This plain-speaking introduction to the study and understanding of poetry avoids academic jargon and provides a clear pathway to coming to a deeper awareness of poetry of the present and past ages. The guide is written in a clear and at times amusing style by a long-standing expert in the field. The guide begins by examining the physical shape of a poem on the page, then moves on to a shopping list of topics: Vocabulary Imagery Point of view Personalities Actions The senses Position Rhythm and rhyme External references The unexpected REVIEWS A 'must have' book which encourages the reader to explore poetry in greater depth. To pursue its meaning and thence to delight rather than bewilder. Rex Last has written with humour and alacrity. I shall now unearth my poetry books long since assigned to dusty shelves. (Margaret Holman) I liked that the author, understanding how boring poetry could be at times, adds humour to his explanations at regular intervals. This is an effective way of teaching, as it made me appreciate what he tried to explain faster. It also made me feel refreshed while I read, as I had some good laughs. Furthermore, I liked that the author included exercises on the interpretation of poems and their solutions to enable readers to test themselves, having gained the knowledge that the book sought to teach. There was nothing to dislike about this book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The author structured his message very well and executed it with perfection. ... I recommend this book for people who are interested in poetry. (Reviewer, onlinebookclub.org.)

Following on the very positive reception of Making Sense of Poetry, this new guide focuses on the ‘unseen poems’ test which features in English examinations, but it also serves as a follow-on from the first volume, examining the process of analysing a poem in greater depth. Poets range from Milton to the nineteenth-century poetess Anna Laetitia Barbauld. The whole approach is interactive, with readers en­couraged not just to sit back and read but to work out for themselves the answers to the examples in the text before checking the model responses at the back of the guide. Readers are also encouraged to read poetry widely, as this is one of the key routes for making progress in this subject, and the guide contains a list of anthologies, etc., which can point them in the right direction. Table of Contents ​ Reviews of Volume one – Making Sense of Poetry ​ About the Author ​ Acknowledgements Introduction ​ Chapter one – First steps ​ Interlude one – Name that poem ​ Chapter two – Getting up early ​ Interlude two – Name these poems ​ Chapter three – Anna Barbauld and the mystery building ​ Chapter four – The death of Heraclitus ​ Interlude three – The language of the past ​ Chapter Five – Total nonsense? ​ Chapter six – Religious fervour ​ Chapter seven – Broken statue in the desert ​ Interlude four – External references ​ Chapter eight – Rural plunder ​ Interlude five – ‘Deserted Village’ words and phrases ​ Chapter nine – Trailing clouds of glory ​ Chapter ten – In conclusion ​ Appendix one – Further reading ​ Appendix two – Keys to Interludes one and two and Chapter three ​ Appendix three – Answers to Interlude three ​ Appendix four – Solutions to Classical and other names ​ Appendix five – ‘Deserted Village’ answers

Reading is all about understanding, and many English language learners simply do not understand what they are reading. Juli Kendall and Outey Khuon believe that small group comprehension lessons have a key role to play in advancing students' comprehension of texts. Making Sense outlines fifty-two lessons that teach students how to make connections, ask questions, visualize (make mental images), infer, determine importance, and synthesize. The book's five main sections are geared to the stages o

Fiction is fascinating. All it provides us with is black letters on white pages, yet while we read we do not have the impression that we are merely perceiving abstract characters. Instead, we see the protagonists before our inner eye and hear their voices. Descriptions of sumptuous meals make our mouths water, we feel physically repelled by depictions of violence or are aroused by the erotic details of sexual conquests. We submerge ourselves in the fictional world that no longer stays on the paper but comes to life in our imagination. Reading turns into an out-of-the-body experience or, rather, an in-another-body experience, for we perceive the portrayed world not only through the protagonist's eyes but also through his ears, nose, tongue, and skin. In other words, we move through the literary text as if through a virtual reality. How does literature achieve this trick? How does it turn mere letters into vividly experienced worlds? This study argues that techniques of sensuous writing contribute decisively to bringing the text to life in the reader's imagination. In detailed interpretations of British novels of the 1980s and 1990s by writers such as John Berger, John Banville, Salman Rushdie, Jeanette Winterson, or J. M. Coetzee, it uncovers literary strategies for turning the sensuous experience into words and for conveying it to the reader, demonstrating how we make sense in, and of, literature. Both readers interested in the contemporary novel and in the sensuousness of the reading experience will profit from this innovative study that not only analyses the interest of contemporary authors in the senses but also pin-points literary entry points for the sensuous force of reading.

