New Poetry

The award-winning, New York Times bestselling literary masterpiece of Shirley Hazzard—the story of two beautiful orphan sisters whose fates are as moving and wonderful, and yet as predestined, as the transits of the planets themselves A Penguin Classic Considered "one of the great English-language novels of the twentieth century" (The Paris Review), The Transit of Venus follows Caroline and Grace Bell as they leave Australia to begin a new life in post-war England. From Sydney to London, New York, and Stockholm, and from the 1950s to the 1980s, the two sisters experience seduction and abandonment, marriage and widowhood, love and betrayal. With exquisite, breathtaking prose, Australian novelist Shirley Hazzard tells the story of the displacements and absurdities of modern life. The result is at once an intricately plotted Greek tragedy, a sweeping family saga, and a desperate love story.

This is an informative, up-to-date and well-illustrated guide to planetary observations for amateurs. After a brief description of the solar system and a chapter on the celestial sphere, readers are shown how to choose, test and use a telescope with various accessories and how to make observations and record results. For each planet and the asteroids, details are given of observational techniques, together with suggestions for how to make contributions of scientific value. From a general description and detailed observational history of each planet, observers can anticipate what they should see and assess their own observations. The chapter on planetary photography includes the revolutionary use of videography, charge coupled devices and video-assisted drawing. There are also chapters on making maps and planispheres and on photoelectric photometry.

This National Book Award-winning debut poetry collection is a "powerfully evocative" (The New York Review of Books) meditation on the black female figure through time. Robin Coste Lewis's electrifying collection is a triptych that begins and ends with lyric poems meditating on the roles desire and race play in the construction of the self. In the center of the collection is the title poem, "Voyage of the Sable Venus," an amazing narrative made up entirely of titles of artworks from ancient times to the present—titles that feature or in some way comment on the black female figure in Western art. Bracketed by Lewis's own autobiographical poems, "Voyage" is a tender and shocking meditation on the fragmentary mysteries of stereotype, juxtaposing our names for things with what we actually see and know. A new understanding of biography and the self, this collection questions just where, historically, do ideas about the black female figure truly begin—five hundred years ago, five thousand, or even longer? And what role did art play in this ancient, often heinous story? Here we meet a poet who adores her culture and the beauty to be found within it. Yet she is also a cultural critic alert to the nuances of race and desire—how they define us all, including her own sometimes painful history. Lewis's book is a thrilling aesthetic anthem to the complexity of race—a full embrace of its pleasure and horror, in equal parts.

The author of the modern classic, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus presents a practical guide to living our lives to the fullest in a time of tremendous change In this powerful book, John Gray encourages readers to return to what’s most important in order to create a life of lasting love, health, and happiness. John Gray reveals that by awakening the hidden power to create miracles, readers will more effectively adjust to life’s challenges and respond with greater peace, joy, confidence, and love. He provides nine guiding principles to live by and shows how to fill each day with increasing wonder, power, and fulfillment: 1. Believe as if miracles are truly possible 2. Live as if you are free to do what you want 3. Learn as if you are a beginner 4. Love as if for the first time 5. Give as if you already have what you need 6. Work as if money doesn’t matter 7. Talk to God as if you are being heard 8. Feast as if you can have whatever you want John Gray once again helps readers live a rich and fulfilling life. Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus presents an inspiring message of self-acceptance and joy.

Popular marriage counselor and seminar leader John Gray provides a unique, practical and proven way for men and women to communicate and relate better by acknowledging the differences between them. Once upon a time Martians and Venusians met, fell in love, and had happy relationships together because they respected and accepted their differences. Then they came to earth and amnesia set in: they forgot they were from different planets. Using this metaphor to illustrate the commonly occurring conflicts between men and women, Gray explains how these differences can come between the sexes and prohibit mutually fulfilling loving relationships. Based on years of successful counseling of couples, he gives advice on how to counteract these differences in communication styles, emotional needs and modes of behavior to promote a greater understanding between individual partners. Gray shows how men and women react differently in conversation and how their relationships are affected by male intimacy cycles ("get close", "back off"), and female self-esteem fluctuations ("I'm okay", "I'm not okay"). He encourages readers to accept the other gender's particular way of expressing love, and helps men and women learn how to fulfill each other's emotional needs. With practical suggestions on how to reduce conflict, crucial information on how to interpret a partner's behavior and methods for preventing emotional "trash from the past" from invading new relationships, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus is a valuable tool for couples who want to develop deeper and more satisfying relationships with their partners.