On receiving news of a beloved teacher's death, a man struggles with the loss of a relationship sustained by deep admiration. Memories of their shared trajectory are separated in three orbits where the man's past, present, and future seem to be punctuated by the same intense grief. Narrated by the man through his grieving process, In Orbit uses a variety of innovative forms to explore loss, from traditional stanzas to prose poems to shaped poems in the form of birds, circuits, or hands. The narrative shifts in time, moving from his teen years to the present day when he himself has become a teacher. Observations from the classroom as student and teacher illuminate the deep and compassionate work that educators can do, as well as the moving nature of student-teacher relationships. This book does not ignore that teaching is hard work, and in grieving over the death of his own mentor, the narrator finds himself rudderless.The book not only grieves the loss of the teacher, but also toxic standards for boys and men. In Orbit demands that young people to be given space to explore their feelings without judgement, to be free to love others, and to love themselves. Beyond human communities, however, sustenance is found in the moon, the stars, the sky, and nature. The discovery of a badger's track or the treasure of a bird egg reminds us how small our trajectories are in the context of the more-than-human: an answer perhaps to the grieving process.Ultimately, Glyn Edwards' collection is a deeply moving account of losing a person you love, but not shying away from remembering them. In Orbit is a sustained narrative of love, loss, and longing. 'These poems let me see the subject matter in an almost photographic way and they marry that descriptive brilliance with depth of perception. Here there is something worth seeing and something worth grasping.' - Angela Graham 'Glyn Edwards is a true original who is not swamped or drowned out by channelling his predecessors from Shakespeare to Ted Hughes and beyond. He brings his own sharp observation, deep feeling and gift for language to the mix and makes everything his own. The poems of the natural world are breathtakingly vivid and the reader becomes gifted with the poet's ability to see with exceptional clarity and steadiness.' – John Freeman 'Edwards is a pilgrim, treading in others' footsteps, yet carving new paths in the poetic landscape. These journeys of homage are couched in rich, resonant language.'-Kathy Miles 'I am struck by the intensity and vitality of language, how landscapes green into being, how words are like lines of the body. - K.S. Moore 'Death is the ironic constant of life in these poems, often pondered over as both unnatural in its stark resolution and natural in its place as the final moment of all of our lived experiences.' - Alex Hubbard
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Trapped. Tortured. Only she can save him from the Hive.Vice Admiral Niobe has resisted the temptation of the Interstellar Brides Program for years, certain there is no male in the universe willing to sacrifice his vision of a perfect life to be with her. Shocked to be matched to her father's home world of Everis, she transports, expecting to find an eager mate waiting for her. Instead, she arrives within a secret Hive integration center to find him resisting a merciless enemy.Elite Hunter Quinn might have been captured by the Hive, but he'll sacrifice anything to save the mate he never expected... never imagined would appear like an angel in the middle of hell. A warrior in her own right, Niobe's too stubborn to leave him behind. And even if they escape the Hive, their personal scars run deep. Battle and bloodshed are easy. But healing a wounded warrior's heart? That may prove impossible.
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<p> <span>Only the love of the young Miss Joan Randle can melt the cold heart of Jack Kells, ruthless leader of a gang of desperados terrorizing the American borderlands. His cold eyes filled her with fear, but her goodness made something happen deep within him. Kells had a price on his head and on his heels. Now loving this woman could cost him his life...or it could make him a hero in this wild, dangerous land. There are classic Western elements: likable outlaws, the wild frontier, gold fever, and a damsel in distress. But there is also humor, romance, and a happy ending. Written in 1912, it reflects its time period. The heroine is spunky and virtuous, the villains are horrible but capable of redemption.</span></p>
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The Lifework of a Grandmaster of Karate Budo is the path of the Japanese traditional martial arts. Mabuni Kenei has followed this path for almost eight decades until now. He belongs to the last masters taught directly by the founders of modern karatedo. The son and heir of Mabuni Kenwa - the founder of Shito ryu - has acquired a deep understanding of the essence of Karate as a budo art during his course of life. He communicates this extremely complex knowledge to the reader in a vivid and fascinating way. For this purpose he uses his own memories and experiences, technical descriptions, historical and philosophical considerations, legends and anecdotes of the lives of famous samurai and budoka (masters of sword fighting, aikido, Okinawa-te and karate). For the beginner the book provides an idea of the inexhaustible possibilities of budo as a school of life, and the experienced practitioner will find numerous stimuli for his further development and also for his own teaching activities.
