Jay Parini je americký spisovatel a akademik, známý svými romány, poezií, biografií a kritikou. Jeho díla se často zabývají hlubokými lidskými tématy a jsou psána pronikavým a poutavým stylem. Pariniho schopnost zkoumat složitost lidské zkušenosti a jeho literární zručnost z něj činí významnou postavu v současné americké literatuře.
Paris, 1940. Walter Benjamin has laboured for ten years to complete the work which will secure his reputation as one of the century's seminal thinkers. Finally, when Nazi tanks surround the city, he packs the 1000-page manuscript and sets off for the Spanish border and freedom.
An intimate and magical memoir about embarking on a road trip with Borges through Scotland and the famed writer's thoughts on literature, love and poetry
Examines the importance of the poetic voice and the mysteries of metaphor. This book argues that a poet's originality depends on a deep understanding of the traditions of political poetry, nature poetry, and religious poetry. It is suitable for those interested in a fresh introduction to an art that lies at the centre of Western civilization.
This fascinating reassessment of America's most popular and famous poet reveals a more complex and enigmatic man than many readers might expect. Jay Parini spent over twenty years interviewing friends of Frost and working in the poet's archives at Dartmouth, Amherst, and elsewhere to produce this definitive and insightful portrait of both the public and private man. While he depicts the various stages of Frost's colorful life, Parini also sensitively explores the poet's psyche, showing how he dealt with adversity, family tragedy, and depression. By taking the reader into the poetry itself, which he reads closely and brilliantly, Parini offers an insightful road map to Frost's remarkable world.
From the author of the international bestseller The Last Station, a superb historical novel of the Apostle Paul, whose tireless and epic preaching of the message of Jesus brought Christianity into existence and changed human history forever. In the years after Christ's crucifixion, Paul of Tarsus, a prosperous tentmaker and Jewish scholar, took it upon himself to persecute the small groups of his followers that sprung up. But on the road to Damascus, he had some sort of blinding vision, a profound conversion experience that transformed Paul into the most effective and influential messenger Christianity has ever had. In The Damascus Road novelist Jay Parini brings this fascinating and ever-controversial figure to full human life, capturing his visionary passions and vast contradictions. In relating Paul's epic journeys, both geographical and spiritual, he unfolds a vivid panorama of the ancient world on the verge of epochal change. And in the alternating voice of the Gospel writer Luke, Paul's travel companion, scribe, and ghostwriter, a cooler perspective on his actions and beliefs emerges -- ironic but still filled with wonder at Paul's unshakable commitment to the Christ and his divinity.
Explore the transcendent world of unity and ultimate beauty in Edgar Allan Poe’s verse in this complete poetry collection. Although best known for his short stories, Edgar Allan Poe was by nature and choice a poet. From his exquisite lyric “To Helen,” to his immortal masterpieces, “Annabel Lee,” “The Bells,” and “The Raven,” Poe stands beside the celebrated English romantic poets Shelley, Byron, and Keats, and his haunting, sensuous poetic vision profoundly influenced the Victorian giants Swinburne, Tennyson, and Rossetti. Today his dark side speaks eloquently to contemporary readers in poems such as “The Haunted Palace” and “The Conqueror Worm,” with their powerful images of madness and the macabre. But even at the end of his life, Poe reached out to his art for comfort and courage, giving us in “Eldorado” a talisman to hold during our darkest moments—a timeless gift from a great American writer. Includes an Introduction by Jay Parini and an Afterword by April Bernard
Essays look at important periods, movements, and writers
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE A New York Times Notable Book As Leo Tolstoy’s life draws to a tumultuous close, his tempestuous wife and most cunning disciple are locked in a whirlwind battle for the great man’s soul. Torn between his professed doctrine of poverty and chastity and the reality of his enormous wealth and thirteen children, Tolstoy dramatically flees his home, only to fall ill at a tiny nearby rail station. The famous (and famously troubled) writer believes he is dying alone, unaware that over a hundred newspapermen camp outside awaiting hourly reports on his condition. Jay Parini moves deftly between a colorful cast of characters to create a stunning portrait of one of the world’s most treasured authors. Dancing between fact and fiction, The Last Station is a brilliant and moving literary performance.
Contemporary commentators have observed that postmodern America is less a melting pot than a buffet table. In American Identities people of diverse ethnic, religious, social, gender, and sexual backgrounds "refuse to merge but insist on a multiplicity of well-maintained identities," editors Robert Pack and Jay Parini explain. This sixth volume in the popular Bread Loaf Anthology series gathers more than three dozen voices who testify that there is no single American Experience, but instead a multiplicity of experiences. These poems, stories, and essays describe in occasionally stark, sometimes humorous, and often moving terms what it means to be black and American, or gay and American, or Latino and American, or Jewish and American within this society
Das Buch zum Film! Mit Helen Mirren („The Queen“) und Christopher Plummer - Filmstart am 28. Januar 2010 Im Jahre 1910, „Anna Karenina“ und „Krieg und Frieden“ sind erschienen, ist Tolstoj der berühmteste Autor der Welt. Aber er zahlt einen hohen Preis für seinen Ruhm. Jünger umlagern ihn, seine Frau Sofja kämpft um Aufmerksamkeit und Liebe, aber auch um sein Erbe und Tantiemen. Von dem verzweifelten Wunsch getrieben, am Ende seines Lebens Frieden zu finden, flieht Graf Tolstoj in einer dramatischen Aktion von seinem Gut Jasnaja Poljana. Jay Parinis Roman beschreibt dieses letzte, turbulende Jahr im Leben des großen russischen Schriftstellers aus sechs verschiedenen Perspektiven. Dabei folgt Parini den Tagebüchern Tolstojs und denen seiner Frau, seiner Tochter, seines Arztes und anderer und schafft so einen dichten, spannenden und dramatischen Text, dessen Sog man sich nicht entziehen kann. Auf der Basis genauer historischer und literarischer Recherche entsteht ein faszinierendes Bild eines Lebens, seiner Zeit und seiner Konflikte, das über die Person Tolstojs hinaus auch Allgemeingültigkeit besitzt: Was Tolstoj erlebt und erleidet, ist - so berühmt und erfolgreich, wohlhabend und begehrt er sein mag - zutiefst menschlich und für jeden verständlich. Ein großes literarisches und menschliches Erlebnis.
