Negotiating With The Dead

Margaret Atwood examines the nature of writing and the role of writers.

Jack the B. Oct/03.

What is the role of the writer? Prophet? High Priest of Art? Court Jester? Or witness to the real world? Looking back on her own childhood and the development of her writing career, Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain - or excuse! - their activities, looking at what costumes they have seen fit to assume, what roles they have chosen to play. And if a writer is to be seen as 'gifted', who is doing the giving and what are the terms of the gift? Margaret Atwood's wide and eclectic reference to other writers, living and dead, is balanced by anecdotes from her own experiences as a writer, both in Canada and on the international scene. The lightness of her touch is underlined by a seriousness about the purpose and the pleasures of writing, and by a deep familiarity with the myths and traditions of western literature.

Looking back on her own childhood and the development of her writing career, Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain - or excuse - their activities, looking at what costumes they have seen fit to assume, what roles they have chosen to play.

Even after a rise in gay and Black representation and production on TV in the 1990s, the sitcom became a "generic closet," restricting Black gay characters with narrative tropes. Drawing from 20 interviews with credited episode writers, key show-runners, and Black gay men, The Generic Closet situates Black-cast sitcoms as a unique genre that uses Black gay characters in service of the series' heterosexual main cast. Alfred L. Martin, Jr., argues that the Black community is considered to be antigay due to misrepresentation by shows that aired during the family viewing hour and that were written for the imagined, "traditional" Black family. Martin considers audience reception, industrial production practices, and authorship to unpack the claim that Black gay characters are written into Black-cast sitcoms such as Moesha, Good News, and Let's Stay Together in order to closet Black gayness. By exploring how systems of power produce ideologies about Black gayness, The Generic Closet deconstructs the concept of a monolithic Black audience and investigates whether this generic closet still exists.

Sales professionals now confront the most serious threat to their success. Regardless of their size, industry, country, customer type, nature of the relationship or amount of value they provide, sales professionals are finding that purchasing decisions are increasingly being limited by procurement. The modern procurement function is purchasing on steroids. Where traditional purchasing managers negotiated, procurement officials attempt to dictate. Procurement deploys a variety of tactics designed to do one thing: gain unprecedented discounts and concessions out of even the most sophisticated sales professionals. This book is a strategy guide for salespeople to help them level the procurement playing field by showing readers how to assess the game procurement plays, describing proven ways to resist discounting and protect margins, demonstrating ways to keep value at the forefront of negotiations, offering targeted tactics to protect hard-earned profits from mindless discounting, and detailing eight strategies effective in any type of pricing negotiation. This book will be an invaluable resource for B2B sales professionals, customer-facing professionals, and executives responsible for leading successful sales organizations.

Contains imaginary interviews with deceased British and American authors, including Samuel Johnson, Henry James, Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, William Faulkner, and others.

“The first personal finance book for the 2020s: expensive housing, BNPL, side hustles, negotiating a raise, and much more. Erica Alini is one of Canada’s top personal finance pros, and this book shows it.” —ROB CARRICK Wrestle debt to the ground. Figure out whether you should rent or buy. And determine if a side hustle is really worth the hassle. Get a job, buy a house, spend less than you make, and retire at sixty-five. That’s advice for a world that has largely disappeared. Even good jobs today often have no guarantee of stability. Home prices have reached the stratosphere. Meanwhile, student debt drags you down just as you're trying to take off in life. To survive and thrive in today’s reality, you need a whole new personal finance tool kit. Personal finance reporter Erica Alini blends the big picture with practical advice to give you a deeper understanding of the economic forces that are shaping your financial struggles and how to overcome them. Packed with concrete tips, Money Like You Mean It covers all the bases: from debt to investing and retirement, plus renting versus buying, and even how to tell whether a side gig is really worth the effort. It’s the essential road map you need to make it in the current economy.