Ward Books

This is the best book I've found for low-literate Spanish-speaking parents. It gives simple suggestions on how to interact with children to promote language development and be more sensitive to their needs. Each page has 3 bullet points and a cute illustration or a cartoon showing negative and positive ways to talk to your child.

Very attractive and easy to read--what more could you ask for in a parenting book!

VANITIES, the third novel in the STYLE series, is a tour de force that interweaves three plots involving the loves and the lives of three old friends and their younger counter- parts at a New York City publishing house. Long-held secrets are revealed one hot New York summer. An alcoholic ex-wife of one woman's lover makes startling revelations on her television show, glass houses. A very masculine art director falls in love with a male model. An old love from the past comes back to haunt the otherwise stable life of the series' heroine, Liza Bennington. Bercier (pseudonym for Thomas D. Petitjean Jr.) writes with panache and interweaves three intriguing, compelling storylines under one umbrella story. A wonderful read that will keep the reader awake throughout the night. Impossible to put-down.

Thom Ward is the author of three collections of poetry: Small Boat with Oars of Different Size, Tumblekid (winner of the Devil's Millhopper Poetry Contest), and now Various Orbits. This latest collection may be a mere ninety-six pages, but its forty-five poems are anything but light. Ranging from free verse to didactic, from anti-narrative to Pantoum, Various Orbits swings a wide arc through the poetic universe, but always returns home to the heart.

Ward's mastery of the craft can be seen instantly in "Night Game," in which he describes the simple beauty of the moon, told as a baseball analogy. Likewise, "Though Monarchs Exploit the Disparity Among Us," an ode to ale, amongst other things, may be the most poetic drinking song ever written.

Humor is in abundance here, in "Viagra Falls" and "After Decades of Silence, Toilet Speaks," the latter told from the point of view of, well, a toilet.

This humor is balanced with the graceful art of "Poem Without a Freight Train or a Pocket Watch," "What'll It be Tonight, the Heart or the Fist?" and "Poetry Is a Game of Managing Your Mistakes." Each is an exciting turn at the Malayan/French Pantoum form. The poet's variations on this style are both intriguing and edgy.

And what can you say about "Joseph and the Boss," a poem that pulls together theology, psychology, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Sominex sleep aids, and Newark, New Jersey? It is a poem that turns the would-be comic line "...you're the propane for God's barbecue," into something like reverence.

Even "Cheesehead," though it may slip in a dry pun here and there at the expense of Green Bay Packer fans, ends as something more; something like a gentle sermon.

"Wreckage" is a similar conundrum, containing humor (she'd relinquished drinking / but everyone / could smell the poetry / on her breath), while ending in the following, very unexpected way: the sharp light / of each hour's doubt / and frustration / this clickety-clack / blue-veined volt world / we love but cannot trust, / all of us, scattering / wreckage in our wake, / in search of something / like justice, something / like mercy.
What's most likely to catch the eye is Ward's incredible description, in poems like "Third Night in San Francisco," "Cycling Through Taylor's Basin," "Saranac," "Ontario," and "Seneca." Their landscapes, real or imagined, are now pictured in my mind as truly as those of my own hometown. A nd if this weren't enough, there is more beauty to be found beneath the surface of each of these poems.

In "Saranac," the simple description of docks and boathouses, empty of summer tourists once again, evokes a certain magic. Plumb its depths, and you find lines such as: this moment balanced amid / almost and was - and -the thought of men / doing nothing useful in a world / so weary of usefulness.

Beneath the gorgeous description of "Seneca," we find: When we dive into this water, / cobalt, windblown, fierce, / we're certain to come out / on the other side of yes.

And within the lush description of small town America in "Cycling Through Taylor's Basin," there is: I need to travel / among the old versions of who / we thought we were.

These poems may revolve around fictional people or places, but they reveal greater truths about humanity than anything else I've read or seen in years; truly a hallmark of great art, in any form.

Various Orbits is unabashedly, and undeniably, brilliant. It is beautiful, thoughtful, and funny. I would say that Ward's poetry has a sense of magic to it, but that wouldn't be true. Ward's poetry IS magic, and it is nothing less than magic I experience each time I read, and re-read, this book.
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Mr. Ward has degrees in English from both the College of Wooster and SUNY Brockport, has been editor of more than sixty collections of poetry, and is a teacher of creative writing workshops in elementary and high schools, as well as through the Writers & Books Literary Center. He is a former chair of the Literature Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, a recipient of numerous grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He is currently editor and development director for BOA Editions Ltd., an independent, not-for-profit poetry publishing house. He was also editor of the winner of the 2001 National Book Award for Poetry (Lucille Clifton's Blessing the Boats).
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P.M. Bradshaw is a writer of poetry and fiction, and a two-time judge of the Young Adult Poetry Coffeehouse Contest at the Mount Vernon Public Library, where he also teaches a poetry workshop for adults. When not working at the Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library, he is a volunteer reader at VoiceCorps: the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service, a radio station that provides readings of daily newspapers, books, and the like for the visually impaired and elderly.

