In the Embrace of the Swan

In the Embrace of the Swan
Author: Rüdiger Görner
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2010-08-31
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3110215918

Myths determine the way cultures understand themselves. The papers in this volume examine culturally specific myths in Britain and the German-speaking world, and compare approaches to the theory of myth, together with the ways in which mythological formations operate in literature, aesthetics and politics ‐ with a focus on the period around 1800. They enquire into the consequences of myth-oriented discourses for the way in which these two cultures understand each other, and in this way make a significant contribution to a more profound approach to intercultural research.

Swan

Swan
Author: Mary Oliver
Publisher: Beacon Press
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2010-10-13
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0807069019

Widely regarded as the "rock star" of American poetry, Mary Oliver is a writer whose words have long had the power to move countless readers. Regularly topping the national poetry best-seller list and drawing thousands to her sold-out readings across the coutnry, Oliver is unparalleled in her impact. As noted in the Los Angeles Times, so many "go to her for solace, regeneration and inspiration" that it is not surprising Vice President Joe Biden chose to read one of her poems during the 9/11 remembrance at Ground Zero. Few poets express the complexities of human experience as skillfully as Mary Oliver. This volume, Oliver's twenty-first book of poetry, contains all new poems on her classic themes. Here, readers will find the deep spiritual sustenance that imbues her writing on nature, love, mortality, and grief. As always, Oliver is an accomplished guide to the rarest and most exquisite insights of the natural world. Ranking "among the finest poets the English language has ever produced," according to the Weekly Standard, Oliver offers us lyrics of great depth and beauty that continue her lifelong work of loving the world.

The Ice Swan

The Ice Swan
Author: J'nell Ciesielski
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2021-07-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0785248439

Amid the violent last days of the glittering Russian monarchy, a princess on the run finds her heart where she least expects it. 1917, Petrograd. Fleeing the murderous flames of the Russian Revolution, Princess Svetlana Dalsky hopes to find safety in Paris with her mother and sister. But the city is buckling under the weight of the Great War, and the Bolsheviks will not rest until they have erased every Russian aristocrat from memory. Svetlana and her family are forced into hiding in Paris’s underbelly, with little to their name but the jewels they sewed into their corsets before their terrifying escape. Born the second son of a Scottish duke, the only title Wynn MacCallan cares for is that of surgeon. Putting his talents with a scalpel to good use in the hospitals in Paris, Wynn pushes the boundaries of medical science to give his patients the best care possible. After treating Svetlana for a minor injury, he is pulled into a world of decaying imperial glitter. Intrigued by this mysterious, cold, and beautiful woman, Wynn follows Svetlana to an underground Russian club where drink, dance, and questionable dealings collide on bubbles of vodka. Out of money and options, Svetlana agrees to a marriage of convenience with the handsome and brilliant Wynn, who will protect her and pay off her family’s debts. It’s the right thing for a good man to do, but Wynn cannot help hoping the marriage will turn into one of true affection. When Wynn’s life takes an unexpected turn, so does Svetlana’s—and soon Paris becomes as dangerous as Petrograd. And as the Bolsheviks chase them to Scotland, Wynn and Svetlana begin to wonder if they will ever be able to outrun the love they are beginning to feel for one another. “The Ice Swan is a ray of light in the middle of a Europe that was sinking into darkness. Ciesielski’s talent for storytelling from the heart is a feast for the readers’ eyes.” —Mario Escobar, international bestselling author of Remember Me and Children of the Stars Adventurous World War I historical romance For fans of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams, and Aimie K. Runyan Full-length, stand-alone novel (approx. 120,000 words) Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Grief is an Origami Swan

Grief is an Origami Swan
Author: Blanchard
Publisher: Michelle Sander Media
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2020-07-31
Genre:
ISBN: 9780999902011

