Omoyeni Ayekooto was born and raised in a small village in Africa-the last of four children and the only son. From of the age of seven, he remembers that he is the happiest boy in the whole world building castles and birdhouses from the mud. This is a carefree time for Omoyeni and his friends as they learn about their people's ways from both their parents and the trusted villagers. As Omoyeni grows physically, he also grows emotionally as he experiences the intricacies of life-complex relationships with his parents and sisters, lasting friendships, the opposite sex, marriage, and finally, death. Omoyeni becomes curious about the world outside his small village; he understands that diligence, hard work, and resolve will make more opportunities for him as will traveling to the "white man's land" away from Africa. Sing Me a Dirge follows Omoyeni as he comes of age and is torn between opportunity in Europe and the United States, and the lure and memories of village life in Africa.

American Poet Vol. 2, is a collection of some of the best poems written by Cassandra Wilson, intertwined with feelings embedded from the depths of her soul, feelings that are hard to express, feelings assiduous for the twist and turns of life and the joy that cometh on the journey. Her poetry takes you through the streets of grace with poems of praise, and the path of love with lascivious poems that inspires not only the soul but the mind to reap in the harvest and awake the spirit within. Her poems will take you on a walk through history with the struggle and the sacrifice for the broken chain with freedom poems. These poems also inspires you to live the American Dream right there with in you, to discover it!, to feel it!, to live it!, and finally, take a step of preciosity with an American Poet!

A direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and committed to the Kriya Yoga Path, Roy Eugene Davis (1931-2019) served as an example to all those on a spiritual path. He exemplified what it means to be devoted, disciplined, purposeful, focused, steadfast, true to one's calling and living one's beliefs. He dedicated his life to his mission, which was to bring this Truth in its purity to all those ready to receive it. He also lived by the Truth he taught. Thirty-one devotees willingly share their stories, testimonials and their love with the world. All feel fortunate to have been in relationship with this special Soul, our Guru.

William Shakespeare is perhaps the most frequently quoted author of the English-speaking world. His plays, in turn, "quote" a wide variety of sources, from books and ballads to persons and events. In this dynamic study of Shakespeare's plays, Douglas Bruster demonstrates that such borrowing can illuminate the world in which Shakespeare and his contemporary playwrights lived and worked, while also shedding light on later cultures that quote his plays. In contrast to the New Historicism's sometimes arbitrary linkage of literary works with elements drawn from the surrounding culture, Quoting Shakespeare focuses on the resources that writers used in making their works. Bruster shows how this borrowing can give us valuable insight into the cultural, historical, and political positions of writers and their works. Because Shakespeare's plays have often been quoted by other writers, this study also examines what subsequent uses of Shakespeare's plays reveal about the writers and cultures that use them. In this way, Quoting Shakespeare insists that literary production and reception are both integral to a historical approach to literature.

This book presents original material which indicates that Aemilia Lanyer – female writer, feminist, and Shakespeare contemporary – is Shakespeare’s hidden and arguably most significant co-author. Once dismissed as the mere paramour of Shakespeare’s patron, Lord Hunsdon, she is demonstrated to be a most articulate forerunner of #MeToo fury. Building on previous research into the authorship of Shakespeare’s works, Bradbeer offers evidence in the form of three case studies which signal Aemilia’s collaboration with Shakespeare. The first case study matches the works of "George Wilkins" – who is currently credited as the co-author of the feminist Shakespeare play Pericles (1608) – with Aemilia Lanyer’s writing style, education, feminism and knowledge of Lord Hunsdon’s secret sexual life. The second case-study recognizes Titus Andronicus (1594), a play containing the characters Aemilius and Bassianus, to be a revision of the suppressed play Titus and Vespasian (1592), as authored by the unmarried pregnant Aemilia Bassano, as she then was. Lastly, it is argued that Shakespeare’s clowns, Bottom, Launce, Malvolio, Dromio, Dogberry, Jaques, and Moth, arise in her deeply personal war with the misogynist Thomas Nashe. Each case study reveals new aspects of Lanyer’s feminist activism and involvement in Shakespeare’s work, and allows for a deeper analysis and appreciation of the plays. This research will prove provocative to students and scholars of Shakespeare studies, English literature, literary history, and gender studies.

Exploring English Lyrics is the most unified collection of English art texts with transcriptions available, containing 790 unique art song selections with pronunciation as defined by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It is an invaluable resource for both the native speaking singer and singers with no previous exposure to the English language. These lyrics span nearly 500 years of art song history with texts set by more than 129 composers. Diverse segments of British, American, African American, Canadian, Scottish, Irish, and Australian cultures are represented. The scope of the lyrics selected includes works appropriate for beginners as well as those being performed by the world’s most prominent professional singers. Texts of frequently performed songs from the Royal Conservatory of Music Development Program adjudications, new composers’ collected works, as well as lyrics from major anthologies such as Joan Boytim’s First Book series are included. Detailed indications for selections that require a particular dialect or character voice pronunciation are provided. Helpful indices enable the reader to search by composer, song cycle, first line, or song title. References to settings of texts by multiple composers are indicated throughout the book. The book assists the teacher with repertoire selections while giving the student an accurate and elegant pronunciation that is ideal for intelligibility and optimal singing technique. Knowledge of the phonetic system and detailed pronunciation of new and standard repertoire are readily accessible with this text.

The first ever collection of essays in English on Iacopone da Todi by a diverse group of international scholars, this book offers a contemporary critical assessment on this medieval Franciscan poet of the thirteenth century. Combining philological analyses with thematic studies and philosophical and theological interpretations of the original contents and style of Iacopone’s poetry, the collection considers a wide range of topics, from music to prayer and performance, mysticism, asceticism, ineffability, Mariology, art, poverty, and the challenges of translation. It is a major contribution to the understanding of Iacopone’s laude in the 21st century. Contributors are Erminia Ardissino, Alvaro Cacciotti, Nicolò Crisafi, Anne-Gaëlle Cuif, Federica Franzè, Alexander J.B. Hampton, Magdalena Maria Kubas, Matteo Leonardi, Brian K. Reynolds, Oana Sălișteanu, Samia Tawwab, Alessandro Vettori, Carlo Zacchetti, and Estelle Zunino.