English Poetry

Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age . . . and the cruelty of mirrors . . . and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books—the weird one, the outsider—and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing. But the less he eats, the bigger he feels. How long can Jake punish himself before he truly disappears?

Of Love and Desire is a rich collection of love poems written over a lifetime, capturing its many forms: from rapture, infatuation and urgency to sorrow, heartache and disillusion. Poetry was de Bernières' first and greatest literary love, a passion evident in the musicality and emotion of his poems, which are full of stories and the truth of lived experience.

From Madonna to Deepak Chopra, celebrities have been recording and embracing Rumi's poetry for the past two decades, creating a resurgence of interest in this 13th century Sufi mystic. This beautiful collection of 196 of his poems, previously unavailable in English and now translated by native Persian speakers Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin, will appeal to Rumi lovers everywhere who want a guidebook for their inner journey.

As with The Prophet, Sand and Foam was not only a success on initial publication but was also a must read for many of those in the counter-culture scene in the sixties. John Lennon even borrowed a couplet, with a slight alteration, for his famed song 'Julia'.

One of the most celebrated poets in the English language, William Blake crafted visions of Heaven, Hell, God, and Apocalypse. Effortlessly leaping from philosophy, to nursery rhymes, to mystic visions, Blake left a body of work that still puzzles scholars, and thrills listeners. So sit beside William Blake, and let him tell you of the Tyger, the Lamb, and the Everlasting Gospel.

Kai Cheng Thom grew up a Chinese Canadian transgender girl in a hostile world. As an activist, counselor, conflict mediator, and spiritual healer, she's always pursued the same deeply personal mission: to embrace the revolutionary belief that every human being, no matter how hateful or horrible, is intrinsically sacred. But then Kai Cheng found herself in a crisis of faith, overwhelmed by the violence with which people treated one another, and barely clinging to the values and dreams she'd built her life around: justice, hope, love, and healing.

Divided into five chapters, this volume is a journey through the life cycle of wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. It is a celebration of love in all its forms.

Need Machine clamors through the brain like an unruly marching band. Both caustic and thoughtful, these poems offer a topography of modern life writ large in twitchy, neon splendor, in a voice as sure as a surgeon and as trustworthy as a rumor. Honest, irreverent, and sharply indifferent, this audiobook will "hogtie you with awe."

Unspoken Words will captivate your emotions throughout the journey of buried memories, events of pain, and multiple tests of faith. In the end, can a legacy survive the silence? As a pastor, nothing gives you greater pride than seeing your son follow in your footsteps by learning to teach, believe, and abide by the Word. Pastor Derek Lewis is not any different in wanting his legacy to continue through his only son, Zayvon. But what happens when the only heir to the legacy that you built is born deaf? Do you question God?

The words of Kahlil Gibran give his book The Prophet a broad range of inspiration and philosophy. They provide exceptional insight into human desires and understanding. The vivid observations are vibrant with feeling and acceptance of life’s many questions and hopes. One review saluted the story as being untouched by the harshness of life. Gibran’s other two books, The Forerunner and The Madman, are of deep assistance in the same manner.

You’re Not a Girl in a Movie is a new collection of powerful poems by Hala Alyan, winner of the Arab American Book Award in Poetry and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In these nine extraordinary poems, Alyan wrestles with the intimate themes that have driven her acclaimed body of work to date: the aching loss of homeland, the image and worth of women, and the violence of love. In Beirut, Brooklyn, and roads in the American West, she unravels the effects of decades of war and displacement on love and human worth and identity.

James is days away from being married when he learns his fiancé Raquel has been keeping an explosive secret. Humiliated and with his reputation on the line, he sets out to destroy Raquel. The bride-to-be strikes back with a blow so intense it leaves James defenseless, with his life spiraling out of control.

This powerful new collection of wisdom will help us find hope, peace, self-acceptance, and inspiration on the days we feel worn down, helpless, or sad. Written with love and understanding, it reminds us that, amidst our daily struggles and constant outpourings of bad news, we have so much to hope for and that every one of us can play a part, big or small, in making the world a better place. Donna Ashworth helps us remember that most people in this world are good and that acts of kindness and love within our individual spheres of influence, however small, all contribute to a better future.

When little Zanna's oldest brother died just before Christmas, she was left with the gift she had made for him - a picture that only he would have understood. Every Christmas, Zanna's gift is brought out and displayed as a way of including their lost brother in the celebration. This is the story of the life of that family, and of the many gifts they gave each other that could only be understood with love.

Hush, Little Bunny is a heartwarming, lyrical love letter from a papa bunny to his little one - from David Ezra Stein, Caldecott Honor-winning creator of Interrupting Chicken and Leaves. "Hush Little Baby" is a lullaby that parents have sung to their children for generations. Now Caldecott Honor winner David Ezra Stein has reimagined the classic featuring an irresistible papa bunny and his little one.

World Tales of Wisdom and Wonder is a collection of folktales told in a weave of poetry, prose, original melody, and guitar. Drawn from cultures around the globe, these colorful tales offer a leap into fantasy and some homespun wisdom passed down through the oral tradition.

Here are a baker's dozen of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poems brought to life in the medium he always wrote for - the spoken word. As narrated by Bobby Norfolk, these poems evoke the range of moods, from elegy to wonder to celebration, that the poet is remembered for.

The Castle of Indolence was published early in the summer of 1748, four months after the poet’s death. The work was a slow and leisurely composition, which took nearly fifteen years to complete. The poem consists of 158 stanzas, divided into two cantos. It is presented as an allegory and was professedly written in imitation of The Faerie Queene. The origin of the poem appears to be the frequent remonstrances of Thomson’s friends about the poet’s well-known indolence, regarding both life and composition.

The Tao Te Ching (or Daodejing, in pinyin) is a classic Chinese Taoist text dating from at least the fourth century BC. According to tradition it has its origins even earlier, around the sixth century BC. The title may be translated as Instruction Regarding the Way of Virtue. Consisting of 81 short sections in a poetic style, the text ranges widely in content, from practical advice to universal wisdom, embracing politics, society and the personal.

Homer's masterpiece tells the story of Odysseus, the ideal Greek hero, as he travels home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, a journey of 10 years and countless thrilling adventures. Rich in Greek folklore and myth, featuring gods and goddesses, monsters and sorceresses, The Odyssey has enchanted listeners around the world for thousands of years.