. His insight on the poet Hardy as well as monumental poems like
'Darkling Thrush' and 'Convergence of the Twain' are illuminating,
penetrating and vividly insightful. Brodsky's prose itself at times soars into poetry in motion and emotion as his genuine delight in Hardy's craftsmanship constantly bubbles to the surface of his introductory essay.

It's clear Brodsky and his hero Hardy have much in common: earthy;master noticers;poets of the suffering human condition;
a keen appreciation of what most eyes miss combined with a gift
of expressing that vision in ways that stick in mind and heart
for the duration;an understanding of 'cunning irregularity' in their mostly formal prosody, that is, not being too sing-songy or
doggerelish in rhyme/rhythm of their lines, but utilizing built-in 'speed bumps' to vary the tone and texture of their poems.

A tour de force that belongs on every poetry-lover's shelf next to their volumes of Hardy,Frost,Yeats,Housman,Masefield,Auden,
C.S.Lewis,Betjeman,Wilbur,Hecht and younger poets Timothy Steele,Dana Gioia,A.E.Stallings. Should be must-reading material
for English Lit. courses worldwide.

As a 3rd Year English Student, I highly reccomend this collection. While I already own the Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works, this book I find offers a unique way of reading Shakespeare. Ted Hughes offers a brilliant introduction in which he relates how Shakespeare can be read on two very unique levels. Plays in their entirety, and the way that this book offers selections, exerpted speeches and soliloquies. Taken out of context, the various collected tid-bits stand on their own and allow the reader to absord the text and poetry without being constrained by characterization and plot development, a more abstract quality is given to the works and the texts stand by themselves in a distinct way. Worth picking up, cheers.

This is great entertainment in the car. Shakespeare is a nice break from the standard audiobook. If it has been a while since you last saw some of these plays performed, these scenes will bring it all back to you. The introductions are very nice in setting up the scene.

For the three days, I've been carrying around a little book, "Essentials: Jean Toomer."
This 90 page book illustrates Jean Toomer is far more powerful far than what is usually granted, by narrow racialists, to this author of "Cane". I believe Toomer is one of the the most important thinkers of the twentieth century.

Toomer's "Cane" was published in 1923, is considered by many to be the first literary work of the Harlem Renaissance. "Cane" was published before he met Gurdjieff. "Essentials" was published in 1931, seven years after he met Gurdjieff and while he was leading a group of people in Chicago who were attempting to practice the Gurdjieff's system of pyschological/philosphical method of living. "Essentials" had a very small run and was uninteresting to most of those people expecting a repeat "Cane." Here is a sample of some of Toomer's aphorisms: "Men are inclined either to work without hope, or hope without work. ... Social ills are caused by man's wish to have results greater than his efforts. "
This "Essentials: Jean Toomer" is an edited version of "Essentials" and has been re-published by Rudolph Byrd, a professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Nothing has been taken out of "Essentials"; however, something is added:
1. the former unpublished introduction, by Gorham Munson, written for the original.
2. a preface by Charles Johnson, African American author of National Book Award winning "Middle Passage"

Johnson says, "In American Literature, Toomer is unique -- a metaphysical pioneering genius, and this volume ['essentials'] of distilled reflections are indeed essential for the [twenty-first century]."

Jean Toomer was one of the great literary figures from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's. His signature work, Cane, is known by most people who have studied African-American literatureo. Lesser known to readers is this brilliant work, Essentials, published in 1931.

After his success with Cane, Toomer disappeared from the literary scene to pursue his own philosophical and psychological inquiries. He went against the grain of his time which believed African-Americans were not capable of exploring the world of metaphysics, let alone psychology. Toomer, way ahead of his time proved them wrong as he sought enlightenment in the teachings of George Gurdjieff. During this time (1924-1935), Toomer published this slim volume offering his attempts to grapple with the experience of what it means to be human.

Essentials is a collection of Toomer's ponderings in his search for wholeness in a fragmented world. Drawing on modern psychology and eastern religious belief Toomer falls into the comapny of Emerson, Thoreau and Gibran as he deals with that which is transcendent. He revives the use of aphorisms to convey timeless truths in a world which is incable of moving beyond its limited definitions of life.