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Fresh out of prison, Dortmunder plans a heist that could mean war. John Dortmunder leaves jail with ten dollars, a train ticket, and nothing to make money on but his good name. Thankfully, his reputation goes far. No one plans a caper better than Dortmunder. His friend Kelp picks him up in a stolen Cadillac and drives him away from Sing-Sing, telling a story of a §500,000 emerald that they just have to steal. Dortmunder doesn't hesitate to agree. The emerald is the crown jewel of a former British colony, lately granted independence and split into two nations: one for the Talabwo people, one for the Akinzi. The Akinzi have the stone, the Talabwo want it back, and their UN representative offers a fine payday to the men who can get it. It's not a simple heist, but after a few years in stir, Dortmunder could use the challenge. Review quote: "Westlake's novel comes awesomely close to the ultimate in comic, big-caper novels; it's so filled with action and imagination." - The New York Times Book Review "Westlake is a master hand at the running gag this Westlake brought on such a case of the laughing bends that I required decompression." - The Washington Post Biographical note: Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950s, churning out novels for pulp houses-often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms-but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and a ruthless criminal named Parker. His writing earned him three Edgars and a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic.
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From some point far overhead a musical humming became audible. It was not the rasping roar of an aëroplane motor, but a deep, truly melodious note that seemed to grow rapidly in volume. The soft-voiced conversations on the upper deck were hushed. Every one listened to the strange sound from above. It grew and became clear and distinct. The source seemed to come nearer. At last the sound came from a spot directly overhead, then passed over and toward the Narrows. A cold breeze beat down suddenly. It was not a cool sea breeze, but a current of air coming down from directly above the Coney Island steamer. It was actively, actually cold. A chorus of exclamations arose, full of the wit of the American a-holidaying...
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The Underground City is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, serialized in Le Temps in March and April 1877 and published immediately afterward by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. Covering a time span of over ten years, this novel follows the fortunes of the mining community of Aberfoyle near Stirling, Scotland. Receiving a letter from an old colleague, mining engineer James Starr sets off for the old Aberfoyle mine, thought to have been mined out ten years earlier. Starr finds mine overman Simon Ford and his family living in a cottage deep inside the mine; he is astonished to find that Ford has made a discovery of the presence of a large vein of coal. Accompanying Simon Ford are his wife, Madge, and adult son, Harry. From the outset, mysterious and unexplained happenings start to occur around the main characters, attributed initially to goblins and firemaidens. Soon after the discovery of the new vein of coal, the community is revitalised with a whole town growing up around the underground lake called Loch Malcolm. Suspicious of a malevolent force at work, Harry continues his explorations of the cavern system, where down a deep shaft, he discovers a young orphan girl named Nell. Over the course of the next few years Nell is adopted by Simon and Madge but reveals nothing of where she came from, only that she had never been out of the mine. Eventually, when Harry and Nell announce their marriage, the mysterious occurrences come to a head. It becomes clear that all of the happenings have been caused by Silfax, another former employee of the mine, who along with his trained snowy owl has inhabited the mine since its closure.
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The Dead Souls written by Nikolay Gogol in 1842 is not only a masterpiece of Russian literature but also a deep timeless social satire. The plot is evolving around enterprising protagonist Mr. Chichikov who is being sent to a small town NN where he is buying from local landlords ''dead souls or the rights to own serfs which are ''souls'' only on the property register, but not a living people. (In Russian Empire before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, landowners had rights to own serfs to farm their land; serfs were considered the properties of the landowner, who could buy, sell and mortgage them). By masterfully depicting a series of characters such as Korobochka, Plushkin, Manilov and others, Gogol creates compelling collective images of his contemporaries which appear to be quite likable, but at the same time they strike the reader with their greed, ignorance, hypocrisy, venality and pomposity - all are characteristics of the 19th century Russian society.
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