The hurdy-gurdy, or vielle, has been part of European musical life since the eleventh century. In eighteenth-century France, improvements in its sound and appearance led to its use in chamber ensembles. This new and expanded edition of The Hurdy-Gurdy in Eighteenth-Century France offers the definitive introduction to the classic stringed instrument. Robert A. Green discusses the techniques of playing the hurdy-gurdy and the interpretation of its music, based on existing methods and on his own experience as a performer. The list of extant music includes new pieces discovered within the last decade and provides new historical context for the instrument and its role in eighteenth-century French culture.

The autobiography of the Prince of Flower Power. Alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, Donovan's music defined a generation.

Poetry. African American Studies. "From the 'sweet scat' and 'jump rope hymns' of wonder and wistfulness to the transformational, lithe, sexually charged energy of jazz, HURDY-GURDY earnestly explores the differences between what we want, what we get, and what we must be willing to pursue at any cost. This is an exciting book at once fluid, shapely, and steady as stone whose tensions lead us to an authentic meditative wholeness." Mark Cox "This is not a poetry of the highfalutin violin nor the somber cello, but a melody you heard somewhere that followed you home. Elegant and silly, irreverent, fun and funny, Tim Seibles' poetry celebrates the spirit's little moments of holy joy." Sandra Cisneros"

In this essential collection of Andrei Platonov's plays, the noted Platonov translator Robert Chandler edits and introduces The Hurdy-Gurdy (translated by Susan Larsen), Fourteen Little Red Huts (translated by Chandler), and Grandmother's Little Hut (translated by Jesse Irwin). Written in 1930 and 1933, respectively, The Hurdy-Gurdy and Fourteen Little Red Huts constitute an impassioned and penetrating response to Stalin's assault on the Soviet peasantry. They reflect the political urgency of Bertolt Brecht and anticipate the tragic farce of Samuel Beckett but play out through dialogue and characterization that is unmistakably Russian. This volume also includes Grandmother's Little Hut, an unfinished play that represents Platonov's later, gentler work.

'What the doctor ordered . . . a fiercely funny novel.' Sunday Times It is the year of our Lord 1349 and it is the season of the Plague. Brothor Diggory's life is about to change. The sickness is creeping ever closer and the monks of his order must attend to the afflicted. He is about to meet the Plague. What he doesn't realise is that encountering an illness and understanding it are two quite different things . . . An uproarious and uplifting novel about sickness and health, and how perhaps we're never quite as cutting-edge as we might like to believe. 'What the doctor ordered . . . a fiercely funny novel.' Sunday Times 'Ribald yet deeply touching.' Observer 'Therapeutically hilarious.' Telegraph 'Often ingenious and frequently hilarious.' Guardian.