Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Provocative, observant, and daring, this 1992 novel by one of America’s preeminent lesbian writers and thinkers is being reissued for the Little Sister’s Classics series. Anna O. is a loner in New York, an office temp obsessed with a mysterious woman in white leather; Doc is a post-Freudian psychiatrist who hands out business cards to likely neurotics on street corners, and is looking for his own personal... (more)

Cocteau

by Dominique Paini, Jean Cocteau, Francois Nemer, V. Loth

Jean Cocteau (1890-1963) was his contemporary Marcel Duchamp’s exact opposite: while Duchamp retreated from creating, Cocteau embraced art in all its forms--music, opera, ballet, and film as well as theatre, novels, graphics, and poetry--while never becoming attached to one "school" (especially not the Surrealists). Angel-weight rather than heavyweight, Cocteau may seem more glitter than gold. But he deserves... (more)

Oulipo Compendium (Atlas Archive)

Anthology of prose, poetry and literary critcism. "OULIPO COMPENDIUM is a late 20th-century kabala, a labyrinth of literary secrets that will lure the uninitiated into rethinking everything they know about books and writing. The editors have done an astounding job putting together this nutty, one-of-a-kind book. It is the definitive encyclopedia of contemporary word-magic" -- Paul Auster. "Oulipo was--is--a... (more)

Helmut Newton, a Gun for Hire (Photo Books S.)

Helmut Newton, a Gun for Hire (Photo Books S.)

A selection of Newton's fashion catalog work! Helmut Newton once said, "Some people’s photography is an art. Mine is not. If they happen to be exhibited in a gallery or a museum, that’s fine. But that’s not why I do them. I’m a gun for hire." (Newsweek, 02/02/04) This prosaic proclamation from one of the 20th century’s most celebrated photographers is not a little shocking, but nonetheless firmly positions Newton... (more)

Alma, or the Dead Women

by Alice Notley

Alice Notley’s Alma, or The Dead Women is a cross-genre book, poem/novel, poetry/prose, comedy/tragedy, that submits to no discipline but its own and was conceived by the author in a state of personal, national and planetary grief. In this book, Alma, the true god of our world, is a foul-mouthed middle-aged working-class woman, a junkie who injects heroin into the center of her forehead and dreams and suffers... (more)

Conceitos da Arte Moderna

After the Great Divide: Modernism, Mass Culture, Postmodernism

After the Great Divide: Modernism, Mass Culture, Postmodernism

by Andreas Huyssen

"One of the most comprehensive and intelligent postmodern critics of art and literature, Huyssen collects here a series of his essays on pomo... " -- Village Voice Literary Supplement "... his work remains alert to the problematic relationship obtaining between marxisms and poststructuralisms." -- American Literary History "... challenging and astute." -- World Literature Today "Huyssen's level-headed account... (more)

Our Films Their Films

by Satyajit Ray, Si. Vi Subba?ra?vu

This book brings together Satyajit Ray's major writings and talks on film making and film makers, and presents them in two sections. 'Our Films' is devoted mainly to his own experiences and contains many interesting anecdotes, but also has observations to offer on trends in Indian films. 'Their Films' deals with some films from abroad that have become landmarks in the history of the cinema from the silent era to... (more)

The Velvet Underground Companion: Four Decades of Commentary (The Schirmer Companion Series , No 8)

The Velvet Underground Companion: Four Decades of Commentary (The Schirmer Companion Series , No 8)

by Albin, Iii Zak

Eighth in the Schirmer Companion Series, the Velvet Underground Companion collects important articles, reviews, interviews, and essays on this influential, avante garde band. Extensive interviews with the bands members, including Lou ReedArticles, reviews, and memoirs by Paul Williams, Ellen Willis, David Friche, and John Cale, among others.Alban Zak is a garduate student at CUNY Albany studying the history of... (more)

A History of African American Jazz and Blues

A History of African American Jazz and Blues

by Joan Cartwright

Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest

by Eric Nisenson

Tenor saxophone player Coltrane was a pioneer of free-form jazz, a forerunner of today's world music, and one of the first artists to reflect society's tribulations through his art form--a true original. Nisenson explores the shadow Coltrane cast in this must-read for music fans. Selected discography.