NEW ARRIVALS FOR YOUNG READERS
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane (Hardcover) » Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane. Ages 4 -8.
Bear's Picture (Hardcover) » A bear wants to paint a picture, and so he does; however, two fine, proper gentlemen don't think that it is a very fine picture at all. But just because they don't see what the bear sees doesn't make it a bad picture, right? Daniel Pinkwater turns art (and art critics) upside down in this classic tale, now beautifully reillustrated by D. B. Johnson.
Imaginative illustrations from a notable ursine stylist, Johnson (Henry Hikes to Fitchburg), lend pizzazz to this reillustrated 1972 bear-centric tale from Pinkwater, author of the Larry polar bear series. Bear, depicted in speckled charcoal with a sky-blue glint in his eyes, is painting a picture in rainbow hues. As Bear paints, "two fine, proper gentlemen" in natty attire stroll by and comment on his work. "Bears can't paint pictures," they sniff. "Nobody can tell what it is supposed to be." Bear, "mixing just the right kind of yellow," calmly contradicts them and keeps painting. Through the "gentlemen's" patronizing dialogue, Pinkwater conjures sympathy for the childlike yet confident Bear.
A Visitor for Bear (hardcover) » Cheery persistence wears down a curmudgeonly bear in a wry comedy of manners that ends in a most unlikely friendship.
Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. But when Bear goes to the cupboard to get a bowl, there is the mouse — small and gray and bright-eyed. In this slapstick tale that begs to be read aloud, all Bear wants is to eat his breakfast in peace, but the mouse — who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places — just won’t go away!
The Sea Serpent and Me (Hardcover) » When a tiny sea serpent tumbles from the bathtub faucet, a little girl finds an unexpected friend. As rainy day after rainy day passes, the two sing songs, take baths, and talk about the sea. But litte girls live on land, and a growing sea serpent needs wave upon wave of water. Here's a story about the true meaning of friendship, perfect for children, parents, and anyone who has ever had second thoughts about growing up.
The illustrations are a combination of collage, water color washes and patterns whcih flow and melt together in one of the most vivid and exciting stories this year. A Book Beat favorite that will be treasured for years. All ages.
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai (Hardcover) » Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where fig trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their bountiful gardens. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the village gardens dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people?
"Simultaneously childlike and sophisticated...The idea of restoring ruined land to its original beauty will fill readers of all ages with hope." — Publishers Weekly
The Lonesome Puppy » The Lonesome Puppy -- In his first book for children, renowned artist Yoshitomo Nara tells the charming story of a puppy so large that no one notices him—until a determined little girl climbs high enough to meet him and become his friend. A sweet tale from an artist for whom childhood holds a magical appeal, The Lonesome Puppy is sure to delight young readers and Nara fans of all ages.
Yoshitomo Nara is one of the most popular and influential contemporary artists in Japan, whose work—often featuring little girls and puppies—has attracted a worldwide following. This is his first book for children. He lives in Tochigi, Japan.
You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways You Can Make a Difference (paperback) » This book is a call to action for children everywhere. The effects of pollution, global warming, and the destruction of our planet have never been so visible or measurable. The book introduces and explains massive global problems that need to be addressed now. It's packed full of 50 useful things kids can do to make their homes, schools, adn neighborhoods more environmentally friendly. Included in this book; * Why you shouldn't leave appliances on standby. * How to save water around your house. * How to persuade your local supermarket to reduce the number of plastic bags used. * What is the greenhouse effect and global warming. * Ways to organize your household recycling that really work. * Find out how green your family car is. * What to do with kitchen leftovers. * How to spread the word on saving the planet. Children's Literature AGE RANGE: Ages 9 up. paperback $4.99
To see the Summer Sky Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie - True Poems flee. --Emily Dickinson
YOUNG ADULT
Trouble (Hardcover) » From Newbery and Printz Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt comes a tender, probing story of social change set in New England. Henry Smiths father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you. But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henrys older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklins preparatory school, and the accident sparks racial tensions in the schooland in the well-established town where Henrys family has lived for generations. Caught between anger and grief, Henry sets out to do the only thing he can think of: climb Mt. Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, which he and Franklin were going to climb together. Along with Black Dog, whom Henry has rescued from drowning, and a friend, Henry leaves without his parents knowledge. The journey, both exhilarating and dangerous, turns into an odyssey of discovery about himself, his older sister, Louisa, his ancestry, and why one can never escape from Trouble. Hardcover $16.
