In 'The Song of Wandering Aengus' William Butler Yeats refers to the ‘fire in the head’ that characterises the visionary experience. Tom Cowan has pursued this theme in a lyrical cross-cultural exploration of shamanism and the Celtic imagin

A powerful collection of new and recently completed poems by Ben Okri covering topics of the day, such as the refugee crisis, racism, Obama, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Corona outbreak. In our times of crisis The mind has its powers This book brings together many of Ben Okri's most acclaimed and politically charged poems. Some of them, like 'Grenfell Tower, June 2017', are already familiar. Published in the Financial Times less than ten days after the fire, it was played more than 6 million times on Channel 4's Facebook page, and was retweeted by thousands on Twitter. 'Notre-Dame is Telling Us Something' was first read on BBC Radio 4, in the aftermath of the cathedral's near destruction. It spoke eloquently of the despair that was felt around the world. In 'shaved head poem', Ben Okri wrote of the confusion and anxiety felt as the world grappled with a health crisis unprecedented in our times. 'Breathing the Light' was his response to the events of summer 2020, when a black man died beneath the knee of a white policeman, a tragedy sparking a movement for change. These poems, and others including poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barack Obama, Amnesty and more, make this a uniquely powerful collection that blends anger and tenderness with Ben Okri's inimitable vision.

A wonderful anthology of poems to set fire to the imagination. We only have to 'remember, remember the 5th of November' to see a dark night filled with fireworks and bonfires. In their many different ways - through their sounds, rhythms, stories, surprises and jokes - these poems will set the fireworks crackling in our own heads. Michael Morpurgo has brought together poems by writers as diverse as Spike Milligan and Louis MacNeice, Stevie Smith and John Lennon, Jo Shapcott and Lewis Carroll. Once read, they won't be forgotten - some even beg to be learned by heart. This is anthology will form the cornerstone to a lifetime's enjoyment of poetry.

'This book gently leads the reader into a new and deeper understanding of the forest and our ancient and intrinsic connection with the trees, that has been largely forgotten in this modern age. If you wish to develop and nurture a true affinity and knowledge of trees, then Tongues in Trees will most definitely help you to do that.' Luke Eastwood, author of The Druid Garden and The Druid's Primer Trees occupy a place of enormous significance, not only in our planet’s web of life but also in our psyche. A Spell in the Forest - Tongues in Trees is part love-song, part poetic guidebook, and part exploration of thirteen native sacred British tree species. Tongues in Trees is a multi-layered contribution to the current awareness of the importance and significance of trees and the resurgence of interest in their place on our planet and in our hearts. FROM THE BOOK: 'Trees have always figured in human consciousness. I believe that when we walk among trees, or notice a particular tree, a kind of exchange happens. Trees love to be met.' 'Trees somehow mediate between ourselves and a different reality, a different order of consciousness – pre-verbal, post-verbal, trans-verbal, non-verbal – such a relief, sometimes.' 'Trees in a natural forest mirror and speak to something of the wild soul in a human. As we visit, we encounter and are supported by the elemental powers that reside in such places, and can more readily connect with our own instinctual natures and the wild soul.' 'Wildness is not to be confused with a state of chaos, being out of control, savage. It’s a question of relinquishing the ego’s grip to larger natural rhythms, cycles, surroundings: an essential aspect of thriving. When one does this, one is more receptive to one’s environment, physical or more numinous.' 'Woodland, forest, strikes me as a perfect example of the individual and the community being gracefully, harmoniously and inextricably part of each other.' 'I walk the forest, listen for birds, rivers, cascades, stories of the wildwood rustling in the leaves... try and stay aware of the great mycorrhizal web beneath my feet connecting us all...' '[T]he ancients knew that spending time among trees is one of the best approaches to health and healing. Recently, Japan has spent millions researching the health benefits of shinrin-yoku, forest-bathing.' 'In the forest I step into a different kind of time. It's not simply that it so clearly stretches back so far into the past, but also that it allows me what Thoreau described as a ‘broad margin’ to my day.' '‘Mother trees’, we know from work by Suzanne Simard, will reduce their own root competition to make room for their own offspring. Trees will also help neighbours of their own species if necessary.' 'Forests are liminal places, thresholds into a meeting of the physical and metaphysical, where we’re on the cusp of another reality...' 'In our past, our physical survival and some of our sense of meaning came from an awareness and direct experience of our connectedness with the more-than-human. We need that awareness more than ever now.' 'Our being here, our walking on this earth, is a co-creation, a mutual belonging. How to live, if not in reciprocal affinity?'

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CHLOË GRACE MORETZ A “captivating” (The New York Times Book Review), award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is a powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity. When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled as violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened? In an “unforgettable” (Elle), “stunningly brave” (NPR), and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that almost didn’t happen. “A fascinating look at the disease that…could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life” (People), Brain on Fire is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance.

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: “The terrifying story of the worst disaster in the history of the US Forest Service’s elite Smokejumpers.” —Kirkus Reviews A devastating and lyrical work of nonfiction, Young Men and Fire describes the events of August 5, 1949, when a crew of fifteen of the US Forest Service’s elite airborne firefighters, the Smokejumpers, stepped into the sky above a remote forest fire in the Montana wilderness. Two hours after their jump, all but three of the men were dead or mortally burned. Haunted by these deaths for forty years, Norman Maclean puts together the scattered pieces of the Mann Gulch tragedy in this extraordinary book. Alongside Maclean’s now-canonical A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, Young Men and Fire is recognized today as a classic of the American West. This edition of Maclean’s later triumph—the last book he would write—includes a powerful new foreword by Timothy Egan, author of The Big Burn and The Worst Hard Time. As moving and profound as when it was first published, Young Men and Fire honors the literary legacy of a man who gave voice to an essential corner of the American soul. “A moving account of humanity, nature, and the perseverance of the human spirit.” —Library Journal “Haunting.” —The Wall Street Journal “Engrossing.” —Publishers Weekly

"Vivid characters, terrifying monsters, and world building as deep and dark as the ocean." --Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years. The prophesied one. Or am I? Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers. Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one. As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves? Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess's spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare. "The magic! The intrigue! The guys! We were sucked into this monster-ridden, alternative England from page one. Henrietta is literally a 'girl on fire' and this team of sorcerers training for battle had a pinch of Potter blended with a drop of [Cassandra Clare's] Infernal Devices." --Justine Magazine "Cluess gamely turns the chosen-one trope upside down in this smashing dark fantasy." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Unputdownable. I loved the monsters, the magic, and the teen warriors who are their world's best hope! Jessica Cluess is an awesome storyteller!" --Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author "A fun, inventive fantasy. I totally have a book crush on Rook." --Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author "Pure enchantment. I love how Cluess turned the 'chosen one' archetype on its head. With the emotional intensity of my favorite fantasy books, this is the kind of story that makes you forget yourself." --Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen "A glorious, fast-paced romp of an adventure. Jessica Cluess has built her story out of my favorite ingredients: sorcery, demons, romance, and danger." --Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters