Focusing on the evolution of Walcott as a writer, this comprehensive study delves into his poetry and plays, offering insights into his major works. It also highlights lesser-known pieces, including out-of-print and unpublished plays, providing a thorough exploration of his literary contributions.
This comprehensive study delves into the intricacies of Narayan's fiction, providing in-depth analyses of each of his novels. It explores the themes, characters, and narrative techniques that define his work, offering readers a deeper understanding of his literary contributions. Through detailed readings, the book highlights the cultural and social contexts that shape Narayan's storytelling, making it an essential resource for both scholars and fans of his literature.
This new edition of Nissim Ezekiel's Collected Poems (OUP 1989) comes with a critical introduction reevaluating Ezeikiel's place in the modernist canon by John Thieme, and a preface by Leela Gandhi.
England, 2009. The time of Michael Jackson's death. Summoned to the remote Lincolnshire village of Bubbleby by the sister of a former college friend, the enigmatic Isabel White, the narrator Sam Whoo travels to her family's home, The Weavers. He feels that he is journeying back in time to a settled England and a way of life far removed from his own nomadic, cosmopolitan existence. He is swiftly disabused of this assumption. The Weavers is a house of secrets, and Sam will come to learn how entwined with the secrets he himself is. With one exception, each member of the family has a cabinet of curiosities. These include collections of fairground freaks and ephemera, teapots, weaponry, train songs, maps and Gothic paraphernalia. However, the novel's real curiosities are the members of the White family themselves, one of whom has a deadly disposition. Cabinets of Curiosities is as much a what's-been-dun as a whodunit. It is also a Condition of England novel. Its vivid characters range from an impressionable eight-year-old girl to a garrulous eighty-seven-year-old man.
The narrative follows Francis Barber, the Jamaican manservant of Dr. Samuel Johnson, as he navigates the complexities of class and race in 18th-century England. Despite inheriting wealth, Francis discovers that societal acceptance is elusive due to his racial background. His journey highlights the challenges of ambition and identity, offering a poignant exploration of self-realization against the backdrop of historical social dynamics. This fictional autobiography enriches the genre of historical fiction while providing a compelling character study.
The collection features a mix of individual poems and a cohesive narrative sequence titled "Massiah," set in a Guyanese barber shop. While many poems respond to specific themes like war, peace, and the pandemic, others vary in tone and form. The poet reveals that most pieces emerged spontaneously, driven by creative inspiration. As the poems were compiled, two recurring themes became evident, reflecting the poet's deeper concerns. This diverse anthology showcases both personal and societal reflections through a rich tapestry of voices and experiences.
Everything a woodturner needs to know about using and implementing the exciting new technology of replaceable carbide cutting tips is included in this guide. Woodturning tools have taken a quantum leap since the recent introduction of these tips that have greatly simplified the task of turning in dry stock. Carbide-tipped woodturning tools are safer, faster, easier, and more efficient than traditional tools that require grinding the end of a piece of fluted steel to one of dozens of subjective profiles. The technology of the carbide cutters is fully explained, as are the various shafts and the function of the handle designs, providing insight into how and why these cutters act as they do, and why they are shaped as they are. Removing the intimidating aspects of turning, the guide explains the elimination of sharpening, addresses the issues of chatter and fatigue, and advises on maintenance, techniques, and usage. A number of projects are included -- such as a candlestick, spinning tops, and a basic bowl -- that can be completed right away by novice turners, rather than waiting for years to gain enough experience to do the same job with traditional tools.
This book examines how ideas about place and space have been transformed in recent decades. It offers a unique understanding of the ways in which postcolonial writers have contested views of place as fixed and unchanging and are remapping conceptions of world geography, with chapters on cartography, botany and gardens, spice, ecologies, animals and zoos, and cities, as well as reference to the importance of archaeology and travel in such debates. Writers whose work receives detailed attention include Amitav Ghosh, Derek Walcott, Jamaica Kincaid, Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondaatje and Robert Kroetsch. Challenging both older colonial and more recent global constructions of place, the book argues for an environmental politics that is attentive to the concerns of disadvantaged peoples, animal rights and ecological issues. Its range and insights make it essential reading for anyone interested in the changing physical and human geography of the contemporary world.