The 1950s witnessed both the birth of both rock and roll and the creation of Southern literature as we know it. Around the time that Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley put their electric spin on Southern vernacular ballads, a canonical group of white American authors native to rock’s birthplace began to write fiction about the electrification of those ballads, translating into literary form key cultural changes that gave rise to the infectious music coming out of their region. In Novel Sounds, Florence Dore tells the story of how these forms of expression became intertwined and shows how Southern writers turned to rock music and its technologies—tape, radio, vinyl—to develop the “rock novel.” Dore considers the work of Southern writers like William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and William Styron alongside the music of Bessie Smith, Lead Belly, and Bob Dylan to uncover deep historical links between rock and Southern literature. Along with rock pioneers, Southern authors drew from blues, country, jazz, and other forms to create a new brand of realism that redefined the Southern vernacular as global, electric, and notably white. Resurrecting this Southern literary tradition at the birth of rock, Dore clarifies the surprising but unmistakable influence of rock and roll on the American novel. Along the way, she explains how literature came to resemble rock and roll, an anti-institutional art form if there ever was one, at the very moment academics claimed literature for the institution.

The Adaptive Brain, II: Vision, Speech, Language, and Motor Control focuses on a unified theoretical analysis and predictions of important psychological and neurological data that illustrate the development of a true theory of mind and brain. The publication first elaborates on the quantized geometry of visual space and neural dynamics of form perception. Discussions focus on reflectance rivalry and spatial frequency detection, figure-ground separation by filling-in barriers, and disinhibitory propagation of functional scaling from boundaries to interiors. The text then takes a look at neural dynamics of perceptual grouping and brightness perception. Topics include simulation of a parametric binocular brightness study, smoothly varying luminance contours versus steps of luminance change, macrocircuit of processing stages, paradoxical percepts as probes of adaptive processes, and analysis of the Beck theory of textural segmentation. The book examines the neural dynamics of speech and language coding and word recognition and recall, including automatic activation and limited-capacity attention, a macrocircuit for the self-organization of recognition and recall, role of intra-list restructuring arid contextual associations, and temporal order information across item representations. The manuscript is a vital source of data for scientists and researchers interested in the development of a true theory of mind and brain.

book by Stephen Gislason emerged from his Music Notes collected over many years. The topics cover a wide range of interests from the history of instruments, music theory, composing to the most current technologies involved in music composition and sound recording. A special chapter on the Musical Brain explains current knowledge in the brain processing of sound as it applies to language and music decoding. A chapter on the Music Business reviews the dramatic changes in music marketed and discusses some of the dilemmas and controversies facing musicians. Preface This book emerged from notes I have kept for several decades. I have spent much time studying music theory, electronics applied to sound reproduction and to performance skills. I decided to assemble my music notes so that any person interested in music could benefit from simple, clear explanations. Music descriptions often are too complicated and the use of terms can be inconsistent and confusing. As with other subjects I have tackled, I assumed that with a little extra effort more precise descriptions would be welcomed by readers seeking a practical understanding of music. The book begins with a consideration of what sound is and how animals use sounds to communicate. Music is not a human invention, but we do elaborate sound communication more than other animals in our production of both speech and musical performances. The discussion continues with noise, an important topic that is poorly understood. A well informed musician will refrain from making noise and understand Ambrose Bierce when he stated: Of all noise, music is the less offensive." I include acoustic and electronic instruments in my discussions of music creation. In my world, electronics dominate every aspect of work and play and most music I create and listen to was created, stored and distributed electronically. The art and science of recording is an important study for all 21st century musicians. Increased sophistication about the nature of sound, the art of combining musical sounds, and the effect on the listener's brain are all required for music to advance beyond noise toward a more effective means of human communication. Stephen Gislason 2016

