Discover Why ‘The Raven,’ Edgar Allan Poe’s Narrative Poem About a Distraught Lover and a Talking Bird, Remains an American Classic
Published in January 29 1845, the work used alliteration, internal rhyme and repetition to draw in readers, lending it a dark and melancholic tone
by Laura Kiniry
The Raven and Le Corbeau at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17192
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14082
From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod…
—Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Land of Nod” – from A Child’s Garden of Verses
Image: illustration by Charles Robinson (1870–1937) to “The Land of Nod”
Today, 25 September, is #WorldDreamDay
1/3
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47431/the-land-of-nod
#Scottish #literature #kidlit #poetry #19thcentury #RobertLouisStevenson #dream #dreams #dreaming
Jane Austen’s real and literary worlds weren’t exclusively white – just read her last book, Sanditon
by Olivia Carpenter
Sanditon at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/74233
Fascinating article that gets at how translation can be a tricky business. The whole meaning can change - and often to the opposite meaning the author intended!
#books #bookstodon #translation #literature @bookstodon
From: @publicdomainrev
https://mastodon.social/@publicdomainrev/115264769615001777
Translation and Taste
Learning how to have good taste means learning to translate.
By Blake Smith
https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/lessons-of-babel/articles/translation-and-taste
What should be on a list of almost Great Books?
by Henry Oliver
https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/what-should-be-on-a-list-of-almost
A selection of this month’s notable and interesting titles posted in our May newsletter:
https://www.gutenberg.org/newsletter/
The great sea-serpent - A. C. Oudemans
The limerick up to date book - Ethel Watts Mumford Grant
Partners in crime - Agatha Christie
Essay on comets - David Milne-Home
....
Irish author Bram Stoker died #OTD in 1912.
In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper, and wrote stories as well as commentaries. He also enjoyed travelling, particularly to Cruden Bay in Scotland where he set two of his novels. During another visit to the English coastal town of Whitby, Stoker drew inspiration for writing Dracula.
Books by Bram Stoker at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/190
Portuguese poet, philosopher, and writer Antero de Quental was born #OTD in 1842.
Some of Quental's notable works include "Sonetos Completos" (Complete Sonnets), "Prosas Dispersas" (Scattered Prose), and "Odes Modernas" (Modern Odes). His poetry is characterized by its introspective and philosophical nature, often delving into the complexities of the human psyche and society.
Books by Antero de Quental at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34296
Spanish realist author, diplomat, and politician Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano died #OTD in 1905.
Valera was a prolific author who wrote novels, essays, plays, & criticism. He was deeply influenced by Spanish Golden Age literature and European Romanticism. His writing style is characterized by its elegance, psychological insight, and attention to detail. One of his most famous novels is "Pepita Jiménez," published in 1874.
Books by Juan Valera at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4923
“Spark thrived in institutions. This is because, like Miss Brodie, she was a conservative anarchist. Her anarchism was part of the Edinburgh Character and her conservatism rooted in respect for order, authority and ritual.”
Behind the Fame (and Inspirations) of Muriel Spark: Frances Wilson on the similarities between Spark’s favourite teacher and her most famous protagonist
https://lithub.com/behind-the-fame-and-inspirations-of-muriel-spark/
#Scottish #literature #MurielSpark #20thcentury #womenwriters
American novelist, humorist, and critic Mark Twain died #OTD in 1910.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, often called "the Great American Novel," is particularly noted for its vivid depiction of people and places along the Mississippi River. Twain's other notable works include The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, & his autobiography, which was published posthumously.
Books by Mark Twain at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/53
“Very good. And after you had repeated the order, and again he refused, you charged him, and he became abusive?”
“Yessir.”
“What did he say?”
Baxter hesitated. “He called me a shilpit wee nyaff, sir.”
The president stirred. “He called you what?”
Baxter coloured slightly. “A shilpit wee nyaff, sir.”
The president looked at Prosecution. “Perhaps you can translate?”
—from “McAuslan’s Court-Martial”, by George MacDonald Fraser
#Scottish #literature #Scots #Scotslanguage #Scotstober #nyaff
B-Sides: Stendhal’s “Love”
Are you a banker or a manufacturer or an industrialist? If so, Stendhal doesn’t want you to read “Love” («De L’amour,» 1822); you wouldn’t understand. But if you are a dreamer, if you are tender, if Mozart moves you, if you nod solemnly when asked, “Have six months of your life ever been made miserable by love?,” this book is for you.