Princess Ben (Hardcover) » Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available "specimen of imbecilic manhood." Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire . . . But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?
Haiku: Asian Arts and Crafts for Creative Kids (Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids) (Hardcover) » Although this looks like a picture book for young readers, it is actually a comprehensive introduction to haiku that poetry students of many ages can enjoy. Donegan, a poet who lives in Japan, begins by explaining basic concepts (what it means to "look though haiku eyes") before she goes on to describe the seven elements of traditional haiku. The remainder of the book offers haiku projects and exercises, accompanied by lengthy explanations, hints, and even word charts to help children create poems... Donegan presents a great deal of information clearly and with authority, and her enthusiasm for her subject is contagious, particularly when she describes what writing haiku encourages us to do: "see and appreciate the world around us more." A glossary and a haiku resource guide round out this excellent choice for children as well as teachers seeking fresh materials for poetry units.
I Hope I Don't Strike Out and Other Funny Sports Poems (Hardcover) » is the first major anthology of funny poems about sports. It was designed to motivate sports-loving boys and girls to read by focusing on the funny side of sports. It covers all major sports in which kids participate, including baseball, football, basketball, soccer, swimming, skiing, running, karate, golf, volleyball, and dodgeball. Kids will love poems that serve up “the inside scoop” on how catchers make batters take their eyes off the ball, how nervous batters hit fastballs they can’t even see, blood-curdling cheers that cause opponents to run home to their mommies, what to expect your first day at karate school, what not to pack for a ski trip, and how to score the winning goal in a kindergarten soccer game. In all, 22 of the funniest sports poems ever published by Lansky and his all-star team of Giggle Poets are sure to have kids laughing while they sit on the bench, waiting for a starter to foul out. Ages 4-8 $9.99
There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat: and Other Vile Little Poems (Hardcover) » There was a man who loved a rat. He fed it ham till it got fat. He kept it in his bed at night, and rather hoped it wouldn’t bite.
A man who keeps a chicken in a cube and feeds it through a tube. A man who came to harm because three gerbils bit his arm. A cunning little mobster who kept a large and lively lobster. This collection of absurd verse and quirky line illustrations will charm children and adults alike. If Shel Silverstein had collaborated with Edward Gorey, the fruits of their effort may well have resembled this book.
Honeybee: Poems & Short Prose (Hardcover) » Honey. Beeswax. Pollinate. Hive. Colony. Work. Dance. Communicate. Industrious. Buzz. Sting. Cooperate. Where would we be without them? Where would we be without one another? In eighty-two poems and paragraphs, Naomi Shihab Nye alights on the essentials of our time—our loved ones, our dense air, our wars, our memories, our planet—and leaves us feeling curiously sweeter and profoundly soothed. 176 pps, ages 8-13.
Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She has received a Lannan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and four Pushcart Prizes. Her collection 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East was a finalist for the National Book Award.
In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden (Hardcover) » So much to see! So much to do! Open this book, and you can . . . smell the tall flowers in Aunt Giraffe's garden, sip juice with a big blue goose, eat oodles of noodles with some poodles, chirp a cheery song with a little bluebird, fish in a frosty pond, and much, much more!
With Jack Prelutsky's twenty-eight hilarious poems and Petra Mathers's brilliant, beautiful paintings, this classic collection for the youngest child is filled to the brim with smiles and silliness. Ages 4-8
Essential Langston Hughes Unabridged CD » A rare and exceptional recording of Langston Hughes reading his own poetry, as well as his own commentary and reflections, on CD for the first time! Collection includes: One Way Ticket • The Negro Speaks of Rivers • Puzzled • Trumpet Player • Ballad of the Gypsy • Kid Sleepy • Southern Mammy Songs • Migrant • Mama and Daughter • Sylvester's Dying Bed • Intern at Provident Hospital • Merry-Go-Round • Ku Klux Klan • The South • Mulatto • Out of Work • The Explanation of Our Times • Dinner Guest: Me • Cultural Exchange • Along with commentary and reflections from the author. CD $12.95
Essential Brooks Unabridged CD » Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks reads 27 of her best poems, including "Do Not Be Afraid of No," "The Bean Eaters," "Riot," and "The Sermon on the Warpland," in a quiet, forceful manner that underscores the raw vigor of her writing, centered on the daily lives of black people in bleak cities. The recording bursts with the cutting observation and warm humor that have made Brooks one of the most celebrated poets of her time. CD $12.95
Allen Ginsberg CD Poetry Collection Unabridged (booklet and CD) » Upon the release of his first published work, Howl and Other Poems, in 1956, Allen Ginsberg became the unlikely force of a movement that would change a generation. Literature, art, sex, love, family, politics; nothing would ever be the same. The Beat Generation was born through Ginsberg and his friends.