Long ignored, this work gives us a glimpse of Toomer's metaphysical side. Through it we capture another alternative view of dealing with reality. It is essential reading for anyone interested in metaphysics, African-American literature, Toomer and as an example of a Black writer who refused to be limited by definitions of race for his life. Think on his words. Grow in the wisdom shared by a great literary giant of the 20th century.

Yet again the folks at Amazon have bungled matters. The other "review" of this book is in fact a review of (or a puff for) the Penn series of translations of Greek tragedy, not of Euripides' "Selected Fragmentary Plays," a scholarly edition offering Greek texts, English translations, and detailed notes on several of Euripides' fragmentary plays. It should also noted that the book in question is the recently published---and long-awaited---second volume of a work whose first volume appeared in 1995. Eventually, there will be a Loeb Classical Library edition of the major fragments of Euripides, but it is unlikely to replace these volumes of Collard et al., for their very full notes will remain invaluable.

I went to Columbia, with the most prominent 'great books' curriculum still in existence. 25 years later, I'm finding myself re-reading and discussing many of the titles. The Penn Greek Drama series is a handsome library of new translations that give fresh takes on the classics. It's useful to have Euripides on the shelf when you return home from the recent bravura performance by Fiona Shaw as Medea--it settled an argument too on how it 'originally' ended.

Solid, reliable parallel text versions of three plays by Euripides. The translator presents a highly questionable view of The Trojan Women in his Introduction to the play. He claims the drama has no connection with "current events" in the Peloponnesian War, while it's next to incredible that a Greek play has no political subtext. Readers should seek out alternative readings of The Trojan Women.

This volume from the Loeb Classical Libary offers up parallel English translations and original Greek texts for three classic Greek tragedies by Euripides: "Trojan Women," "Iphigenia Among the Taurians," and "Ion."

As preparations were made for the ruinous expedition against Syracuse, Euripides wrote "The Trojan Women," as a plea for peace. In this play the Greeks do more than enslave women: they have already slain a young girl as a sacrifice to the ghost of Achilles and they take Astyanax, the son of Hector, out of the arms of his mother so that he can be thrown from the walls of Troy. Even the herald of the Greeks, Talthybius, cannot stomach the policies of his people, but is powerless to do anything other than offer hollow words of sympathy. The play also has a strong literary consideration in that the four Trojan Women--Hecuba, Queen of Troy; Cassandra, daughter of Hecuba and Priestess of Apollo; Andromache, widow of Hector; and Helen--all appear in the final chapter of Homer's epic poem the "Iliad," mourning over the corpse of Hector. Of all the Achean leaders we hear about in Homer, only Menelaus, husband of Helen, appears. He appears, ready to slay Helen for having abandoned him to run off to Troy with Paris, but we see his anger melt before her beauty and soothing tones. "The Trojan Women" also reminds us that while we think of Helen as "the face that launched a thousand ships," she was a despised figure amongst the ancient Greeks and there is no satisfaction in her saving her life. The idea that all of these men died just so that she could be returned to the side of her husband is an utter mockery of the dead.

Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease the goddess Artemis, but at the last minute the sacrifice was replaced with a stage. In "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" the dramatist explains the young girl was taken to a temple of Artemis in Tauris. The play takes place many years later as Iphigenia's brother Orestes, trying to appease the Furies for his crime of matricide, is ordered by the god Apollo to bring the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Athens, who have a tradition of sacrificing strangers. This play is really more of a tragicomedy than a traditional Greek tragedy consisting of a key scene of recognition ("anagnorisis") and a clever escape by the main characters. The recognition scene between Orestes and Iphigenia is well done, and atypical since there is joy in the "anagnorisis" rather than pain or death. "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" takes place after the Orestia trilogy by Aeschylus and one of the more interesting elements of this play is the idea that Orestes had been hallucinating when he was seeing the Furies pursuing him. This is a rather rational explanation for his behavior following the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegithus. The key thing here is that you simply have to understand the entire background of the characters, both in terms of "Iphigenia at Aulis" and "The Orestia," to really understand this play.

