A Community Writing Itself

A Community Writing Itself features internationally respected writers Michael Palmer, Nathaniel Mackey, Leslie Scalapino, Brenda Hillman, Kathleen Fraser, Stephen Ratcliffe, Robert Glück, and Barbara Guest, and important younger writers Truong Tran, Camille Roy, Juliana Spahr, and Elizabeth Robinson. The book fills a major gap in contemporary poetics, focusing on one of the most vibrant experimental writing communities in the nation. The writers discuss vision and craft, war and peace, race and gender, individuality and collectivity, and the impact of the Bay Area on their work.

This powerful poetry collection seeks to map the emotional and spiritual territory of diaspora, violence, abuse, and exile. Kai Cheng incorporates autobiographical details from her own childhood and adult life with the rhythms of the oral storytelling tradition and fairytale motifs, poignantly depicting the plight of trans women of color.

Complementing recent feminist studies of female self-representation, this book examines the dynamics of masculine self-representation in nineteenth-century British literature. Arguing that the category “autobiography” was a product of nineteenth-century individualism, the author analyzes the dependence of the nineteenth-century masculine subject on autonomy or self-naming as the prerequisite for the composition of a life history. The masculine autobiographer achieves this autonomy by using a feminized other as a metaphorical mirror for the self. The feminized other in these texts represents the social cost of masculine autobiography. Authors from Wordsworth to Arnold, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey, John Ruskin, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Stuart Mill, and Edmund Gosse, use female lovers and family members as symbols for the community with which they feel they have lost contact. In the theoretical introduction, the author argues that these texts actually privilege the autonomous self over the images of community they ostensibly value, creating in the process a self-enclosed and self-referential “community of one.”

The first book to argue for the ethical turn in Derrida's work, this new edition contains three new appendixes and a new preface where Critchley reflects upon the origins, motivation and reception of 'The Ethics of Deconstruction'.

Psychologists tell us that writing helps us cope with and recover from depression, anxiety, job loss and even heartbreak. Exciting new research shows that we can flourish further by actively choosing to write about positive emotions. Journalling is a hot trend - for personal expression, creativity, self-actualisation and goal-setting. In Write Yourself Happy, author Megan Hayes shows us how, using positive journalling, we can journal more consciously, writing in a way that engages and promotes our most supportive and life-affirming emotions. This practical workbook demonstrates how to put eight of the most commonly experienced positive emotions - joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, awe and love - to work, helping us not simply to feel better, but to live better. Based on groundbreaking research in positive psychology, and backed up by extensive scientific studies, the book includes practical exercises and case studies to inspire readers to shift their focus, use different words, see the world in a subtly different way - and discover how things go right when we write. Praise for Write Yourself Happy: 'The power of positivity comes together with the power of the pen. It is a mighty force for well-being.' Miriam Akhtar MAPP Author of Positive Psychology for Overcoming Depression and What is Post-traumatic Growth? 'Write Yourself Happy is filled with practical, applied and scientifically proven methods - it offers readers a direct path to increase positivity and sustain happiness. It is the perfect resource for optimal wellbeing.' Daniel J Tomasulo, PhD, TEP, MFA, MAPP Psychologist and author of Character Strengths Matter www.dare2behappy.com 'This book is ideal for anyone who is looking for a creative and uplifting path to happiness. Megan's encouraging tone and fun exercises not only boost your mood but also help you to forge a stronger connection with yourself. I highly recommend the read - and doing each of the writing exercises in it!' Susanna Halonen The Happyologist® and author of Screw Finding Your Passion www.happyologist.co.uk 'Forget the pressure to become a perfectionist Photoshop you. Write Yourself Happy is about easing into a reality that already exists and needs nothing more to bloom than pen on paper. Let the scientifically nuanced and reassuring rhythm of your compassionate Sherpa Megan C Hayes steal you away.' Kristen Truempy, MAPP Creator of the Positive Psychology Podcast www.strengthsphoenix.com 'Megan artfully combines the world of writing with positive psychology producing this guide to 'writing yourself happy'. Written with a delicate balance of scientifically based wellbeing advice alongside an open playfulness that allows the reader to consider and interpret things for themselves. It is thanks to reading this book that my clients, and of course myself, enjoy the many benefits of Positive Journaling.' Samantha Spafford Psychologist and Director of Positive Mind Works www.positivemindworks.co.nz

"This book about friendship and faith absolutely sings." -- Buzzfeed Perfect for fans of The First Rule of Punk or Save Me a Seat, this is a sweet, powerful, and joyous novel about a girl who finds her voice on her own terms. Twelve-year-old Nimra Sharif has spent her whole life in Islamic school, but now it's time to go to "real school." Nimra's nervous, but as long as she has Jenna, her best friend who already goes to the public school, she figures she can take on just about anything. Unfortunately, middle school is hard. The teachers are mean, the schedule is confusing, and Jenna starts giving hijab-wearing Nimra the cold shoulder around the other kids. Desperate to fit in and get back in Jenna's good graces, Nimra accepts an unlikely invitation to join the school's popular 8th grade boy band, Barakah Beats. The only problem is, Nimra was taught that music isn't allowed in Islam, and she knows her parents would be disappointed if they found out. So she devises a simple plan: join the band, win Jenna back, then quietly drop out before her parents find out. But dropping out of the band proves harder than expected. Not only is her plan to get Jenna back working, but Nimra really likes hanging out with the band—they value her contributions and respect how important her faith is to her. Then Barakah Beats signs up for a talent show to benefit refugees, and Nimra's lies start to unravel. With the show only a few weeks away and Jenna's friendship hanging in the balance, Nimra has to decide whether to betray her bandmates—or herself.

Get Started in Creative Writing will help writers at the very beginning of their creative journey to gain confidence and find inspiration, and then support you in the completion of your first pieces of creative writing - a short story, a poem, a draft of a novel or screenplay. Each chapter includes a central writing exercise and four shorter ones, while key quotes, key ideas and focus points will be clearly signposted and will summarise important concepts and advice. At the heart of each chapter is a 'Workshop'. The Workshop is a key exercise, in which you will gain a deeper insight into the craft of writing. In addition to coverage of all the key genres and their conventions, this new edition includes an expanded section on self- and digital publishing, to reflect recent advances in technology and the wide variety of digital platforms now available for the distribution of creative writing. There will be a section on the latest trend of creative journalling, and insight into how to tap the potential of the Internet to be the world's largest creative writing workshop. What are you waiting for? This book has all you need to get started!

This book describes and examines the fear of exposure one faces when creating for cultural consumption. Examining the work of Cixous, Foucault, Irigaray, Spinoza, Hegel, Hakim Bey, Heidegger, Kathy Acker, Derrida, and Kierkegaard, the author finds spaces where fear and anxiety give way to connection and community.