Scholars have used Levinas as a lens through which to view many authors and texts, fields of endeavor, and works of art. Yet no book-length work or dedicated volume has brought this thoughtful lens to bear in a sustained discussion of the works of Shakespeare. It should not surprise anyone that Levinas identified his own thinking as Shakespearean. "The play's the thing" for both, or put differently, the observation of intersubjectivity is. What may surprise and indeed delight all learned readers is to consider what we might yet gain from considering each in light of the other. Comprising leading scholars in philosophy and literature, Of Levinas and Shakespeare: "To See Another Thus" is the first book-length work to treat both great thinkers. Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth dominate the discussion; however, essays also address Cymbeline, The Merchant of Venice, and even poetry, such as Venus and Adonis. Volume editors planned and contributors deliver a thorough treatment from multiple perspectives, yet none intends this volume to be the last word on the subject; rather, they would have it be a provocation to further discussion, an enticement for richer enjoyment, and an invitation for deeper contemplation of Levinas and Shakespeare.

Fundamentals of the Art of Poetry takes the reader on a journey that sets out with a consideration of the various arts humankind has created, and then focuses on the special art of poetry: what poetry is, what it does and must do in order to 'succeed' for whom it does what it does, and, in detail, how it goes about doing what it tries to do. Twenty-two chapters deal with subjects like 'The Constituencies for Art', 'What Meaning Means', 'Acceptable and Unacceptable Propositions', 'The Right Word in the Right Place', 'The Sounds that Matter in Poetry', 'Energetic Metaphor: the Major Figure' and so on, including an eloquent epilogue 'Touching Genius'. Writing with great brio and tough-minded lucidity, the Belgo-American poet, dramatist, scholar and essayist examines a host of concepts concerning the arts in general and poetry in particular. This highly original Ars poetica will be of interest to general readers, college students, poets curious about their own metier, and last but not least, literary critics and theorists who will encounter many a discreet challenge to current ideas in its pages.

Thirty-eight rare, out-of-print or previously unpublished essays and letters by Lawrence Durrell with scholarly introduction.