My Self My Muse

A unique look into the minds and creative processes of contemporary Irish women poets, this book focuses on the transformation of their life experiences into poetry that blends personal identity with national identiry. It assembles many voices around common themes that are emerging to change Irish poetry permanently. Patricia Boyle Haberstroh, whose book Women Creating Women: Contemporary Irish Women Poets was a Choice Outstanding Academic book in 1996, shows in this new work how nine of the most prolific Irish women writers generate their poetry, broadening our understanding of the context of the poems. She pairs each author's verse with a companion (and often autobiographical) prose piece to illuminate the ways in which the poetry expresses the poet's personal experience. As women in a politically and religiously charged, male-dominated genre and country, these poets feel compelled to transcend daily life by articulating against the "norm." In this book, they describe the issues they confronted in their growth as poets and the strategies they developed to translate life into art. In linking these poets—drawn from Northern Ireland and England as well as the Republic of Ireland—Haberstroh throws into relief the characteristics that define their unique, individual subjects, themes, and styles.

Working and would-be writers, photographers, painters, journal keepers, sculptors, musicians, poets, and creative folk in every field will find inspiration and practical suggestions in this joyous book. This complete course in creative expression is based on Jan Phillips' smash "Marry Your Muse" workshops, and was chosen a Ben Franklin Award gold medal winner for 1997. In Part One, the stirring affirmations of The Artist's Creed empower us to become more confident and productive. In Part Two, anecdotes, photographs, quotations to ponder, fun and effective exercises help us discover a deep and satisfying form of self-expression. In Part Three, the heartful stories of working artists inspire us to fall in love with the artist within

Ariosto's correspondence paints a detailed portrait of the world he lived and wrote in. While some letters illuminate his day-to-day life, including his work as a provincial commissioner for the ruling Este family of Ferrara, others shed light on the composition and production of his poems and plays, allowing a glimpse of the man in his creative workshop. Herbal Doctor, a parody of humanism in general and neoplatonic philosophy in particular, may mark a defense of Ariosto's decision to turn away from the philological world of his contemporaries in order to pursue a different kind of learning.

All writers doubt their ability. But Bryan Hutchinson's story shows doubt and fear don't have to define your writing future. In this part-memoir, part kick-in-the-pants, Bryan will show you how to live out your passion, write a book, and become an author, no matter if the so-called "experts" tell you that you can't.

Over the last two decades, Mary Schmich’s biweekly column in the Chicago Tribune has offered advice, humor, and discerning commentary on a broad array of topics including family, milestones, mental illness, writing, and life in Chicago. Schmich won the 2012 Pulitzer for Commentary for “her down-to-earth columns that reflect the character and capture the culture of her famed city.” This book compiles her 10 Pulitzer-winning columns along with 154 others, creating a captivating collection that reflects Schmich’s thoughtful and insightful sensibility. Schmich’s 1997 “Wear Sunscreen” column (which has had a life of its own as a falsely attributed Kurt Vonnegut commencement speech) is included, as well as her columns focusing on the demolition of Chicago’s infamous Cabrini-Green housing project. One of the most moving sections is her 12-part series with US District Judge Joan Lefkow as the latter reflected on rebuilding her life after the horrific murders of her mother and husband. Throughout the book, Schmich reflects wisely and wryly on the world we live in, and her fond observances of Chicago life bring the city in all its varied character to warm, vivid life.

What does it mean to be a scientist working today; specifically, a scientist whose subject matter is human life? Scientists often overstate their claim to certainty, sorting the world into categorical distinctions that obstruct rather than clarify its complexities. In this book Daniel Nettle urges the reader to unpick such distinctions-biological versus social sciences, mind versus body, and nature versus nurture-and look instead for the for puzzles and anomalies, the points of connection and overlap. These essays, converted from often humorous, sometimes autobiographical blog posts, form an extended meditation on the possibilities and frustrations of the life scientific. Pragmatically arguing from the intersection between social and biological sciences, Nettle reappraises the virtues of policy initiatives such as Universal Basic Income and income redistribution, highlighting the traps researchers and politicians are liable to encounter. This provocative, intelligent and self-critical volume is a testament to the possibilities of interdisciplinary study-whose virtues Nettle stridently defends-drawing from and having implications for a wide cross-section of academic inquiry. This will appeal to anybody curious about the implications of social and biological sciences for increasingly topical political concerns. It comes particularly recommended to Sciences and Social Sciences students and to scholars seeking to extend the scope of their field in collaboration with other disciplines. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

I’m in a fake relationship with my celebrity crush. How did I wind up in a real-life romance trope? When too much tequila and an enabling BFF put my newest and oh-so-spicy romance novel into the hands of its inspiration, sexy British actor Tom Morrison, I’m horrified (because hello complete stranger, I thought of you while writing these smexy scenes, now excuse me while I spontaneously combust from embarrassment). I need to get the book back before Tom takes out a restraining order on me—or worse, reads the book out loud on social media. Except that’s not what happens. Thanks to a strategic lie and an Oscar-winning knight I’m now pretending to be Tom’s girlfriend while we get his dream project made. Somehow, my screwball plan landed me in the middle of my very own Cinderella story, Hollywood style. Even better, I have a shot at a real life HEA with a gorgeous, hilarious man who thinks I’m amazing… …so why do I get the feeling that disaster is about to strike?

Have you ever had a dream, but let it go because you were too afraid of failure to try? Dancing with Your Muse is a heartfelt, motivational guide to understanding this fear, realising that you are not alone in it, and working past it to achieve your goals without inhibition.Fear of failure is a universal issue that can hold even the most talented of people back from reaching their full potential. Dancing with Your Muse is a series of thirty essays which speak about the common and debilitating anxieties encountered on the path to creative expression. Sections include: 1:''Fear In All Its Glory'' - explains patterns of fear, and shows you how to transform inhibitors into positive outcomes. 2:''Judgement and Criticism'' - provides guidance on how to keep yourself in balance without succumbing to outside perceptions of your worth. 3:''Success in Different Guises'' -expands your notion of success by giving you a more personal, expansive understanding of what accomplishment really means to you.Written in a gentle, contemplative tone, this book will encourage you to determine and strive for success on your own terms. Performers, business people, students, and everyday dreamers alike will learn to courageously choose the most direct pathways to creative success and, more importantly, personal fulfillment, holding only a desire to contribute fully to their own life.