Author: Brian Busby
Publisher: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307368580
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 415
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Book Description
Ever wondered where novelists get the inspiration for their characters? Why the hero or villain of your favourite book seems oddly familiar? Who inspired Mordecai Richler to create Bernard Gursky; Margaret Atwood to create Zenia in The Robber Bride? In which novel does Northrop Frye appear (as a character named Morton Hyland)? The answers can be found in Character Parts, Brian Busby’s irreverent yet authoritative guide to who’s really who in Canadian literature. The most original and entertaining reference book to be published in years, Character Parts is the behind-the-scenes look at CanLit we have all been waiting for. Brian Busby settles the suspicions that arise when a fictional character reminds you of a real-life one, listing the sources for characters from the whole of Canadian literature. His canvas stretches from the settlers who inspired 1852’s Roughing It in the Bush to Glenn Gould’s appearance as Nathaniel Orlando Gow in Tim Wynne-Jones’ The Maestro, and beyond. But Character Parts is also chock-full of fascinating, less famous people who have been immortalized in Canadian books: seductive Alberta politicians, British army generals, anarchists, models, aristocrats -- and, of course, parents, siblings and ex-spouses. Authoritative, but presented with a light touch, Character Parts is as at home in a university library as on a bathroom shelf. It’s that rare find: an exemplary reference book that is also an absolutely entertaining read in its own right.
Author: Gayle Dean Wardlow
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
ISBN: 1621906612
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 497
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Book Description
"Charlie Patton (1891-1934) was born in central Mississippi. By 1908, he had begun his performing career, initially at small house parties, then at barrelhouses and other settings that could accommodate a hundred people or more. Until his death in 1934, Patton was a top draw for the numerous African Americans then living and working in the Delta. In 1929 and 1930, he recorded several hits for Paramount Records, on the basis of which he was sought by the American Record Company in January 1934 for what would be his last recordings. He was immensely influential to other bluesmen, including Tommy Johnson, Kid Bailey, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf. Since 1991, his collected recordings have been available to the wider public. This book was previously published in 1988 under the authorship of Wardlow (b. 1940) and Calt (1946-2010). Its sole printing of 3,000 paperback copies sold out within seven years, and since 1988 additional recordings of Patton and his associates have been recovered and widely reissued to the public, particularly on Jack White's Third Man Records. Komara (b. 1966) has updated Wardlow and Calt's original edition and has written a new afterword discussing a resurgence of Delta-blues-style rock and the continuing influence of Patton and the music genre he helped pioneer"--
Author: John S. Budd
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 150497221X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 542
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Book Description
Idol is about a brilliant schizophrenic serial killer, Steven Wently, whose sensational murders of famous false idols receive universal publicity and public support. Wently imagines that the cumulative weight of revelations of crimes committed by false idols after their deaths will destroy humankinds faith in its heroes. He further reasons that such exposures will cast shadows over legitimacy of promises of mans immortality made by religious heroes like Christ, Hindu deities, and Muhammad. The result of civilizations loss of faith in its heroes and immortality will cause the collapse of civilization, Wently believes. He uses his wifes enormous wealth and her familys vast network of contacts to identify famous false heroes and create extensive dossiers of their crimes. As his alter ego, Idol, Wently tries, and executes these Pretenders, thereby destroying their mythical reputations before they die. His victims are varied a prime candidate to replace the Pope, a U.S. Senator, a famous composer, a highly successful investment banker, a Supreme Court Justice, a former U.S. president, a United Nations Secretary General, etc. Over time, Wently builds an extensive organization to carry out his exterminations, a movement that becomes known as Idolism. Idolism attracts worldwide acclaim of millions, confounding government. Government, fearing that Idolism is unstoppable, takes steps to eliminate it, led by an utterly evil, maniacal assassin. Idol, like Budds most recent thriller, Life Support, is an exciting amalgam of inventive plotting, extraordinary characters, spellbinding terror and edgy wit, and blurs lines between good and evil.
