National Network for Equitable Library Service

An engrossing new biography of Sylvia Plath focuses on her remarkable literary and intellectual growth and achievement, restoring the vivid creative woman behind the longtime Plath myths perpetuated by a pathology-based approach to her life and art. With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark here brings to life the brilliant daughter of Wellesley, MA who had poetic ambition from a very young age, and was an accomplished, published writer of poems and stories before she became the star English student at Smith College.

The legendary comedian, actor, and writer of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and A Fish Called Wanda fame shares his key ideas about creativity: that it's a learnable, improvable skill. "Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren't actually creative. I like to think I'm writing about it from the inside." —John Cleese. You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift—one that only a few possess. But you'd be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, it's a skill that anyone can acquire.

An instant New York Times bestseller! In this all-new collection of beloved quotes, This Just Speaks to Me, #1 New York Times bestselling author Hoda Kotb offers inspiration, wisdom, and hope 365 days a year. When her first collection of quotes, I Really Needed This Today, was published in 2019, Hoda never imagined how deeply her favorite words, stories, and memories would resonate with readers. People across the country were connected not only by the book's positive message, but through their generosity in sharing it with friends and family who needed a daily burst of inspiration.

As the author of twenty-four novels, Elizabeth George is one of the most successful—and prolific—novelists today. In Mastering the Process, George offers readers a master class in the art and science of crafting a novel. This is a subject she knows well, having taught creative writing both nationally and internationally for over thirty years. "I have never before read a book about writing that is so thorough, thoughtful, and most of all, helpful." —Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women.

"A collection of literary horror essays. Combining cultural criticism and memoir, the book is a fun, accessible, spooky, and affecting reflection on the virtues of fear, frailty, and insignificance."--

The Big Secret Book is an invaluable guide on the subject of creativity, no matter the preferred artistic discipline. Written by Denise Clarke, director of One Yellow Rabbit Summer Lab Intensive, the book outlines methods and methodologies of the Lab that have inspired writers, dancers, musicians, as well as performance theatre artists. Sidebar case studies of Denise Clarke's remarkable performances disclose the big secrets behind her unique and brilliant style of performance creation.

Internationally acclaimed poet and novelist Dionne Brand reflects on her early reading of colonial literature and how it makes Black being inanimate. She explores her encounters with colonial, imperialist, and racist tropes; the ways that practices of reading and writing are shaped by those narrative structures; and the challenges of writing a narrative of Black life that attends to its own expression and its own consciousness.

Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.

Voici une nouvelle édition de Jours de sable, premier récit d'un triptyque que complètent L'étreinte des vents et Recommencements. L'écrivaine Hélène Dorion nous émeut profondément avec sa prose lumineuse, alors qu'elle explore les méandres de l'enfance, le sens de l'existence et le pouvoir de l'écriture. Qu'est-ce qu'une vie sinon une somme d'aventures immenses et minuscules où l'intime interpelle l'universel ? Comment la mémoire de l'enfance se constitue-t-elle et imprègne-t-elle le présent ?

This collection of essays examines how the sense of crisis that occasionally seems to overwhelm us directs and transforms Canadian and Quebec writings in English and French, and conversely, how literature and criticism set out to counterbalance the social, economic, and ideological insecurities we live in.