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I have a dark and dreadful secret. I write poetry... I believe poetry is a primal impulse within all of us. I believe we are all capable of it and furthermore that a small, often ignored corner of us positively yearns to try it.
—Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled
Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. Many of us have never been taught to read or write poetry and think of it as a mysterious and intimidating form. Or, if we have been taught, we remember uncomfortable silence when an English teacher invited the class to "respond" to a poem. In The Ode Less Travelled, Fry sets out to correct this problem by giving aspiring poets the tools and confidence they need to write poetry for pleasure. Fry is a wonderfully engaging teacher and writer of poetry himself, and he explains the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. His enjoyable exercises and witty insights introduce the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Aspiring poets will learn to write a sonnet, on ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of, but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try.
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'What distinguishes the series from all the others is the zest and freshness of the text. Where the emphasis in other series is on plain and straightforward language, Cambridge English Reading texts typically use very modern expressions and the dialogue is faster moving. This has an impact on the quality of the audio cassettes, which make for very enjoyable listening.' David R. Hill, Survey Review: Readers, ELT Journal
'It was only a matter of time before a major ELT publisher set out to challenge the market dominance of Penguin Classics in the area of readers … CUP have hit back admirably. With something for everyone in your classes, this series is well worth investing in. In fact, it's going to be a difficult act to follow by other publishers.' IATEFL Issues
'The series breaks new ground in two respects. The first is the light and informal style of writing. It is notoriously difficult to write fluent prose using restricted lexis and syntax. Part of the secret is to use word and grammar lists flexibly; but it requires flair and a good ear to produce prose and dialogue that read so well and give such a genuine flavour of modern idiom.' English Teaching Professional
'These were a very good read: exciting fast-moving stories at all levels, and a good mixture of subjects. Most touched on up-to-date themes, such as corruption, refugees, psychology, hunger, feminism, or ecology without being prosy, or moralising.' BaNina Vivanco, SATEFL Newsletter Vol 19 No 3
'This is a well presented, authentic looking series of readers that students should enjoy. They are graded into five levels, and the accompanying cassette will be useful, especially for pronunciation A audio versions are very popular with students.' Josephine Caruana, Network News, Issue 34
(1) Each edition includes:
• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play • Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play • Scene-by-scene plot summaries • A key to famous lines and phrases • An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language • An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play • Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
Essay by Catherine Belsey
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
(1)Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Andersson are the parents of four children who have grown up speaking English and Swedish. This book is based on their personal experiences with the trials and rewards of life with two languages. The Anderssons' experiences are further illustrated by glimpses of life from interviews with fifty families from all around the world. They discuss the various systems families develop and recognize that every family is unique. Filled with invaluable practical advice for parents and professionals, this book provides guidelines on how to support children's linguistic development and enable them to gain maximum benefit from living with two languages.
(4)A bona fide publishing phenomenon, Lynne Truss’s now classic #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves makes its paperback debut after selling over 3 million copies worldwide in hardcover.
We all know the basics of punctuation. Or do we? A look at most neighborhood signage tells a different story. Through sloppy usage and low standards on the Internet, in e-mail, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled. From the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, this lively history makes a powerful case for the preservation of a system of printing conventions that is much too subtle to be mucked about with.
