Featuring sonnets, sestinas, villanelles, and translations from Old English, this compilation by Dutch poet Chris McCully spans 16 years of his work. A meditation on extinction, this supple, sparing verse celebrates the fragile place in which we live as it reveals the author's engagement with language and the poetic form. Inspired in part by Anglo Saxon elegy, this rich and unique collection touches upon themes such as civility, memory, friendship, art, and literature.

Any translation is a reading. Chris McCully reads Beowulf as an epic written in English using all the complex metrical conventions of its time, as well as distinctive epic tropes including sea-crossings, oracular pronouncements, and encounters with the monstrous. This version renders the original in readable contemporary English, but also keeps as close as it can to the older, alliterative metrical system, so that readers may experience something of the textures and formal propert...

The formation of the Serengeti in Africa, the emergence of homo sapiens, the amazing wildlife, patterns of migration and predation are the themes of the fiercely engaged poems and photographs in this unusual book, which brings to life Tanzania and Kenya to our eyes and ears.

The Earliest Englishprovides a student-friendly introduction to Old English and the earliest periods of the history of the English Language as it evolved before 1215. Using non-technical language, the book covers basic terminology, the linguistic and cultural backgrounds to the emergence and development of OE, and the OE vocabulary that students studying this phase of the English language need to know.In eight carefully structured units, the authors show how the vocabulary...

Alcohol thought Chris McCully was Mr. Wonderful. When Chris was drinking, he sometimes thought so too - Mr. Generous, Mr. Witty and Charming, Mr. Champagne. But there are other labels - 'chronic alcoholic' (all over the medical notes); 'high risk offender' (in the court record). Goodbye, Mr. Wonderful gives a detailed account of the early stages of recovery from alcoholism. From his admittance into hospital to his life as a writer in the Netherlands, McCully offers a detailed and often ana...

Is historical linguistics different in principle from other linguistic research? This book addresses problems encountered in gathering and analysing data from early English, including the incomplete nature of the evidence and the dangers of misinterpretation or over-interpretation. Even so, gaps in the data can sometimes be filled. The volume brings together a team of leading English historical linguists who have encountered such issues first-hand, to discuss and suggest solutions to a ran...

The Sound Structure of English provides a clear introduction to English phonetics and phonology. Tailored to suit the needs of individual, one-term course modules, it assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, and presents the basic facts in a straightforward manner, making it the ideal text for beginners. Students are guided step-by-step through the main concepts and techniques of phonetic and phonological analysis, aided by concise chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF FALL: WASHINGTON POST, CBS, BOSTON GLOBE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE & MORE • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Rundell comes a “rare and magical book” (Bill Bryson) reckoning with the vanishing wonders of our natural world"Extraordinary...For anyone whose capacity for wonder could use a jumpstart, Rundell's essays are essential reading."—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

How did cranes come to symbolize matrimonial happiness? Why were magpies the only creatures that would not go inside Noah's Ark?Birds and bird imagery are integral parts of our language and culture. With her remarkable ability to dig up curious and captivating facts, Diana Wells hatches a treat for active birders and armchair enthusiasts alike. Meet the intrepid adventurers and naturalists who risked their lives to describe and name new birds. Learn the mythical sto...

The world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the epic story of the Norse hero, Sigurd, the dragon-slayer, the revenge of his wife, Gudrún, and the Fall of the Nibelungs.“Many years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien composed his own version, now published for the first time, of the great legend of Northern antiquity, in two closely related poems to which he gave the titles The New Lay of the Völsungs and The New Lay of Gudrún.“In the Lay of the V...

From an award-winning writer, a story-rich exploration of our shared planet, and the astonishing, moving, and troubled connections between humans and other animalsAnimals have shaped our minds, our lives, our land, and our civilization. Humanity would not have gotten very far without them, and yet, over the past two centuries, the relationship has grown further apart. In Beastly, author Keggie Carew seeks to re-enchant readers with the wild world, reframin...

A timeless and majestic portrait of Africa by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014), author of the National Book Award-winning The Snow Leopard and the new novel In ParadiseA finalist for the National Book Award when it was released in 1972, this vivid portrait of East Africa remains as fresh and revelatory now as on the day it was first published. Peter Matthiessen exquisitely combines nature and travel writing to portray the sights, scen...