What does it mean to call something “contemporary”? More than simply denoting what’s new, it speaks to how we come to know the present we’re living in and how we develop a shared story about it. The story of trying to understand the present is an integral, yet often unnoticed, part of the literature and film of our moment. In Contemporary Drift, Theodore Martin argues that the contemporary is not just a historical period but also a conceptual problem, and he claims that contemporary genre fiction offers a much-needed resource for resolving that problem. Contemporary Drift combines a theoretical focus on the challenge of conceptualizing the present with a historical account of contemporary literature and film. Emphasizing both the difficulty and the necessity of historicizing the contemporary, the book explores how recent works of fiction depict life in an age of global capitalism, postindustrialism, and climate change. Through new histories of the novel of manners, film noir, the Western, detective fiction, and the postapocalyptic novel, Martin shows how the problem of the contemporary preoccupies a wide range of novelists and filmmakers, including Zadie Smith, Colson Whitehead, Vikram Chandra, China Miéville, Kelly Reichardt, and the Coen brothers. Martin argues that genre provides these artists with a formal strategy for understanding both the content and the concept of the contemporary. Genre writing, with its mix of old and new, brings to light the complicated process by which we make sense of our present and determine what belongs to our time.

In this manifestly practical book, Richard Hendel has invited book and journal designers he admires to describe how they approach and practice the craft of book design. Designers with interesting and varied careers in the field, who work with contemporary technology in today’s publishing environment, describe their methods of managing the challenges presented by specific types of books, presented side by side with numerous images from those books. Not an instruction manual but a unique, on-the-job, title page–to–index guide to the ways that professional British and American designers think about design, Aspects of Contemporary Book Design continues the conversation that began with Hendel’s 1998 classic, On Book Design. Contributing designers who focus on solving problems posed by nonfiction, fiction, cookbooks, plays, poetry, illustrated books, and journals include Cherie Westmoreland, Amy Ruth Buchanan, Mindy Basinger Hill, Nola Burger, Ron Costley, Kristina Kachele, Barbara Wiedemann, and Sue Hall, as well as a host of other designers, typesetters, editors, and even an author. Abbey Gaterud attempts to define the conundrum that the e-book presents to designers; Kent Lew describes the evolution of his Whitman typeface family; Charles Ellertson reflects upon the vital relationship between the typesetter and the designer; and Sean Magee writes about the uneasy alliance between designers and editors. In an extended essay that is as frank and funny as it is illuminating, Andrew Barker takes the reader deep into the morass—excavating the fine, finer, and finest details of working through a series design. At the heart of this copiously illustrated book is the enduring need for design that clarifies the way for the reader, whether on the printed page or on the computer screen. Blending his roles as designer, author, interviewer, and editor, Hendel reaches across both sides of the drafting table—both real and virtual—to create a book that will appeal to aspiring and seasoned book designers as well as writers, editors, and readers who want to know more about the visual presentation of the written word.

Translated into English for the first time, On Contemporary Art, a speech by the renowned novelist César Aira, was delivered at a 2010 colloquium in Madrid dedicated to bridging the gap between writing and the visual arts. On Aira’s dizzying and dazzling path, everything comes under question—from reproducibility of artworks to the value of the written word itself. In the end, Aira leaves us stranded on the bridge between writing and art that he set out to construct in the first place, flailing as we try to make sense of where we stand. Aira’s On Contemporary Art exemplifies what the ekphrasis series is dedicated to doing—exploring the space in which words give meaning to objects, and objects shape our words. Like the great writers Walter Benjamin and Hermann Broch before him, Aira operates in the space between fiction and essay writing, art and analysis. Pursuing questions about reproducibility, art making, and limits of language, Aira’s unique voice adds new insights to the essential conversations that continue to inform our understanding of art.

A handsome devotional book that follows in the tradition of the Daily Office Book. This single volume contains all the material necessary for the reading of the Offices in Rite Two. The complete psalter, necessary prayers, and collects, as well as the New Revised Standard Version of the scripture readings are found in this deluxe leather-bound volume with gold edges, ribbon markers, and its own matching travel case.

Showcases the 500 best projects over years of Beta-Plus features on contemporary architecture and interiors. Beautiful and inspirational, this book is filled with sumptuous color photographs of projects from around the world.

An invaluable sourcebook for both enthusiastic beginners and experienced calligraphers who wish to let their imaginations run free

Brazil has famously been called a country of contradictions. It is a place where narratives of "racial democracy" exist in the face of stark inequalities, and where the natural environment is celebrated as a point of national pride, but at the same time is exploited at alarming rates. To people on the outside looking in, these contradictions seem hard to explain. Understanding Contemporary Brazil tackles these problems head-on, providing the perfect critical introduction to Brazil's ongoing social, political, economic, and cultural complexities. Key topics include: • National identity and political structure. • Economic development, environmental contexts, and social policy. • Urban issues and public security. • Debates over culture, race, gender, and spirituality. • Social inequality, protest, and social movements. • Foreign diplomacy and international engagement. By considering more broadly the historical, political economic, and socio-cultural roots of Brazil’s internal dynamics, this interdisciplinary book equips readers with the contextual understanding and critical insight necessary to explore this fascinating country. Written by renowned authors at one of the world's most important centers for the study of Brazil, Understanding Contemporary Brazil is ideal for university students and researchers, yet also accessible to any reader looking to learn more about one of the world's largest and most significant countries.