In his life and in his music, Cole Porter was the top—the pinnacle of wit and sophistication. From the 1910s through the ‘50s, from Yale pep rallies through the Broadway triumphs of Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate, he delighted audiences with a glittering torrent of song: “I Get a Kick Out of You.” “Night and Day,” “Love for Sale,” and “Just One of Those Things.” The bright surface of these gems—their catchy melodies and ingenious lyrics—made them instant pop hits. Their more subtle qualities and their musical and emotional depth have made them lasting standards, among the greatest glories of the American songbook. In Cole Porter, William McBrien has thoroughly captured the creator of these songs, whose life was one not only of wealth and privilege but also of tragedy, secrecy, and courage. A prodigal young man, Porter found his aesthetic and emotional anchor in a long, loving, if sexless marriage, while continuing to maintain many discreet affairs with men. In 1937, at the height of his success, he suffered a near-fatal riding accident; his last eighteen years were marked by pain, drugs, and repeated operations on his legs, years of physical agony but unstinting artistic achievement. Here is the book that Porter’s fans have long hoped for—a life that informs the great music and lyrics though illuminating glimpses of the hidden, complicated, private man.
The definitive biography of Cole Porter – the urbane American composer of musical comedies and of over 1000 songs – which reveals the darker side of the star whose life and work epitomizes the romance of Café Society.
Interweaving the life and the music, McBrien shows us a man whose genius as a composer flowered in deceptively simple melodies that were thought to be completely modern but today are considered ingenious, complicated, and steeped in the nineteenth-century tradition of lieder; a composer whose craft concealed complicated solutions to musical problems while it enchanted his audiences.
Jack Barbera and William McBrien's delightful biography of Stevie Smith--one of the most fascinating and original English literary figures of this century--captures the essence of a remarkable woman and her impact on the literary scene. Drawing on a wealth of private and archival materials, they present the fullest and most convincing portrait yet of her life and work. They depict the unhappiness of her long childhood exile in the hospital with tuberculosis, her father's abandonment of the family, and her mother's early death. The authors also paint a rich portrait of her adult life, spent almost entirely in a genteel North London suburb and shared with a beloved aunt. Although Stevie gained international recognition with the publication of Novel on Yellow Paper in 1936, she continued to work for more than 30 years as a secretary in a publishing house. In the 1960s, she enjoyed a new wave of recognition as a performer, broadcaster, and literary reviewer, receiving in 1969 the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Replete with anecdotes from Stevie's friends and excerpts from her work, this biography offers new insights into the charm and paradox of a unique poet as well as into her writings and the world in which she moved.
Keep the Faith is a series of letters from a Catholic father to his five young adult children, and by extension to all educated young adult Catholics who are at risk of losing their faith, or who have dropped out. The author presents the theology underlying Catholic teaching at a level appropriate for thinking adults, addresses the common hangups to faith, and concludes with an extended treatment of Catholic spirituality. In Keep the Faith the author meets the problem of belief and doubt with understanding and common sense, questions the adequacy of secularism as a philosophy of life, and insists that both faith and reason -- and a little poetry, beauty, and prayer -- are necessary to live a life of meaning and purpose. These can be found in the Catholic faith.
The author focuses on the seven issues indicated above: the meaning of such controversial issues as sexual integrity, divorce and remarriage, homosexual orientation, mandatory priestly celibacy, the priestly ordination of women, abortion, and the papacy. The author's purpose is not to rehash all the old arguments on the diverse sides of these topics. It is to strive to reflect on each of the topics in their broader theological, pastoral, and spiritual context.
The author has achieved his goal of providing spiritual and pastoral support for lay ministry by covering a wide spectrum of interests: historical information, spiritual growth, personal reflection, and career choices." - Lay Ministry Newsletter of the National Association for Lay MinistryLay Ministry unmasks the notion for the average Catholic that the consistancy of the tradition is also unquestionably clear. Rademacher routes us from Moses to Paul, from Ignatious to Gregory VII to John Paul II, tracing both the theology and practices that underlie contemporary ministry in the church. The trail is one that few Catholics have ever had the chance to walk, and the end point is far different from the one to which we have become accustomed. Rademacher makes points that must be understood and discussed at every level of the church if the church is to remain vibrant in our own times. The limiting definition of the seven sacraments, the restriction on lay participation in the church, the loss of the spiritual meaning of ministry, the clericalization of the church, the effects of sexism on sacrementality, and an inadequate understanding of the nature of the Christian call are all stones across the door of the tomb that block the resurrection of the church to the fullness of life. Rademacher faces them all, forthrightly and courageously. What's more he makes us face them too. Do I recommend it? I would assign it." - Joan Chittister, O.S.B.
In late nineteenth-century Toronto, municipal politics were so dominated by the Irish Protestants of the Orange Order that the city was known as the “Belfast of Canada.” For almost a century, virtually every mayor of Toronto was an Orangeman and the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne was a civic holiday. Toronto, the Belfast of Canada explores the intolerant origins of today’s cosmopolitan city. Using lodge membership lists, census data, and municipal records, William J. Smyth details the Orange Order’s role in creating Toronto’s municipal culture of militant Protestantism, loyalism, and monarchism. One of Canada’s foremost experts on the Orange Order, Smyth analyses the Orange Order’s influence between 1850 and 1950, the city’s frequent public displays of sectarian tensions, and its occasional bouts of rioting and mayhem.
