The Alphabetic Labyrinth

Johanna Drucker has spent many years researching writing and typography; this book is the result of a lifetime's interest. In it she examines the many imaginative, often idiosyncratic ways in which the letters of the alphabet have been assigned value in political, spiritual, or religious belief systems over two millennia--as well as presenting the more general aspects of the history of lettering, printing and calligraphy.

Relive Jim Henson's classic film Labyrinth in a storybook that moves through the alphabet and is perfect for new and returning fans! B is for Baby Brother, lost in the labyrinth. G is for the Goblin King, whose castle lies at the maze’s center. S is for Sarah, who must go on an incredible adventure to make it right. Only by journeying across the ABCs can our hero find her way through the labyrinth, with the help of fantastic creatures she meets along the way! Jim Henson, one of the greatest creative minds of our time, created a fantasy world unlike any other in Labyrinth. Now you can relive Sarah’s adventure through the alphabet with letters for each of the film’s unforgettable characters and many twists and turns. Featuring beautiful art by acclaimed illustrator Luke Flowers, this memorable retelling will delight fans of every age. An Imprint Book

This book discusses text and image relationships in the history of art from ancient times to the contemporary period across a diversity of cultures and geographic areas. Focusing on the use of words in art and words as art forms, thematic chapters include “Pictures in Words/Words in Pictures,” “Word/Picture Puzzles,” “Picture/Word Puzzles,” “Words as Images,” “The Power of the Word,” and “Monumental and Moving Words.” Chapter subsections further explore cross-cultural themes. Examining text and image relationships from the obvious to the elusive, the puzzling to the profound, the minor to the major, the book demonstrates the diverse ways in which images and writing have been combined through the ages, and explores the interplay between visual and written communication in a wide range of thought-provoking examples. A color insert is included. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

"Though there are many books about the history of the alphabet, virtually none address how that history came to be. In Inventing the Alphabet, Johanna Drucker guides readers from antiquity to the present to show how humans have shaped and reshaped their own understanding of this transformative writing tool. From ancient beliefs in the alphabet as a divine gift to growing awareness of its empirical origins through the study of scripts and inscriptions, Drucker describes the frameworks-classical, textual, biblical, graphical, antiquarian, archaeological, paleographic, and political-within which the alphabet's history has been and continues to be constructed. Drucker's book begins in ancient Greece, with the earliest writings on the alphabet's origins. She then explores biblical sources on the topic and medieval preoccupations with the magical properties of individual letters. She later delves into the development of modern archaeological and paleographic tools, and she concludes with the role of alphabetic characters in the digital era. Throughout, she argues that, as a shared form of knowledge technology integrated into every aspect of our lives, the alphabet performs complex cultural, ideological, and technical functions, and her carefully curated selection of images demonstrates how closely the letters we use today still resemble their original appearance millennia ago"--

Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet was first a picture with a purpose, a drawing with meaning. Yes, there are codes in the Bible. They go back to the beginnings, to Egyptian hieroglyphs and to Phoenician, Middle Eastern and Hebrew alphabets, from which most languages emerged. For seekers or anyone interested in origins, alphabets or the Bible, Hebrew for the Goyim is the book for you. "Pat Hutchens is an audacious talent, enormously creative and a life-long learner. This book is one of her finest accomplishments." Dr. Orley Herron Critically acclaimed author and former President of National Louis University, Evanston, Illinois "Pat Hutchens book is valuable for the library of scholars, students or anyone fascinated by the literature and life of ancient Israel. Hebrew for the Goyim is carefully researched, informative and a lot of fun." William L. Armstrong President, Colorado Christian University United States Senator, 1979-91. Pat Mercer Hutchens, from Winnfield, Louisiana, began Hebrew studies in Jerusalem, Israel. She studied at Wheaton College with the famous Dr. Barton Payne and was elected to the National Scholastic Honor Society in Hebrew Studies, at Fuller Theological Seminary where her husband graduated, and in Tel Aviv, Israel, where for two years the family immersed themselves in the Hebrew language, culture and religion of Judaism. Returning to Chicago, Pat graduated with an MFA from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she began intensive studies of Hebrew letters as an early art form. Pat earned an MS from National Louis University and recently a PhD from Louisiana Baptist University in Theology and Biblical Studies, with a concentration in Hebrew. Pat and her husband co-authored a book, Guilty, Keeping God's Covenant of Love with Israel. She writes bi-monthly articles on the Hebrew letters for The Jerusalem Connection, International (www.tjci.org) in Washington, D.C.

This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory. Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.

In this issue some of the most influential critics in the field encounter their colleagues in debate: A sad tale's best for South AfricaMartin Orkin;Shakespeare and Hanekom, King Lear and landNicholas Visser;Questioning Robert Young's post-colonial criticismLaura Chrisman;Response to Laura ChrismanRobert Young;Making love to our employment, or the immateriality of arguments about the materiality of the Shakespearean textEdward Pechter;Lover among the ruins: response to PechterMargreta de Grazia and Peter Stallybrass;Busy doing nothing: a response to Edward PechterGraham Holderness, Bryan Loughrey and Andrew Murphey;'Is she fact or is she fiction?': Angela Carter and the enigma of womanAnne Fernihough;The new romanticism: philosophical stand-ins in English Romantic discoursePaul Hamilton

What is the relationship between writing systems and nationalism? How can different alphabets coexist in the same country? What is the destiny of the Cyrillic alphabet in Europe? Giustina Selvelli’s original work provides detailed answers to these far-reaching and potentially divisive questions and many more by examining several intriguing debates on topics of alphabets and national identity in a number of countries from the Balkan area over the course of the last 100 years. Following an encompassing perspective on alphabetic diversity, Selvelli, an expert on Southeast European Studies, reconstructs the ideological context of national discourses connected to the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, also taking a look at the Arabic and Glagolitic scripts, and interweaving issues on the symbolism of the alphabet with the complex recent history of the region, marked by the parallel influences of the East and the West. She also sheds light on the impact of a range of alphabet policies on ethnolinguistic minorities, proposing a new definition of “alphabetic rights” with special regard to the multiethnic legacy of the former Ottoman and Habsburg empires. This comprehensive book makes us discover the privileged role that writing systems played in the region’s delicate post-imperial and post-socialist transitions, leaving us captivated by peculiar stories such as that of the utopian “Yugoslav alphabet”.