This collection of more than two dozen poems in verse and song is the best of the best, celebrating someone who was of his time, ahead of his time, and whose legacy will transcend time. CD and booklet $22.00
Reality only reveals itself when it is illuminated by a ray of poetry. - Georges Braque
Magic Poetry Band: The Kurl of the Butterfly's Tongue CD Using "investigative verse" methods and social systems pioneered by Ezra Pound, Charles Olson, Amiri Baraka and Ed Sanders, the Poetry Band breaks set and stretches out on this diverse CD in words and sound.M. L. Liebler has brought together poet-musicians on this recent work that come together into a highly organized way but manages to really connect when they hit rarified areas of free-form jazz. Liebler’s opening grenade; In a Window/The Screamers has a Captain Beefheart Mirror-man phase-shifting glee to it, a cubist honk and funky wail that cracks into John Sinclair’s signature poem with urgency and passion. CD $12.99
Wide Awake in Someone Else's Dream (paperback) » Wide Awake in Someone Else's Dream is a collection of M. L. Liebler's traveling poems written in Russia, Israel, Germany, and China that take the reader on a contemplative journey through both the geography of these countries and their cultures as well as through the inward mind of the narrator. As Liebler travels the world, he wrestles with themes of self-discovery, spirituality, identity, and change, and renders poems in his signature raw and defiant style.
Throughout this collection Liebler's poems touch on issues of political upheaval, exploitation, and corruption and look at the personal and spiritual transformation left in their wake. This ability to give readers a glimpse of a bleak global reality translated by a hopeful eye has earned Liebler's poems comparisons to the richly imagistic and spiritual work of George Trakl.
Sun Ra Collected Works Volume 1 Immeasurable Equation (paperback) » A reprisal of one of Sun Ra's most popular works of poetry and cosmic wisdom from "Immeasurable Equation Vol. II Extensions Out." This volume was originally published in 1972 by Ihnfinity Inc. and Saturn Research.
Edited by Adam Abraham, son of Alton Abraham, who founded El Saturn Research, Sun Ra's first record label, and force behind the Arkestra. Includes an essay by Mr. Abraham: "Sun Ra: Father of Intergalactic Music -- 'Far Out' Before it was Cool" Also included are black & white images of the Sun Ra Arkestra and never before seen art. 250 poems and prose by the legendary Jazz musician and composer whose cosmic equation poetry is a substantial contribution to the legacy. $24.95
Shamanic Warriors Now Poets (Hardcover) » ...the entire thing is somehow optimistically dedicated to “departed friends” including Klarwein, Ronnie Burk, Marty Matz, Vali Myers and Philip Whalen. There is an extended elegy to Gregory Corso beginning with a tribute by Patti Smith (“how fortunate for the world to be exposed to the rump of a true poet”) in which she writes of Allen Ginsberg “teaching [him] how to die.” And then Ira Cohen comes in quoting the last words Corso spoke to him (“My karma ran over my dogma”). Corso “mooning the world,” along with Gysin, who “ate the entire Imaginary museum, shat on a canvas and sold it for a rainbow,” along with everyone else, become incarnations of a tradition. Over and over we get reminded that this is not an exercise in the spinning of wheels, but a roll call and a challenge to stand up to illustrious and visionary predecessors—to take power from what they offered in the way of mischief and bliss. -- Big Bridge Review
RECENT SALE BOOKS
A Woman in Jerusalem » An attractive, 40-ish woman named Yulia Ragayev, working in a Jerusalem bakery, is wounded in a terrorist bombing and dies two days later in a hospital, completely alone. This may sound like a bleak premise for a novel, but National Jewish Book Award winner A.B. Yehoshua turns it into a wry parable about rediscovering one's humanity in a world full of strangers. The owner of her company, worried over accusations of negligence, orders his human resources manager to track down Yulia's son and deliver her body to the former Soviet satellite she came from—a journey that provides many illuminating twists.
"At a time when pedestrians were routinely exploding in the streets,' Yehoshua writes, 'troubled consciences turned up in the oddest places.'... The result is a small masterpiece, a compact, strange work of Chekhovian grace, grief, wit and compassion."—Washington Post Book World published at $24.99 now $6.99
Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware (6 CD Boxed set w/ Hardcover) » Lenny Bruce—unedited, uncensored, and unapologetic—is brought to life in this unprecedented collection of recordings. Nearly 40 years after his death, Bruce is still known as a brilliant, outspoken satirist who was unafraid to skewer any hypocrisy, turning a searchlight on such then-taboo subjects as sex, race, religion, and politics in language that riffed effortlessly across the full spectrum of pop culture. *Over 7 1/2 hours of performances, interviews, and wire taps, including: 69 previously unreleased recordings, 10 previously unreleased selections from Lenny’s personal tapes, and 4 previously unreleased radio interviews. *Luxuriously packaged in a unique 80-page hardbound book, containing unpublished photos and memorabilia, as well as essays by Lenny Bruce’s daughter, Kitty; Bruce expert Marvin Worth; set producer Hal Willner; and writer Paul Krassner; plus tributes, a chronology, a glossary, and much, much more. Published at $69.95 now $29.95
Ohm: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Special Edition 3CD and DVD "Many of the ideas in this collection have now been so completely assimilated into popular listening that it may sometimes be hard to remember how surprising it all was on first outing. Some of it still sounds pretty exotic. These CDs are important as part of the story of how we got to where we are now–the cultural conversation so far–and as a still fruitful repertoire of future possibilities." —from the Foreword by Brian Eno 
It Was Allright: Mitch Ryder's Life in Music » Songs performed by Detroit rocker Mitch Ryder, such as Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly and Jenny Take a Ride are among the most well loved of the twentieth century, but his fascinating life story is unknown to many. It Was All Right is a portrait of Ryder built on firsthand road stories—a rock-and-roll travelogue that is also an insider's look at fame and popular culture in America.... n all, Ryder's abundant commentary and Mitchell's easy narration combine to give readers a fast-paced tour of a turbulent musical journey that is still unfolding. Whether blending musical genres or dabbling in political activism, Ryder's one-of-a-kind experiences will intrigue music fans and anyone interested in musical or cultural history. (book due in mid-April)
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (Paperback) » Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he's reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Paperback $14.95
YETI #5 (book & CD) » "Yeti 5 features musical contributions from and/or interviews with: Iron & Wine, Akron/Family, Will Oldham, Dean and Britta (covering Galaxie 500 on the CD), Jeff Mangum (who not only contributes visual art to the issue, but also supplies us with four of his favorite, never anthologized sides from old 78s for the CD); Deerhoof, D+, Mt. Eerie, Anglin Brothers, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, the Spiritualaires, Cooper Moore, and more. Also: Awesome travel journals from the Western Sahara by Sublime Frequencies co-founder Hisham Mayet; Erik Davis on P.G. Six; Mike McGonigal on Blind Willie Johnson's 'Dark Was the Night, Cold was the Ground'; Scott Seward on 'the marriage made in hell between folk music, dead cultures, myth & highly technical modern extreme metal'; Luc Sante on photography; drawings by German Surrealist Unica Zürn; an excerpt from Meredith Brosnan's new novel; an interview with Nicola Bowery about enigmatic '80s fashion icon Leigh Bowery; fiction by Kevin Sampsell and much more -- an overstuffed cultural cornucopia, book+ CD $14.00
Paradise Now: A Collective Creation of The Living Theatre » featuring rare, never-before-distributed films and a bacchanal of revolutionary multimedia documents from The Living Theatre's historic and influential '68-'69 American tour. A fulminating art-meets-life installation brought to you in collaboration with The Living Theatre, The Ira Cohen Akashic Project and Saturnalia Media Rites of the Dreamweapon. Transform your living, work or performance space... hit play, but don't say we didn't warn you! DVD includes: Paradise Now: The Living Theatre in Amerika (1969) a film by Marty Topp, produced by Ira Cohen for Universal Mutant; Emergency (1968) a film by Gwen Brown, featuring precious footage of Living Theatre productions Mysteries and smaller pieces, Paradise Now, and Frankenstein; rare photographs of Paradise Now at Brooklyn Academy of Music by Don Snyder; the map of Paradise Now, a 14'' x 19'' double-sided, commemorative poster + 'zine including texts by Antonin Artaud, Julian Beck, Judith Malina, Ira Cohen and Don Snyder. DVD $34.99
Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed » Turning 60 in April, "Godfather of Punk" Iggy Pop still displays the body and energy of a 20-year-old, and in this volume Trynka (Portrait of the Blues) captures Iggy's debauchery in an obsessively detailed and compulsively readable biography that is as high-energy and entertaining as its subject. -- PW Weekly 
Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan (Paperback) » Japan has a way of thinking that is just . . . different. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Tokyo-born journalist Lisa Katayama's collection of urawaza (a Japanese word for secret lifestyle tricks and techniques). Want to turbocharge your sled? Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray. Can't find someone to water your plants while you're away? Place the plant on a water-soaked diaper, so it slowly absorbs water over time. The subject of popular TV shows and numerous books in Japan, these unusually clever solutions to everyday problems have never before been published in English until now! Urawaza collects more than 100 once-secret tricks, offering step-by-step directions and explanations in an eye-catching package as unconventional as its contents. ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
Now is Then: Snapshots from the Maresca Collection (hardcover) » This delightful, small-scale coffee table tome is perfect for anyone whose curiosity has been piqued while sifting through abandoned family snapshots in an antique store. Offering highlights from the Maresca collection of photographs housed at the Newark Musuem, each of these anonymous, care-worn photographs provides a potent glimpse of America between the 1920s and '60s, long before throw-away digital photography rendered amateur picture-taking less deliberate, more ephemeral. Among three essays and an interview with Frank Maresca, the standout is English professor Nancy Martha West's, in which she confides a desire to "invent a story for almost every snapshot in this catalog"; it's a sentiment readers will find contagious.
Fourth Wall » What happens when a performing actor leaves behind his lines, staging, sets, and lighting, and steps beyond the fourth wall? For three years, Amy Arbus has been exploring this question in a series of dramatic portraits of celebrated actors, both on and off Broadway. Fully costumed but stripped of their context, Arbus's actors remain in character as they step outside the fiction of theater into the reality of the world beyond. Staged in anonymous public spaces--in theater lobbies, on city streets, in parks, and in stage door alleys--Arbus's images achieve an unexpected blend of spectacle and high art; formality and sontaneity; vulnerability and pretense.
Collected in The Fourth Wall are some of the modern stage's most gifted actors, including Alan Cumming in Cabaret, John Malkovitch in Lost Land, Liev Schreiber in Talk Radio, Ed Harris in Wrecks, Cherry Jones in Doubt, Christine Ebersol in Grey Gardens, and Ethan Hawke and Martha Plimpton in The Coast of Utopia.
Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa (Hardcover) » The scene of tribal conflicts and guerrilla incursions, Ethiopia's Omo Valley is also home to fascinating rites and traditions that have survived for thousands of years. The nomadic peoples who inhabit this valley share a gift for body painting and elaborate adornments borrowed from nature, and Hans Silvester has captured the results in a series of photographs made over the course of numerous trips.
In this region of East Africa, the rivers that run through the dry savannas are home to abundant flowers, papyrus, and wild fruit trees, and this luxuriance becomes an invitation to creativity and spectacle.
Diego Rivera: The Complete Murals (Hardcover) » Diego in detail: The most comprehensive study of Rivera's work ever made A veritable folk hero in Latin America and Mexico's most important artist - along with his wife, painter Frida Kahlo - Diego Rivera (1886-1957) led a passionate life devoted to art and communism. After spending the 1910s in Europe, where he surrounded himself with other artists and embraced the Cubist movement, he returned to Mexico and began to paint the large-scale murals for which he is most famous. In his murals, he addressed social and political issues relating to the working class, earning him prophetic status among the peasants of Mexico.
Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey » Romare Bearden (1911-1988) had a true Renaissance sensibility. He was a fine artist who also successfully turned his hand to printmaking, writing, costume and set design, as well as composing jazz music. In addition, he helped to found the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York's Cinque Gallery and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and was once even offered an opportunity to play professional baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics. But it is for his rich and textured collages that Bearden is best known today. In 1977, Bearden created a sequence of 20 collages based on episodes from Homer's Odyssey. It may come as a surprise to even his most avid followers that this devoted chronicler of African American culture and the Harlem Renaissance would gravitate to such a canonical text. But in the essay accompanying Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey, scholar Robert G. O'Meally argues for their thematic consistency and suggests that, in the figures of Odysseus, Penelope, Poseidon, Nausicca and others, Bearden found themes sympathetic to the African American experience.
War Posters: Weapons of Mass Communication » Published to accompany an exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum, this book features more than 250 superb full-color illustrations of hard-hitting propaganda and groundbreaking graphic art. It encompasses iconic images such as Alfred Leete's "Your Country Needs You" as well as additional material drawn from the world of advertising and documentary photographs of posters in situ.
Through posters, the author examines the social, political, ethnic, and cultural aspirations of America, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Covering topics as diverse as advertising in World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, Germany and Occupied Europe in World War II, anti-nuclear campaigns, and Vietnam, the book is comprehensive and highly analytical, yet accessible.
An Artist's America (Hardcover) » Meet Michael Albert, modern pop artist. In an effort to combine his art style with his recycling philosophy, he has created a signature line of artwork in which his materials are derived from consumer packaging, old photographs, and discarded cardboard. The results are brilliant collages in the spirit of Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Soup.
Through his own interpretation of historical and epic events, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address, Michael Albert shares his vision of American popular culture. In addition are pages on artist-teacher workshops for schools and a "how to" section on making collages in the artist's style.
Frank Gehry in Pop-Up » For over forty years, postmodern architect Frank Gehry has changed skylines with his dramatic forms. Among several other awards, his enchanting body of work earned him the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize-the “Nobel Prize of architecture.” Experience for yourself Gehry's captivating deconstructive designs in a new interactive book, Frank Gehry in Pop-Up. This beautiful pop-up book illustrates Frank Gehry's greatest works of architecture and their natural environments, demonstrating his gift for radically redefining structure and space. Hardcover, $24.95
30,000 Years of Art » This enormous, extraordinary collection brings together 1000 high-quality color illustrations, showcasing the evolution of creative arts over diverse cultures from prehistoric to modern times. Arranged chronologically, each piece is given its own page and a condensed summary of its provenance, key features and cultural context. Book-ended by a ritual ''lion man'' figurine from 28,000 B.C. found in a cave in southern Germany, and an as-yet-unfinished environmental sculpture by American artist James Turrell (materials: ''Extinct volcano and light''), it also contains two time-lines, one covering major movements in the 13 cultures represented (Mesopotamia, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula; Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean; Egypt and Africa; Europe; North America; Central America and the Caribbean; South America; Oceania; Japan; Korea; China; Southeast Asia; and Central Asia) and another comprised of a 28 page horizontal index that sets each piece against major world events.
Luncheon of the Boating Party (paperback) » A vivid exploration of one of the most beloved Renoir paintings in the world, done with a flourish worthy of Renoir himself. --USA Today
With her richly textured novels, Susan Vreeland has offered pioneering portraits of artistsa lives. Now, as she did in "Girl in Hyacinth Blue," Vreeland once again focuses on a single painting, Auguste Renoir's instantly recognizable masterpiece, which depicts a gathering of Renoir's real friends enjoying a summer Sunday on a cafe terrace along the Seine. Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models, the novel illuminates the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era. With a gorgeous palette of vibrant, captivating characters, Vreeland paints their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs so vividly that the painting literally comes alive. -- Boston Globe.
APRIL EVENTS AROUND TOWN:
Great American Meatout 2008 -- Sunday, April 13th, 12-5 PM at Ferndale High School, 881 Pinecrest, Ferndale call 877-778-3464 for more information or visit: www.VegMichigan.org.