Despite what Johnny Cash may have said, Mr. Bradshaw DID NOT shoot a man in Reno once, just to watch him die.
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This beautiful edition is the ideal introduction to the work of Ann Radcliffe specifically and the Gothic tradition generally. The 1802 text faithfully relates the plot and characterization of 1794's The Mysteries of Udolpho in a far more reader friendly length. Jack G. Voller's introduction, as well as various appendices (including contemporary reviews and reactions, essays, comparisons of the two works, and Ann Radcliffe's own "On Supernatural in Poetry"), add tremendous value, making this a particularly useful volume for any interested reader, and a perfect text for use in the classroom, as well.

This book is one of the few positive reflections on the Papal encyclical "Veritatis Splendor". Most of the books about the encyclical are slanted to the left, written by the same theologians and moralists that the Holy Father is warning the Bishops to reign in. Not so with this book. The contributors, who include Frs. Avery Dulles SJ, Romanus Cessario OP, J. A. DeNoia OP, Servais Pinckaers OP and Mr. Alasdair MacIntyre, are faithful Catholic theologians who write from a viewpoint of appreciation for the Holy Father's teaching.

The book is divided into three parts: Perspectives on the encyclical, Issues raised within the encyclical, and the Reception of the encyclical. The Perspectives section is aimed at helping the reader to unpack the structure and meaning of the encyclical itself. The Issues section discusses in-depth the different questions that the Holy Father has addressed, from Natural Law to the true meaning of freedom to the concept of moral absolutes within a relativistic society. The third section has two essays that examine the press and the academic commentaries that were published within the first five years of the encyclical's publication. Finally, Pio Cardinal Laghi, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, provides a reflection on how Veritatis Splendor can be used within the educational environment to teach moral theology.

This is a superb book to read alongside the encyclical, especially when the technical language begins to weary. The subtitle, "Studies by Ten Outstanding Scholars", is quite an apt description of the contents of the book. As Fr. Servais Pinckaers explains in his essay, Veritatis Splendor is truly an "Encyclical for the future". This book will help mine the riches present in the Holy Father's teaching.

This book offers some really insightful pieces on the Pope John Paul II's "Veritatas Splendor." Especially thought-provoking was O'Keefe's piece on Augustine and perfectionism. A great resource for those who really want to think through this Vatican document.

If you are going to teach English to children aged 3 to 6 but you don't have any experience at all, this book will provide you a lot of ideas. This book contains good and practical songs, games, activites, and even tells you ideas to make flashcard, as well as the special activities such as for Christmas or Carnival. It's a great source book for an ESL teacher to keep!

The Vézelay Chronicle consists of four "books" and an accompanying cartulary. The work covers the years (1140-1167) characterized by seemingly endless struggles with secular and ecclesiastical authorities over the liberties of the Church of Vézelay. The author, Hugh of Poitiers was a notary commissioned by the Abbot of Pons (1138-1161) to write a powerful and forceful defense of Vézelay's freedom from secular and ecclesiastical authorities besides that of the Popes. By illustrating in vivid language the bloody, cruel, endless, and often scandalous rapine of the Monasteries lands by the Counts of Nevers, Hugh of Poitiers sought to convince others of Vézelay's plight in order to gain sympathy and support. Hugh of Poitiers fiercely defends papal unity, social stability, and preservation of precedent. He also took deep pride in his Abbey and its primary holy relic, the body of Mary Magdalene. This relic became a very important pilgrimage sight and the resultant flow of income from the pilgrims evoked the envy of its secular and ecclesiastic neighbors.

Book one covers the attempts by the Bishop of Autun to bring Vézelay under its jurisdiction. The key development of Book Two is the Count of Nevers persuasion of the burghers of Vézelay to "throw in their lot with him against the abbot" (pg 173) who is their rightful lord. The other major development is Abbot Pons' decision to implore King Louis VII of France for protection against the count and his new allies, the Burghers of the town, and the Bishop of Burgundy, and monks of Cluny (who have many monasteries in the count of Nevers' land and they do not wish to anger them). The Burghers formed a commune, described by Hugh as a "mutual pack of wickedly conspiratorial intent" (pg 184) and then plundered Vézelay's lands (pg 188). This ellicited a sentence of excommunication by the Pope who was Vézelay's primary ally. Sadly, the end of Book Two and the beginning of Book Three where Louis VII began his intervention suffered massive damage during the 13th century and only the barest summary can be gleaned and even that is the topic of much debate. In Book Three, Hugh of Poitiers describes these attempts by Louis VII for peace and further Papal attempts to reign in the actions of William Count of Nevers. Abbot Pons' reluctance to allow the French King to arbitrate due in part due to the King's familial relations to the Countess of Nevers and thus bias against William. Rapine and looting wrecked the town, the abbot fled and "collected an army from beyond his seigneury" (pg 213) to retake Vézelay. At this point the communal threat falls apart, the culprits punished, and "the enemy failed, while the just prevailed" and most importantly, without use of the King's or the Count's court.

