“Until the Flood is an urgent moral inquest.” —Jesse Green, New York TimesIn the gripping and revelatory Until the Flood, Dael Orlandersmith journeys into the heart and soul of modern-day America—confronting the powerful forces of history, race, and politics. Drawn from interviews following the shooting of a black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, Orlandersmith embodies the many faces of a community rallying for justice an...

These two raucously acclaimed new plays by Dael Orlandersmith, whom The New York Times has called "an otherworldly messenger, perhaps the sorcerer's apprentice, or a heaven-sent angel with the devil in her," confirm her reputation as one of the truly unique voices in contemporary American drama.In Yellowman, a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Alma and Eugene have known each other since they were young children. As their friendship blossoms in...

The sheer exuberance of language that pours forth in Dael Orlandersmith's plays has dazzled critics and audiences alike. In these three pieces, the award-winning writer and performer celebrates the power of words to rescue the young black women she portrays from their constricted worlds.In the Obie Award-winning play "Beauty's Daughter," Diane yearns to free herself from her soul-deadening surroundings, where people drown their unfulfilled aspirations in drugs and alcohol. In "Mons...

This captivating anthology gathers historic New Yorker pieces from a decade of trauma and upheaval—as well as the years when The New Yorker came of age, with pieces by Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Joseph Mitchell, Vladimir Nabokov, and George Orwell, alongside original reflections on the 1940s by some of today’s finest writers.In this enthralling book, contributions from the great writers who graced The New Yorker’s pages are placed...

A Doll's House is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play was the first of Ibsen's plays to create a sensation and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities. The play was controversial when first published, as it is sharply critical of 19th century marriage norms. It follows the formula of well-made play up until the final act, when it breaks convention by ending with a discussion, not an unravelling. It is ofte...

From Dave the Dude to Al Capone: a defining collection from the world of Damon RunyonDamon Runyon grew up in the West, moved to New York City, and became one of the leading voices of American popular culture. From sports writing to short fiction, this unique collection offers an eclectic sampling of his extraordinary talent. Here are newspaper pieces, stories- including the last one he ever composed-poetry, and, of course, the Broadway tales for which he is chiefly...

The novel tells the story of Pierre Glendinning, a young man from a wealthy family who becomes disillusioned with his life and sets out on a quest for meaning and authenticity. As Pierre grapples with questions of identity, morality, and the nature of existence, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters and finds himself drawn into a series of increasingly bizarre and surreal situations."Pierre" is known for its complex narrative structure, philosophical themes, and experimental style. ...

The first-ever collection of 50+ writings from the 20th-century critic who “redefined the possibilities of the literary essay”—including works not seen in print for decades (The New Yorker)Elizabeth Hardwick wrote during the golden age of the American literary essay. For Hardwick, the essay was an imaginative endeavor, a serious form, criticism worthy of the literature in question.In the essays collected here, she covers civil rights demonstrations...

Often called the most autobiographical of Arthur Miller's plays, After the Fall probes deeply into the psyche of Quentin, a man who ruthlessly revisits his past to explain the catastrophe that is his life. His journey backward takes him through a troubled upbringing, the bitter death of his mother, and a series of failed relationships.

"Never before, in the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of Black people's lives been seen on the stage," observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959.This edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class fa...

To celebrate the centennial of his birth, the collected plays of America’s greatest twentieth-century dramatist in a beautiful bespoke hardcover editionIn the history of postwar American art and politics, Arthur Miller casts a long shadow as a playwright of stunning range and power whose works held up a mirror to America and its shifting values. The Penguin Arthur Miller celebrates Miller’s creative and intellectual legacy by bringing together the breadth ...

Set in pre-war England, Jacob's Room traces the development of Jacob Flanders from childhood to adulthood. In this pathbreaking experimental novel, Jacob's character and the events of his life are revealed primarily through the letters, conversations, and thoughts of the people in his life who love him. Their impressions and memories surround the lacuna at the center of the story, which is Jacob himself, whose inner life is only fleetingly glimpsed. Elegiac, probing, and poignant,...