ARTIST MARCIA FREEDMAN & FRASER TAYLOR at Linda Ross Art Projects. Hear a discussion with the artist on Wed., April 9th at 9 PM. Gallery located at Birmingham Rail District, 2243 Cole Street, Birmingham. Exhibition continues through April 12th, Call 248-892-2985 for more info.
MYSTERY AUTHOR LAURIE KING at the Baldwin Public Library April 16th 7:00 PM. The Baldwan Library is located at 300 W. Merill in Birmingham. Call 248-647-1700 for more info.
Children's Author/ Illustrator Steven Kellogg will make an area presentation sponsord by the Grosse Point Library. Free tickets are available at Ewald Central and Woods Brand Grosse Pointe Libraries. This special event will take place at Parcell's Middle Scool, 20600 Mack, just South of 7 Mile, Thursday, April 17th at 7 PM - Book Beat will be selling books at the event. Visit the author and illustrator's site at Steven Kellog.com
The picture book is an art form that is designed specifically for children, but I feel that it can be appreciated and enjoyed by all ages. For centuries a distinguished tradition of illustrated books and manuscripts has existed of which the picture book is a part. It is a synthesis of literature and the visual arts, and the relationship of the written word and the picture is its essence. -- Steven Kellog
Children Writers Workshop with SHUTTA CRUM at Baldwin Public Library
A two part Children's Writers Workshop will be held Thursday, April 17th & Thursday April 24th 7:00 PM at the Baldwin Public Library. Join Shutta Crum author of both picture books and children's novels in a two part seminar/ workshop that will give you concrete tips for writing and getting published. Registration is required, please contact Baldwin Public Library for more info. Books will be available courtesy of Book Beat.
EARTH DAY EXPO SATURDAY, APRIL 19th from 11 AM - 6 PM at Oakland University, visit EARTHDAY EXPO.ORG The Expo will feature over 100 indoor product/service exhibits and outdoor farm displays, lively music, organic food and more all focused on earth-friendly healthy living.
DALAI LAMA TO GIVE SPECIAL TEACHING IN ANN ARBOR APRIL 19 and 20
The Dalai Lama will make a rare appearance to teach "Engaging Wisdom & Compassion" on Earth Day at Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan campus. The two day is jointly sponsored by Jewel Heart, a Tibetan Buddhist Center in Ann Arbor and The Tibet Fund.
The Dalai Lama is an important world wide spiritual leader and humanitarian who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007. For a list of messages, speeches, history and photos visit the Official Dalai Lama Website. Visit the Book Beat's Earth Day display throughout April, featuring works of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. -- Dalai Lama
BOOK BEAT READING GROUP SELECTION FOR APRIL: HALF A LIFE
The Book Beat selection for April is HALF A LIFE by Nobel Award winning auther V. S. Naipaul. We will meet at Gayle's Chocolates in Royal Oak for a group discussion at 7 PM on Wednesday, April 30th. The reading group is free to attend and open to the general public.
Half a Life (paperback) » 'Half a Life,'' the fierce new novel by V. S. Naipaul, the new Nobel laureate, is one of those rare books that stands as both a small masterpiece in its own right and as a potent distillation of the author's work to date, a book that recapitulates all his themes of exile, postcolonial confusion, third world angst, and filial love and rebellion while recounting with uncommon elegance and acerbity the story of the coming of age of its hero, Willie Chandran. -- New York Times review.
Naipaul's plain narrative is studded with beautifully realized scenes, such as the London party at which a newspaper editor reads his own, self-written obituary, or the night Willie goes to an African brothel with Alvaro, an estate overseer. Although this novel does not aspire to the breadth of Naipaul's earlier fiction, it reminds us that his vision is on par with Conrad's or Graham Greene's. -- PW Weekly.
ART DETROIT NOW May 8-10th 2008 - Come Together!
Over 75 organizations in and around Detroit have come together for the first time to celebrate the great contemporary art and artists in our community. For three days in May, be a part of Art Detroit Now!
READ-IN-THE-PARK, Sunday, May 18th, presented by the Berkley Educational Foundation. Celebrity readers, storybook characters, more TBA.
How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. ~Benjamin Disraeli
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