Over the course of a long and distinguished academic career William Form has gained renown as a major scholar in the areas of American labor politics, institutional analysis, and educational issues surrounding the experience of ethnicity and assimilation. Much of his scholarly work derived from his own experience as the son of Italian immigrants in the early twentieth century seeking integration into the mainstream of American society. As with other American ethnic groups the entrance into elementary, secondary and higher education involved sacrifice and gain. Moreover, the period of Form's academic career saw momentous changes in study of the social sciences. In Work and Academic Politics: A Journeyman's Story, Form reflects on his own experience to provide an exemplary intellectual autobiography against the background of modernity and change in America. Form likens his career to phases of the medieval guild system. His pre-apprenticeship began with his early ethnic experiences in Rochester, New York, where he grew up and in its school system which ignored ethnic backgrounds and turned second generation children into Americans who spoke only English. After his apprenticeship at a newly established graduate program at the University of Maryland, he wandered as a journeyman at Hood College, American University, Stevens College and Kent State, ultimately attaining master's status at three land-grant universities in the midwest. Over a span of 60 years, Form traces his changing research interests. His remembrances, shaped by the interaction of family, work place, and politics, offer fresh insights into the state of academia from the Depression to the present. In the pre-World War II years, departments which were linked to social work changed drastically in the post-war period, especially in research universities, to build a scientific discipline. The turmoil of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement in the 1970s further changed the intellectual and political life of the discipline. In an eloquent manner, Form reiterates the transformations he has witnessed throughout his journey in society, the discipline, the university, and the American Sociological Association. The volume will be of particular interest to sociologists, social scientists, social historians, and specialists in ethnic studies.
This book follows the 7th Tennessee Infantry Regiment from their May 1861 mustering-in to the war's final moments at Appomattox in April 1865. It is an intensely personal account based upon the Tennesseans' letters, journals, memoirs, official reports, personnel records and family histories. It is a powerful account of courage and sacrifice. The men (a full roster is included) changed from exhilarated volunteers to battle-hardened veterans. They had eagerly rushed to join up, "anxious to confront the enemy on the battle front." Later, amid the grim realities, the Tennesseans stayed with their comrades and carried out their responsibilities. Rifleman Tom Holloway wrote, "I went into this measure with the conviction that it was my imperative duty." Eventually, as the war destroyed the Tennesseans, Lt. Ferguson Harris wrote simply, "I wonder who will be the last of us to go?
Modern Moral Problems addresses moral quandaries that can beguile and confuse faithful Catholics. Written in a question-and-answer format, the book covers questions regarding sexuality, medical ethics, business practices, civic responsibilities, and the sacramental life of the Church. The extraordinary assortment of issues-forming a single, organized collection-is a valuable reference for anyone seeking clear and concise answers to tough moral questions. Written in a conversational tone often spliced with humor, this work by a highly respected moral theologian will be read with fascination for its clarity of argument and fundamental good sense. Originally published as a monthly question-and-answer column in a magazine for priests, these selections by Msgr. William B. Smith retain a striking current topicality. Msgr. Smith often tackled matters of controversy in the Catholic Church, ones which continue to draw conflicting opinions. Interesting, informative, and eminently practical, this book conveys an overall impression that sound thinking about morality is rooted in a tradition within the Catholic Church, even when the answers to particular moral questions cannot be found in catechisms or Vatican documents. Msgr. Smith offers a clear-headed approach to the quandaries of our time precisely because of his training in traditional moral principles and his fidelity to the Catholic magisterium. This book should be in the possession of all seminarians and priests, who are bound to confront moral matters that are not so easily decided at first glance. But lay people, too, will find here rich responses to the challenging and sometimes unresolved moral questions they encounter in their own lives.
The recent sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church raised new questions about the abilities of a celibate priesthood to deal realistically with matters of sexuality. Critics and journalists who have examined these scandals have called for an end to mandatory celibacy for priests." "In this overview, Phipps points out that "mandatory celibacy is relatively new-fangled, having appeared during the last half of the church's existence. The innovation was imposed in the feudal and crusading era, a dark period for the Church."" "In order to provide this survey, Phipps probes ancient religious texts and church history and uses studies that provide factual assessments of the general individual and cultural consequences of celibacy. He avoids anecdotal evidence about celibacy and offers a balanced exploration by allowing celibate advocates and church representatives to speak in their own voices about these matters."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This book is a full-length study of the British novelist, poet, and illustrator Stevie Smith (1902-1971). It draws on extensive archival material to offer new insights into her work, challenging conventional readings of her as an eccentric. It reveals the careful control with which she managed her public persona, reassesses her allusive poetry in the light of her own conflicted response to written texts, and traces her simultaneous preoccupation with and fear of her reading public. William May considers the influence of artists such as George Grosz and Aubrey Beardsley on her apparently artless illustrations and explores her use of fiction and book reviews as a way of generating contexts for her poetry, offering readers a fascinating in-depth study that not only radically alters our understanding of Smith and her work, but provides new perspectives on British twentieth-century poetry and its reception.
This book is a full-length study of the British novelist, poet, and illustrator Stevie Smith (1902-1971). It draws on extensive archival material to offer new insights into her work, challenging conventional readings of her as an eccentric. It reveals the careful control with which she managed her public persona, reassesses her allusive poetry in the light of her own conflicted response to written texts, and traces her simultaneous preoccupation with and fear of her reading public. William May considers the influence of artists such as George Grosz and Aubrey Beardsley on her apparently artless illustrations and explores her use of fiction and book reviews as a way of generating contexts for her poetry, offering readers a fascinating in-depth study that not only radically alters our understanding of Smith and her work, but provides new perspectives on British twentieth-century poetry and its reception.
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