The English literary canon is haunted by the figure of the lost woman writer. She has, of course, been a powerful stimulus for the 20th-century rediscovery of works written by women. But as Jennifer Summit argues, "the lost woman writer" also served as an evocative symbol during the very formation of an English literary tradition from the 14th through the 16th centuries. Examining the history of the representations of women writers from Margery Kempe and Christine de Pizan to Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Summit shows how the woman writer came to embody alienation from tradition. Chaucer, for instance, used the figure of the woman writer to dramatize the problems of writing outside the dominant literary culture, while the reformation writer John Bale cast women writers as proto-Protestant icons of opposition to the Catholic church. Bringing together original archival research with new readings of key literary texts, Summit provides a revisionary account of the woman writers' role in English literary history.
The English literary canon is haunted by the figure of the lost woman writer. She has, of course, been a powerful stimulus for the 20th-century rediscovery of works written by women. But as Jennifer Summit argues, "the lost woman writer" also served as an evocative symbol during the very formation of an English literary tradition from the 14th through the 16th centuries. Examining the history of the representations of women writers from Margery Kempe and Christine de Pizan to Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Summit shows how the woman writer came to embody alienation from tradition. Chaucer, for instance, used the figure of the woman writer to dramatize the problems of writing outside the dominant literary culture, while the reformation writer John Bale cast women writers as proto-Protestant icons of opposition to the Catholic church. Bringing together original archival research with new readings of key literary texts, Summit provides a revisionary account of the woman writers' role in English literary history.
In Jennifer Summit's account, libraries are more than inert storehouses of written tradition; they are volatile spaces that actively shape the meanings and uses of books, reading, and the past. Considering the two-hundred-year period between 1431, which saw the foundation of Duke Humfrey's famous library, and 1631, when the great antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton died, "Memory's Library" revises the history of the modern library by focusing on its origins in medieval and early modern England. Summit argues that the medieval sources that survive in English collections are the product of a Reformation and post-Reformation struggle to redefine the past by redefining the cultural place, function, and identity of libraries. By establishing the intellectual dynamism of English libraries during this crucial period of their development, "Memory's Library" demonstrates how much current discussions about the future of libraries can gain by reexamining their past.
In Jennifer Summit's account, libraries are more than inert storehouses of written tradition; they are volatile spaces that actively shape the meanings and uses of books, reading, and the past. Considering the two-hundred-year period between 1431, which saw the foundation of Duke Humfrey's famous library, and 1631, when the great antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton died, "Memory's Library" revises the history of the modern library by focusing on its origins in medieval and early modern England. Summit argues that the medieval sources that survive in English collections are the product of a Reformation and post-Reformation struggle to redefine the past by redefining the cultural place, function, and identity of libraries. By establishing the intellectual dynamism of English libraries during this crucial period of their development, "Memory's Library" demonstrates how much current discussions about the future of libraries can gain by reexamining their past.
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone," Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654. But then there's Walt Whitman, in 1856: "Whoever you are, come forth! Or man or woman come forth! / You must not stay sleeping and dallying there in the house." It is truly an ancient debate: Is it better to be active or contemplative? To do or to think? To make an impact, or to understand the world more deeply? Aristotle argued for contemplation as the highest state of human flourishing. But it was through action that his student Alexander the Great conquered the known world. Which should we aim at? Centuries later, this argument underlies a surprising number of the questions we face in contemporary life. Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives? With Action vs. Contemplation, Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule address the question in a refreshingly unexpected way: by refusing to take sides. Rather, they argue for a rethinking of the very opposition. The active and the contemplative can--and should--be vibrantly alive in each of us, fused rather than sundered. Writing in a personable, accessible style, Summit and Vermeule guide readers through the long history of this debate from Plato to Pixar, drawing compelling connections to the questions and problems of today. Rather than playing one against the other, they argue, we can discover how the two can nourish, invigorate, and give meaning to each other, as they have for the many writers, artists, and thinkers, past and present, whose examples give the book its rich, lively texture of interplay and reference. Â This is not a self-help book. It won't give you instructions on how to live your life. Instead, it will do something better: it will remind you of the richness of a life that embraces action and contemplation, company and solitude, living in the moment and planning for the future. Which is better? Readers of this book will discover the answer: both.
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654. But then there’s Walt Whitman, in 1856: “Whoever you are, come forth! Or man or woman come forth! / You must not stay sleeping and dallying there in the house.” It is truly an ancient debate: Is it better to be active or contemplative? To do or to think? To make an impact, or to understand the world more deeply? Aristotle argued for contemplation as the highest state of human flourishing. But it was through action that his student Alexander the Great conquered the known world. Which should we aim at? Centuries later, this argument underlies a surprising number of the questions we face in contemporary life. Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives? With Action versus Contemplation, Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule address the question in a refreshingly unexpected way: by refusing to take sides. Rather, they argue for a rethinking of the very opposition. The active and the contemplative can—and should—be vibrantly alive in each of us, fused rather than sundered. Writing in a personable, accessible style, Summit and Vermeule guide readers through the long history of this debate from Plato to Pixar, drawing compelling connections to the questions and problems of today. Rather than playing one against the other, they argue, we can discover how the two can nourish, invigorate, and give meaning to each other, as they have for the many writers, artists, and thinkers, past and present, whose examples give the book its rich, lively texture of interplay and reference. This is not a self-help book. It won’t give you instructions on how to live your life. Instead, it will do something better: it will remind you of the richness of a life that embraces action and contemplation, company and solitude, living in the moment and planning for the future. Which is better? Readers of this book will discover the answer: both.