Book Four, covers the years 1159-1167 and begins with a broad look at the Papal schism that started in 1159 between Alexander III and Victor IV. Abbot Pons died in 1161 and William, Abbot of Pontoise replaced him. A new count of Nevers comes to power and the problem of jurisdiction began anew. The Monks fled in desperation and journey to Louis VII's court at Paris and after a prolonged mediation the "king personally restores the Abbot and the Monks" (pg 300) and their arch nemesis, William IV count of Nevers, departed for the Holy Land in 1167. The Book abruptly ends with the burning of certain heretics.

This edition, by John Scott and John O. Ward is absolutely superb. Not only is Hugh of Poitiers Chronicle included but also other primary documents including the Minor Chronicle, a A Short History of the First Counts of Nevers, A Letter of William of Volpiano, the 1137 Accord, and a Letter about Heretics. The outstanding introduction is comprised of multiple essays dealing with historical context, Culture in Twelfth-Century Vézelay, Relics and Pilgrimage at Vézelay, the Commune, the Main protagonists, with Maps, time lines, and illustrations. The extensive Appendixes not only contains additional primary sources but also an essay on the earlier communal revolt of Mans in 1070, Institution of Peace for the Commune of Laon (1128), the Beginnings of the Abbey of Vézelay (858-1037), and The Apogee and Decline of the Monastery. In short, this is an vital document for Medieval French History, the History of Medieval Communes, Medieval Culture, and Medieval Cistercian History.

I am giving this 5 stars because it is an outstanding source of information about Violet Richardson Ward both her personal life history and a basic background as to her role in founding Soroptimist. It is a difficult book to obtain and I bought it used through Amazon.com's private zshop sellers. Violet was an amazing woman for many more reasons than just that of founding Soroptimist. In fact, Soroptimist is not one of the most interesting, innovating, or courageous things she achieved in her life!! For example, her true love was physical education. She was a strong willed young woman who ended up teaching physical education in public schools at a time when most teachers were male, especially P.E. teachers!

BUT, I found the book to be poorly edited when it comes to flow, natural progressions and generally, *readability* (and, perhaps, there was no editor per se). It is a difficult book to read not because of complex prose or language, but because the author jumps from one antedote to another in repeating what seems like just about every story she collected about Violet's life which were relayed to author by either Violet before her death and/or by other people such as her family and friends. The most entertaining and easiest chapter to read is one taken from the journal of one of Violet's friends. The journal recorded the events of a crazy road trip a single, unmarried Violet and several of her single and/or married girlfriends (one of which who kept the journal). The woman traveled to Oregon from California and back in Violet's Ford traveling through mountains and on backroads, and as one might imagine, breaking down quite often while having fun and getting into mischief all along the way!

My fellow Soroptimist from around the world will find this to be an excellent book from an historical perspective. Avid readers of historical biographies or biographies about women will be sadly disappointed. It would be an interesting project for SIA or a local SI club to take on the revision and republication of this book.

There are several black and white pictures of Violet as an older woman in the last 15 years of her life and she is a beautiful, strong looking woman. However, there are no pictures of her as a child, young woman, or as an adult until she is basically an elderly woman. I imagine she was a strikingly beautiful young woman too and the absence of pictures from her life before 70 is definitely disappointing because Violet had such a full and colorful life!

The editor did a fantastic job of combining these diaries into a chronologically coherent narrative. Additionally he was very wise to preserve the non-standard spellings and minimize annotations. By doing this he preserved the spontaneous quality of the writing.

The writing skills of these diarists is quite surprising. Time and again the reader will come across details and vignettes that are astonishing. In one instance the writer (a private) takes a late night stroll and in the moonlight passes another lone stroller...Robert E. Lee. In another instance a young doctor, fighting as a private, describes his heroic attempts to save his best friend from a protracted illness only to have him die in his arms. It may well be the most poignant thing I have ever read. Other descriptions will create images that will long remain with the reader. From now on when I hear bacon frying I will think of flying miniballs!

This book is unlike anything I have ever read concerning the War Between the States. I highly recommend it.