By Naomi Levine
At PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60882
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53720
German philosopher Immanuel Kant was born #OTD 300 years ago!
Kant’s most famous work, the "Critique of Pure Reason", is often considered one of the most significant works in the history of philosophy. In this book, he introduced the concept of a priori synthetic judgments, arguing that our ability to perceive & understand the world is shaped by the ways our mind structures experiences.
Books by Immanuel Kant at PG:
The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson died #OTD in 1910.
His novel "Synnøve Solbakken" helped inaugurate the genre of the "bonde-fortelling" or peasant tale in Norwegian literature, focusing on rural Norway with a realistic portrayal of everyday life. As a dramatist, Bjørnson wrote several important plays. "The Bankrupt", "The Editor" and "A Gauntlet". He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903.
Books by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1772
nuair a tha mi fhìn nam sheasamh
aig ceann Loch an Dala
’s mi a’ coimhead thar cuain geur
a’ deàrrsadh ’s a’ deàlradh
fo ghrian na sìorraidheachd
chan fhaic mi sgath dhen ghlasadh cheilteach…
—Iain S. Mac a’ Phearsain, “ceann Loch an Dala”
in Friends & Kangaroos: New Writing Scotland 17 (ASL, 1999)
#Scottish #literature #Gaelic #Gaidhlig #poem #poetry #Islay #emigration
Gen Z but two centuries ago
A generation of young people with ‘full hearts in an empty world’ sought hope in the face of insurmountable malaise
by Emily Herring
Some authors from Gen Z at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1341
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7255
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/5450
“I first met Edna O’Brien on a mild spring evening in 2009. There had been a party to celebrate the 70th birthday of Seamus Heaney and I was running late, so I put up my hand for a taxi and a rumbling black cab drew to a halt. The door swung open and Edna stepped on to the pavement like Ophelia out of the weedy brook. She was a vision in black velvet and volumised hair.”
—an extract from ON FRIENDSHIP by Andrew O’Hagan
Oscar Wilde's library card reissued 130 years after being revoked over gay conviction.
As your lover on waking recounts her dreams,
unruly, striking, unfathomable as herself,
your attention wanders
to her moving lips, throat, those slim shoulders
draped in a shawl of light…
—Andrew Greig, “A Long Shot”
published in This Life, This Life (Bloodaxe, 2007)
English poet William Cowper died #OTD in 1800.
His first volume of poetry, "Poems by William Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq." was published in 1782. This volume included some of his most famous poems, such as "Table Talk" and other shorter pieces that reflected his views on nature, spirituality, and humanity. His most famous work is "The Task" (1785), a six-book poem in blank verse, which was inspired by a friend who challenged him to write a poem about a sofa.
Swedish feminist writer Ellen Key died #OTD in 1926.
One of her most influential works is "The Century of the Child," first published in 1900. In this book, she projected her ideas about education and the rights of children into the 20th century, which she termed the "Century of the Child." She was also a proponent of women's rights: she believed in the importance of motherhood in society and argued that women should have more choices regarding marriage and children.
Who is that, so insistently tapping at my chamber door?
Something suitably spooky is coming to https://inquisitivebiologist.com this #Halloween... For now, here is a quick progress shot while you all wait for the next #BookReview to drop. I'm about halfway in.
#Literature #Biography #Gothic #Horror #Scicomm #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon
‘A cottage of one’s own’: Newly unearthed Virginia Woolf stories to be published
A chance discovery at a country house revealed the three funny – sometimes surreal – interlinked tales, written almost a decade before Woolf’s first book was published
Woolf at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/89
Back here, the iron line crosses future, past:
Then my father will surely be seen
Trekking the sodden, lonely land,
Weekenders, together –
—Jackie Kay, “Rannoch Loop”
published in BANTAM (Picador, 2017)
https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jackie-kay/bantam/9781509887927
![Cover image of the book Believe it or not! [1929] a modern book of wonders, miracles, freaks, monstrosities and almost-impossibilities
by Robert L. Ripley
Dark cloth cover of Believe It or Not! by Ripley, with bold red lettering and the author's distinctive signature.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78557/](/proxy/post_attachment/1068577/2cd3ff1fb65ef5ccbc29e1b3f6fb1b34.jpg "Cover image of the book Believe it or not! [1929] a modern book of wonders, miracles, freaks, monstrosities and almost-impossibilities
by Robert L. Ripley
Dark cloth cover of Believe It or Not! by Ripley, with bold red lettering and the author's distinctive signature.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78557/")