Here is narrative nonfiction at its most gripping. Journalist Jennifer Jordan chronicled the individual stories of the five courageous women who have climbed K2, the most fearsome mountain in the world. Climbers call K2 "The Savage Mountain." It is not quite as tall as Everest, but it is far more dangerous, located at the border of China and Pakistan, in the deadly Karakoram range, which has the harshest climbing conditions and weather of any place in the world. Ninety women have climbed Everest, but only five female climbers have ever reached the summit of K2 alive. Three of these women died on the way back down the mountain, and the other two have died since their climb. Because, these five women, who defeated the most ferocious of all mountains, have lost their own voices, "Savage Summit" told their tragic and compelling stories. The terror and triumph of K2 was revealed through the stories of the few women who have succeeded in climbing it. The women in these stories are forced to deal with harsh conditions from the mountain, and from the men climbing around them, often being treated unfairly or discriminated against in their struggle to get to the summit. "Savage Summit" also attempted to answer tough questions: do female climbers rely too much on their male climbing partners? Are women prepared for the physiological and emotional rigors of K2? Are female climbers, because of the publicity and sponsorship opportunities afforded them, climbing the mountain without the proper training, endangering their own lives and the lives of those who climb with them? And, if women are as capable of men of climbing this most deadly peak, who will be next to attempt the long trek to the summit?
Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits is a collection of revelations that two Earth-loving souls have gleaned through nature exploration. The authors are focused on how soil and birds; trees and rivers; rain, cycles, and science can inspire creativity and care for the land. The authors' lives have taken different trails, yet they are aligned in promoting environmental stewardship through understanding, inspiration, and enjoyment of the ecological world. They share the goal of leaving the world a better place. It is by deep engagement with creatures and landscapes that one feels the interconnection with the web of all living beings and finds wisdom for everyday living. Travel through the pages of this book to see the beauty and awe of this Earth. ...tales of wonder...contributes to our understanding of the interdependence of life... BJ Kempner Award-Winning Writer-Producer ...an enchanting, inspiring, important book... C Charles, Ph.D. Co-Founder Children and Nature Network ...compelling, passionate, memorable journey through transcendent prose...an intimate invitation to rediscover our natural world... RS Raney Environmental Educator ...descriptive passages and philosophical musings...encounters with nature in its glory... K Tichenor, Ed.D. Sr VP Worcester Polytechnic Institute ...an exultation of life...sheer poetry as we hunger for wholeness... HB Rinker, Ph.D. Ecologist ...rich with texture and imagery... K Trnka M.S.Ed. Sacred Earth Publishing ...an engaging read flowing from two nature-appreciating people... JT McGill, Ph.D. Retired Sr. VP Johns Hopkins University ...guidance to motivate readers to make their own connection to Earth... RG Dodson Author
Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits is a collection of revelations that two Earth-loving souls have gleaned through nature exploration. The authors are focused on how soil and birds; trees and rivers; rain, cycles, and science can inspire creativity and care for the land. The authors' lives have taken different trails, yet they are aligned in promoting environmental stewardship through understanding, inspiration, and enjoyment of the ecological world. They share the goal of leaving the world a better place. It is by deep engagement with creatures and landscapes that one feels the interconnection with the web of all living beings and finds wisdom for everyday living. Travel through the pages of this book to see the beauty and awe of this Earth. ...tales of wonder...contributes to our understanding of the interdependence of life... BJ Kempner Award-Winning Writer-Producer ...an enchanting, inspiring, important book... C Charles, Ph.D. Co-Founder Children and Nature Network ...compelling, passionate, memorable journey through transcendent prose...an intimate invitation to rediscover our natural world... RS Raney Environmental Educator ...descriptive passages and philosophical musings...encounters with nature in its glory... K Tichenor, Ed.D. Sr VP Worcester Polytechnic Institute ...an exultation of life...sheer poetry as we hunger for wholeness... HB Rinker, Ph.D. Ecologist ...rich with texture and imagery... K Trnka M.S.Ed. Sacred Earth Publishing ...an engaging read flowing from two nature-appreciating people... JT McGill, Ph.D. Retired Sr. VP Johns Hopkins University ...guidance to motivate readers to make their own connection to Earth... RG Dodson Author
Jennifer Ryder had been engaged to James Cotts and they had been very happy.James had been an officer in the police force and the Special Forces unit and as far as Jennifer knew he had been well liked and respected.Things had been going well until James was asked to go to work in America. It seemed to Jennifer to be a hasty decision. He started his tour of duty in America and their relationship deteriorated. It was only because of Jennifer's persistence in trying to keep the relationship alive that eventually, all was made clear.The months that followed were hazardous, not just for James but for all his colleagues and friends too. They were all in terrible danger until after a great deal of hard work and sheer determination, James and his team brought the culprits to justice. However, success came at a price.