In love with romance novels? You’re not alone! Romance is today’s most popular fiction genre, accounting for more than half of all mass market fiction sold. If you’re looking to make a serious effort at writing a romance and getting it published in today’s multifaceted markets, you need to learn as much as you can about this highly successful field—especially how to create the perfect heroes and heroines. Now, in this easy, step-by-step guide, a top romance editor gives you the know-how you need to succeed as a romance novelist! Writing A Romance Novel For Dummies is perfect for both beginning and more accomplished writers who are looking to get the leading edge on writing a romance novel and get it published. Leslie Wainger, Executive Editor at Harlequin Books, explains what it takes to become the next Nora Roberts, providing the techniques you need to: Select a pseudonym Write a compelling, heartfelt story Find the right agent and publisher Submit a manuscript Market your novel Join clubs and associations Packed with insider advice, this plain-English guide helps you grasp the building blocks of a great romance, providing practical tips on the craft of writing as well as savvy pointers on how to hook your reader from page one, write with passion, and shape a proposal that will wow agents and editors. You get lots of expert tips on analyzing the marketplace, creating compelling characters, and finding your own voice. Wainger also: Demystifies the sub-genres of the romance world, from historical, contemporary, and multicultural to paranormal, romantic suspense, and Christian/inspirational Explains plotting, pacing, and writing those crucial love scenes Discusses how to conduct research, assign credits, and get permissions Helps you decide whether it’s best to write alone or with a partner Complete with a manuscript preparation checklist, tips for revising your work smoothly and successfully, guidance in understanding and negotiating a contract, and a list of romance writing resources, Writing A Romance Novel For Dummies is your one-stop guide to becoming a published novelist!

A National Book Award Finalist Brad Watson's first novel was eagerly awaited after his breathtaking, award-winning debut collection of short stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men. In The Heaven of Mercury, Watson fulfills that literary promise with a humorous and jaundiced eye. Finus Bates has loved Birdie Wells since the day he saw her do a naked cartwheel in the woods in 1916. Later he won her at poker, lost her, then nearly won her again after the mysterious poisoning of her womanizing husband. Does Vish, the old medicine woman down in the ravine, hold the key to Birdie's elusive character? Or does Parnell, the town undertaker, whose unspeakable desires bring lust for life and death together? Or does the secret lie with some other colorful old-timer in Mercury, Mississippi, not such a small town anymore? With "graceful, patient, insightful and hilarious" prose (USA Today), Brad Watson chronicles Finus's steadfast devotion and Mercury's evolution from a sleepy backwater to a small city.

Encyclopedic in scope and heroically audacious, The Novel: An Alternative History is the first attempt in over a century to tell the complete story of our most popular literary form. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the novel did not originate in 18th-century England, nor even with Don Quixote, but is coeval with civilization itself. After a pugnacious introduction, in which Moore defends innovative, demanding novelists against their conservative critics, the book relaxes into a world tour of the pre-modern novel, beginning in ancient Egypt and ending in 16th-century China, with many exotic ports-of-call: Greek romances; Roman satires; medieval Sanskrit novels narrated by parrots; Byzantine erotic thrillers; 5000-page Arabian adventure novels; Icelandic sagas; delicate Persian novels in verse; Japanese war stories; even Mayan graphic novels. Throughout, Moore celebrates the innovators in fiction, tracing a continuum between these pre-modern experimentalists and their postmodern progeny. Irreverent, iconoclastic, informative, entertaining-The Novel: An Alternative History is a landmark in literary criticism that will encourage readers to rethink the novel.

This Companion focuses on the novel as a global genre with a 2,000-year history. The first section includes an examination of the various genres out of which it emerged (epic, history, romance, the picaresque) and the different ways in which fiction and realism (magical, hyper, and social) were developed in response to specific political, social, and economic forces. The second section focuses on how the novel works, considering how it has played a crucial role in the formation of more abstract social, political, and familial identities. The third section considers what the novel has become and will continue to become in the twenty-first century. It examines the recent interest in graphic novels as well as data, digitization, and a global literary marketplace's role in shaping the future of the novel. This book will be a key resource for students and scholars studying the novel as a genre.