Begin to process your grief and remember those you've lost using the art form of origami. Learn to fold an origami swan using square, origami paper, and befriend the often confusing and sometimes unsettling feelings experienced during bereavement and after loss. With each origami swan you fold, think of the one you lost and honor their memory. Learn that grief has no timeline and carries no expiration. Your feelings, as confusing as they may be, are a valid and necessary part of the healing journey. Begin the journey today with this beautifully illustrated book. Using black-and-white nature illustrations paired with pressed florals and grasses, Michèle Saint-Michel takes you by the hand and leads you down the path toward healing. Step-by-step instructions assist even those unfamiliar with origami to fold a paper swan. Each swan folded is a chance to spend a little time with the one you've lost. Using Japanese design aesthetics like Ma and wabi-sabi, author and artist Michèle Saint-Michel builds a robust world where escape is possible-a world of magical, flightless birds, where grief and loss can begin to be embodied and safely explored.

Wild Swans

Wild Swans
Author: Jung Chang
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2008-06-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1439106495

The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history—a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author. An engrossing record of Mao’s impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung Chang describes the extraordinary lives and experiences of her family members: her grandmother, a warlord’s concubine; her mother’s struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parents’ experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a “barefoot doctor,” a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving—and ultimately uplifting—detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.

benediction for a black swan

benediction for a black swan
Author: Mimi Zollars
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2015-06-02
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 163152951X

In Benediction for a Black Swan, Mimi Zollars explores the topics of childhood, children, marriage and divorce, alcoholism, and the sensual world in a series of edgy, seductive, irreverent, and ethereal poems. Incorporating elements of magical realism, Zollars’ sexy, darkly beautiful works embrace the miraculous as ordinary—and turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Tom Swan and the Keys of Saint Peter

Tom Swan and the Keys of Saint Peter
Author: Christian Cameron
Publisher: Orion
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2021-11-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1398707554

THE BRAND NEW ADVENTURE FROM 'THE MASTER OF HISTORICAL FICTION' (SUNDAY TIMES) TOM SWAN - SOLDIER, SCHOLAR, BASTARD, SPY. Tom Swan and his friends are trying to save Europe from the Turks, but most of his adversaries seem to be other Europeans. This time, an unnamed cabal is trying to kill him and, incidentally, ruin the banks and trade of England, France, and Italy. . . Join Tom Swan on his latest adventure as the likes of Cosimo di Medici, Warwick the Kingmaker, Bessarion the cardinal and Aneas Picclomini the Pope show Tom the Renaissance in all its deadly glory! * * * * * PRAISE FOR CHRISTIAN CAMERON 'The master of historical fiction' SUNDAY TIMES 'A storyteller at the height of his powers' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY 'Superb' THE TIMES 'A sword-slash above the rest' IRISH EXAMINER

The Elemental Dialectic of Light and Darkness

The Elemental Dialectic of Light and Darkness
Author: Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401732965

The dialectic of light and darkness studied in this collection of essays reveals itself as a primal factor of life as well as the essential element of the specifically human world. From its borderline position between physis and psyche, natural growth and techne, bios and ethos, it functions as the essential factor in all the sectors of life at large. We see its crucial role in all sectors of life while, prompted by man's creative imagination, it enhances and spurs his vital as well as societal and spiritual life. This rare collection contains studies by Thomas Ryba, Krystina Górniak-Kocikowska, Lois Oppenheim, Sydney Feshback, Eldon van Lieve, Sitansu Ray, Theodore Litman, Peter Morgan, Colette Michael, Christopher Lalonde, L. Findlay, Christopher Eykman, Beverly Schlack Randles, Jorge García-Gómez, William Haney, Sherilyn Abdoo, David Brottman, Alan Pratt, Hans Rudnick, George Scheper, Freema Gottlieb, Marlies Kronegger.

Swan

Swan
Author: Peter Young
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2008-03-15
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9781861893499

In Swan Peter Young explores this animal's surprisingly complex natural history, as well as giving equal treatment to the long and rich role of the swan in human culture, from the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan to the bird’s portrayal in sculpture, furniture, and brand name logos.