In "Ion" Apollo, the god of truth, brutally rapes a helpless young girl, Creusa, and then abandons her. Creusa has a son, whom she abandons in a cave; when she goes back to find the child, he is gone. Years later she marries Xuthus, a solider of fortune who becomes king of Athens. At the start of the play Xuthus and Creusa are childless and go to Delphi for aid. There they are told that Ion, a young temple servant who has been raised from infancy, is the son of Xuthus. Creusa, outraged that Apollo let their own son die but preserved the life of a child begotten by Xuthus on some Delphian woman, tries to have Ion killed. Of course, in reality, Ion is her own child, abandoned in that cave. Condemned to death by the Delphians, Creusa escapes Ion's vengeance by taking refuge at Apollo's altar. There the priestess presents the tokens that allow Creusa to recognize Ion as her own son. Telling him the truth about his father, Ion tries to enter the temple to demand of Apollo the truth.

The common denominator for these plays is that they represent the last period of the career of Euripides, when his lyrics became much more emotional, which become quite powerful in plays like "Trojan Women" and "The Bacchae." The other key theme is the cynicism of Euripides towards the gods in general, and Apollo in particular; in addition to apparently wanting Orestes to die in Taurus, the God of Truth lies about being the father of Ion.

Great book, but I just wanted to clear up a few things that most people do not know. The Exeter Books riddles were never published with the answers. Thus, the answers in this book are not necessarily what the Anglo-Saxons intended, but just accepted answers. And depending on who in the scholarly world you talk to, the numbers of riddles, and the translation of those riddles is quite different.

I was enthralled with this book. I had never encountered Anglo-Saxon riddles before, and they're a delight - not your stupid Elephant riddles, but elegant poems, each one describing something in a teasing way.
The book has the riddle on one page and the explanation on the next, so when I was reading them I used to make sure I didn't look ahead until I'd solved it. Sometimes I got it, sometimes I didn't. But it's more fun than a crossword puzzle. (And sometimes those ol'Anglo Saxons surprise you - wait till you get to the one about "I grow upright in a bed... hairs underneath..." I won't spoil it by telling you the answer!

I have allways loved Andersons fairytales, for their darkness and insight, and Brent's illustrations fits them perfectly. A beautiful book for a fairytale collector, or a precious gift for a child, you cannot go wrong with this one.

I have read and re-read this book so many times the binding has completely fallen apart. I can't imagine a better collection of stories and illustrations, perfect for any age!

This book is wonderful! It's a must for any bookshelf of any merit!

This book was so incredibly well written. I would reccomend it to anybody and everybody. BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

As mentioned by other reviewers, with 400 poems by 20 poets it is possible for the first time to begin to intuit a "different voice" in Japanese women's haiku / hokku from that of men. Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi, in their introductory material, opened the discussion in "Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master" regarding feminine sensibilites evident in Chiyo's haiku, and they did so without apology! And I agree that it is time to let women be women in haiku and cease judging them according to the lived experience of men. But I am glad also that I cannot think of one single characteristic that marks a Japanese woman's haiku as a woman's haiku. Nevertheless read 400 of them in a single sitting and you will begin to smile as you catch on to something delightful -- "Viva la difference!"

With an increasing interest in women's poetry and also asian styles of poetry (haiku, tanka, sijo, haibun), I was amazed to find only one review for this wonderful collection of 400 haiku by 20 women poets from the 17th century to the present. Each poet has a brief biography followed by an assortment of her haiku. Makoto Ueda does a wonderful job of compiling and translating the poems and the introduction alone makes the book a worthwhile addition to any library.

A few haiku to whet your appetite:

toward thin ice
my shadow moves, moves
till it's drowned

- Mitsuhashi Takajo

the bamboo plant
shedding its sheath
in front of women

- Yoshino Yoshiko

murmur of waves
unheeded by today's
wild daffodils

- Inahata Teiko

So order already!

Far Rainbow is about a planet that finds it self facing the end. It has to make some choices. Choices on who will live and who will die. The Second Invasion From Mars is about Martians coming back to take over the Earth using different methods. Both stories deal mostly with the human condition and have little to do with science or technology. It is a must for any sci-fi library.

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's "Far Rainbow" represents that strangest of amalgams -- an eerily beautiful story of a planetary disaster. From a population of millions, only a handful could be saved. Paradoxically, the event brings out the best of the inhabitants, who set about selecting those among their number who represent the best of its people, work, and aspirations. Among the greatest works of all postwar Soviet fiction irrespective of category, the sci-fi books of the Strugatsky brothers deserve to be reprinted and disseminated to a new generation.