Author: Roy Macskimming
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551992612
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 514
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Book Description
A book that will fascinate and inform readers who love Canadian writing Part cultural history, part personal memoir, this accomplished, sweeping, yet intimate book demonstrates that the story of Canadian publishing is one of the cornerstones of our literary history. In The Perilous Trade, former publisher, literary journalist, and industry insider Roy MacSkimming chronicles the extraordinary journey of English-language publishing from the Second World War to the present. During a period of unparalleled transformation, Canada grew from a cultural colony fed on the literary offerings of London and New York to a mature nation whose writers are celebrated around the world. Crucial to that evolution were three generations of book publishers–mavericks, gamblers, entrepreneurs, political activists, and true believers–sharing a conviction that Canadians need books of their own. Canadian publishing has long made headlines—be it Jack McClelland’ s outrageous publicity stunts, American takeovers, the collapse of venerable imprints, or bold political moves to ensure the industry’s survival. Roy MacSkimming takes us behind the headlines to draw memorable portraits of the men and women who built Canada’s literary renaissance. With a novelist’s eye for character and incident, he weaves their tangled relationships with authors, agents, booksellers and each other into a lively narrative rich in anecdote and revealing personal recollection. Canadian publishers large and small have nurtured a literature of extraordinary diversity and breadth, MacSkimming argues, giving us English Canada’s greatest cultural achievement.
Author:
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487537751
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 735
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Book Description
The widespread opinion is that Northrop Frye’s influence reached its zenith in the 1960s and 1970s, after which point he became obsolete, his work buried in obscurity. This almost universal opinion is summed up in Terry Eagleton’s 1983 rhetorical question, "Who now reads Frye?" In The Reception of Northrop Frye, Robert D. Denham catalogues what has been written about Frye – books, articles, translations, dissertations and theses, and reviews – in order to demonstrate that the attention Frye’s work has received from the beginning has progressed at a geomantic rate. Denham also explores what we can discover once we have a fairly complete record of Frye’s reception in front of us – such as Hayden White’s theory of emplotments applied to historical writing and Byron Almén’s theory of musical narrative. The sheer quantity of what has been written about Frye reveals that the only valid response to Eagleton’s rhetorical question is "a very large and growing number," the growth being not incremental but exponential.
Author:
Publisher: Piera Mattei
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 28
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Book Description
Author: Bill Casselman
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1490772146
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 401
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Book Description
How, why, and whence does a word gain advent into the English vocabulary? That question has hundreds of thousands of vivid, sometimes funny answers. In At the Wording Desk, author Bill Casselman, one of Canada's leading etymologists, shares a collection of some of the more colorful and interesting word origins. With a dose of lively humor, he offers an explanation of a plethora of words and gives the historical Latin and Greek roots and their meaning as spoken and written throughout history. In At the Wording Desk, he: explains that the word "travel" comes from trepalium, a Roman torture device; examines the origin of English words which end in the pejorative suffix -ard such as coward, dullard, lubbard, and sluggard; discuss how canopy first meant mosquito net; defines the meaning of wind-rose, advection, and a host of other interesting words; and tells why carpe diem does not mean "seize the day." From thaumaturgy to clavis, xanthopterin, and more, Casselman offers an extensive look at the history of a variety of rare words.
Author: George Lipsitz
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 0816666784
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 287
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Book Description
Looking closely at the limit of both multilingual literary expression and the literary journalism, criticism, and scholarship that comments on multilingual work, Babel's Shadow presents a critical reflection on the fate of literature in a world gripped by the crisis of globalization.
Author: Robert L. Chapman
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062732935
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 441
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Book Description
From cowpokes to cyber punks, from flappers to gangsta rappers, American Slang chronicles the ever-evolving, informal, unconventional language we use every day. Expanded and completely updated, this 2nd edition contains thousands of contemporary and traditional slang expressions, including the newest computer lingo and slang from the Internet. Entries Feature: Definitions Pronunciations Time and place origins Editorial notes Cross-references Examples that illustrate and validate usage Synonyms and variant forms Impact symbols
Author: Europa Publications
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9781857431780
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 536
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Book Description
Provides up-to-date profiles on the careers of leading and emerging poets.
