A landmark publication in computer-generated poetry drawn from the works of Gertrude Stein.The Stein poems of Jackson Mac Low (1922–2004) were written between 1998 and 2003. Comprising more than 500 pages of text, this edited series of 161 poems—most of them never published—is the poet’s last great work, composed during the final years of a lifetime of prolific creation.The raw material of each poem was produced through Mac Low’s diastic text-selection meth...

A New York Times bestseller—"Part ode, part how-to guide to the art of the well-constructed sentence" (NPR).Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. Stanley Fish appreciates fine sentences. The New York Times columnist and world-class professor has long been an aficionado of language. Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptness of finely crafted sentences and breaks them down into digestible morsels, giving readers an...

A bestselling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes -- and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight itLanguage is always changing -- but we tend not to like it. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Whether it’s the use of literally to mean “figuratively” rather than “by the letter,” or the way young ...

A scientifically supported program designed to pump up your vocabulary in ten easy steps."Engaging narrative . . . fun mental flexing for those seeking alternatives to Sudoku and crossword puzzles." ― Library JournalWord Workout is a practical book for building vocabulary―a graduated program featuring thousands of words that begins with those known by most college graduates and ascends to words known only ...

A captivating meditation on the power of the sentence by the author of Essayism, a 2018 New Yorker book of the year.In Suppose a Sentence, Brian Dillon, whom John Banville has called “a literary flâneur in the tradition of Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin,” has written a sequel of sorts to Essayism, turning his attention to the oblique and complex pleasures of the sentence. A series of essays prompted by a single sentence—from Shak...

A beautiful facsimile of the 1923 original edition which is considered "one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century". (The New York Times)Spring and All is a manifesto of the imagination — a hybrid of alternating sections of prose and free verse that coalesce in dramatic, energetic, and beautifully cryptic statements of how language re-creates the world. Spring and All contains some of Williams’s best-known poetry, including Sectio...

The Elements of Style is an American English writing style guide. It is one of the most influential and best-known prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage in the United States. It originally detailed eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, and "a few matters of form" as well as a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Updated editions of the paperback book are often required reading for American high school and college composition cl...

"One of the virtues of good poetry is the fact that it irritates the mediocre."Theodore Roethke was one of the most famous and outspoken poets and poetry teachers this country has ever known. In this volume of selected prose, Roethke articulates his commitments to imaginative possibilities, offers tender advice to young writers, and zings darts at stuffed shirts, lightweights and fools."Art is our defense against hysteria and death."With the assist...

This workbook includes exercises for the younger crowd (middle school age) and for older students and adults who want to play with words.There are 30 exercises for creating poems by playing with words here, as well as a few examples of poems created by myself and famous poets like Lewis Carroll, Robert Frost, Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, and Elizabeth Bishop. Play with writing cut-ups, sonnets, villanelles, found poetry, permutations, and more!Check out the reviews for the fi...

A “rock star” (New York Times) of the computing world provides a radical new work on the meaning of human consciousness.The holy grail of psychologists and scientists for nearly a century has been to understand and replicate both human thought and the human mind. In fact, it's what attracted the now-legendary computer scientist and AI authority David Gelernter to the discipline in the first place. As a student and young researcher in the 1980s, Gelernter h...

"In this part-thesaurus, part-hilarious manual of style, Elster breaks down the most common mistakes of the English language."— BooklistIf you have trouble distinguishing the verbs imitate and emulate, the relative pronouns that and which, or the adjectives pliant, pliable, and supple, never fear— How to Tell Fate from Destiny is here to help! With more than 500 headwo...

"The Art of Writing & Speaking the English Language" by Sherwin Cody is a comprehensive guide that delves into the intricacies of effective communication. Cody emphasizes the importance of clarity and precision in both writing and speaking, providing readers with practical techniques to enhance their skills. The book covers various aspects of language, including grammar, style, and rhetoric, making it an invaluable resource for anyone looking to improve their command of English. Through en...