Ghana: Conversation & Development' is a book about the cry, frustrations, and aspirations of the good people of Ghana. It nourishes, refreshes and equips the political and economic mindsets of the Ghanaian people and attempts to serve as a channel of communication to the new President and his administration after December 2008 General Elections. Many issues have been discussed including social, political and economic issues. This book critically analyses how Ghana, our motherland would be able to meet her millennium objectives at the shortest possible time. Road accidents in the country seem to spiral out of control, it is very pathetic how hundreds of Ghanaians lost their love ones because of road accidents especially during Easter and Christmas seasons. Time is now due to stop people even policy makers taken advantage of funerals just to show off their wealth. This little book also provides solid recommendations on how this canker', which is slowly, but far eating into our fabrics will be solved once and for all. Can Ghana achieve any meaningful economic growth without the contributions of our well-cherished traditional rulers? Can the Ghana oil of commercial quantity find at the Cape Three Points in the Western Region be a blessing or a curse? The book* is not just a must read, it is entirely pleasurable and the commentaries are well written. It contains great human insight interwoven into the twists and turns of the dreams of the loving people of Ghana. I deemed this necessary believing that the new President and his administration, our traditional rulers, policy makers, schools, colleges and students in higher academic learning would make optimum use of it. Read the materials thoroughly, think carefully, dig deeper, make the necessary sacrifices, adopt some wisdom and make yourself and Africa very proud. PK OPOKU BONNA, LLB., LLM

Nicholas Onuf is a leading scholar in international relations and introduced constructivism to international relations, coining the term constructivism in his book World of Our Making (1989). He was featured as one of twelve scholars featured in Iver B. Neumann and Ole Wæver, eds., The Future of International Relations: Masters in the Making? (1996); and featured in Martin Griffiths, Steven C. Roach and M. Scott Solomon, Fifty Key Thinkers in International Relations, 2nd ed. (2009). This powerful collection of essays clarifies Onuf’s approach to international relations and makes a decisive contribution to the debates in IR concerning theory. It embeds the theoretical project in the wider horizon of how we understand ourselves and the world. Onuf updates earlier themes and his general constructivist approach, and develops some newer lines of research, such as the work on metaphors and the re-grounding in much more Aristotle than before. A complement to the author’s groundbreaking book of 1989, World of Our Making, this tightly argued book draws extensively from philosophy and social theory to advance constructivism in International Relations. Making Sense, Making Worlds will be vital reading for students and scholars of international relations, international relations theory, social theory and law.

Ideal for home learning, this simple and inspirational book has everything you need to get to grips with grammar and punctuation, and master essential reading and writing skills. Need help telling your adjectives from your adverbs? Struggling to work out what that poem is really about, or where to begin with your essay? Using short, straightforward explanations and clear graphics to shed light on the trickiest of topics, this is the perfect guide to understanding and using the English language. Illustrated examples make daunting grammar accessible and fun, and help develop an understanding that can be applied to school studies. Annotated texts complement concise, practical guidance to support students in developing sound analytical and writing skills. The carefully selected reading recommendations will inspire reading for pleasure, while clear links between topics will ensure that students not only understand language techniques but know how to apply them effectively. How to be Good at English will inspire students to uncover and enjoy the art and power of language, supporting them on their way to becoming confident and accomplished readers, writers, and speakers.

What is the role of spiritual experience in poetry? What are the marks of a religious imagination? How close can the secular and the religious be brought together? How do poetic imagination and religious beliefs interact? Exploring such questions through the concept of the religious imagination, this book integrates interdisciplinary research in the area of poetry on the one hand, and theology, philosophy and Christian spirituality on the other. Established theologians, philosophers, literary critics and creative writers explain, by way of contemporary and historical examples, the primary role of the religious imagination in the writing as well as in the reading of poetry.

The stimulating mix of academics and practising poets that have contributed to this volume provides an unusual and illuminating integration of critical and creative practice and a vibrantly diverse approach to questions of poetry and sexuality. Each section of essays is complemented by poems which creatively illustrate or develop the theme with which the essays critically engage. Rather than being limited to a specific genre, tradition, time or place, this collection seeks to make a virtue of contrast, comparison and juxtaposition. The collection is arranged into sections that range broadly across the thematic ground of dichotomies, traditions and revisions, microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, women and embodiment, and the notion of play and performance. Positioning eighteenth-century tinkers ballads alongside medieval Hebrew lyrics and the Blues of Gorgeous Puddin’, or making Dionysus rub shoulders with Sharon Olds and Mrs Rochester provides new perspectives on familiar material and valuable insights into more obscure work and the nature of sensual poetry as a mode of expression. As the editors suggest, the essays and poems presented collectively argue that writings about sexuality are always already about the way poets see and represent our bodies, the world and poetic language itself.

Ideal for home learning, this simple and inspirational book has everything you need to grasp grammar and punctuation, and master essential reading and writing skills. Need help telling your adjectives from your adverbs? Struggling to figure out what that poem is really about, or where to begin with your essay? Using short, straightforward explanations and clear graphics to shed light on the trickiest of topics, this is the perfect guide to understanding and using the English language. Illustrated examples make daunting grammar accessible and fun, and help develop an understanding that can be applied to school studies. Annotated texts complement concise, practical guidance to support students in developing sound analytical and writing skills. The carefully selected reading recommendations will inspire reading for pleasure, while clear links between topics will ensure that students not only understand language techniques but know how to apply them effectively. How to Be Good at Language Arts inspires students to uncover and enjoy the art and power of language, supporting them on their way to becoming confident and accomplished readers, writers, and speakers.