Showing titles in Art & Literature

"Poets live the lives all of us live," says Bill Moyers, "with one big difference. They have the power--the power of the word--to create a world of thoughts and emotions other can share. We only have to learn to listen." In a series of fascinating conversations with thirty-four American poets...

Three years before she began writing her New York Times best-selling book I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying, Bassey Ikpi returned to her native Nigeria to try to piece together a life that had fallen apart. Her career had been cut short by a bipolar II diagnosis and hospitalization, and she longed to find her way back to it. Nigeria welcomed her with promise. That fall, she created BasseyWorld presents Naija Poetry Slam, Nigeria's first National Poetry Slam competition, and she started getting hopeful.

In 1900, an 18-year-old Spaniard named Pablo Picasso made his first trip to Paris. It was in this glittering capital of the international art world that, after suffering years of poverty and neglect, he emerged as the leader of a bohemian band of painters, sculptors, and poets. Fueled by opium and alcohol, inspired by raucous late-night conversations at the Lapin Agile cabaret, Picasso and his friends resolved to shake up the world.

Sir Terry Pratchett was a much-loved writer who gained international fame for his Discworld fantasy series. In this recording we hear - in his own words - about science-fantasy and comedy writing. He discusses his fans and followers, how he enjoys writing and the importance of the Discworld...

Joining us in the studio to talk about his latest book, Rebel Ideas, is British table tennis Olympian, author, journalist and broadcaster Matthew Syed. Known for being the ping-pong guy from popular sports podcast Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy, Matthew Syed started his career as a table tennis player, competing in two Olympic games, and was ranked as a top player in England for 10 years. Since then, Matthew moved on to a career in journalism, writing a column in The Times and broadcasting on the BBC and Eurosport.

The Patient Assassin covers the events of the Amritsar Massacre of 1919 in which hundreds of lives were lost when the army opened fire on a crowd with no warnings. An injured survivor, Udham Singh, vowed, wiping blood-soaked earth onto his forehead, that he would kill the men responsible. The Patient Assassin follows him through Africa and the US and across Europe to end up in front of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, who had sent the men to attack.

Joining us at Audible Studios is Alex Bertie, YouTube vlogger of his transgender journey and author of Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard. When Alex was born, doctors took one look and put an 'F' for female on the birth certificate, based on genitals. When Alex was 15 he realised he was a transgender man, through many years of struggling with identity. After coming out to family and friends, Alex battled the health-care system in order to take male hormones, have surgery, change his name and grow a beard.

After beginning a career in psychiatric nursing, Jo Brand moved to the alternative comedy stand-up scene with early performances on Saturday Live and later appearing in the likes of The Brain Drain and Jo Brand Through the Cakehole. Brand is the author of four novels and is currently the presenter of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, and her latest book, Born Lippy, was published in October 2018.

Early one autumn afternoon in pursuit of an elusive book on her shelves, Susan Hill encountered dozens of others that she had never read, or forgotten she owned, or wanted to read for a second time. The discovery inspired her to embark on a year-long voyage through her books, forsaking new purchases in order to get to know her own collection again. A book which is left on a shelf for a decade is a dead thing, but it is also a chrysalis, packed with the potential to burst into new life.

Self-help expert Jamie Smart joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss the writing and narrating processes for his books.

C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?

Twain's retelling of his adventures in Europe, A Tramp Abroad exudes with the author's shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World culture, and showcases his unparalleled ability to integrate humorous sketches, autobiographical tidbits, and historical anecdotes in a consistently entertaining narrative. Cast in the form of a walking tour through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy, A Tramp Abroad includes among its adventures a voyage by raft down the Neckar and an ascent of Mount Blanc by telescope, as well as the author's attempts to study art.

Joining us at Audible Studios is founder and CEO of Netflix Marc Randolph, who has founded over eight companies and is a serial entrepreneur. Randolph's Netflix journey began alongside his friend Reed Hastings in 1997, when they decided to give mail-order DVDs a try. Randolph, having picked up marketing and other tricks of the trade through previous roles, designed the original user interface and spent the first year of Netflix testing different designs to create the perfect business model for customer satisfaction.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about his latest book, Life 3.0, is renowned physicist and cosmologist Max Tegmark. A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and scientific director of the Foundational Questions Institute, Tegmark cofounded the Future of Life institute and has been instrumental in advising on AI research. His latest book, Life 3.0, looks at the new age of artificial intelligence and the consequences of it.

In 1993, teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr.—who have come to be known as the West Memphis Three—were arrested for the murders of three eight-year-old boys in Arkansas. The ensuing trial was marked by tampered evidence, false testimony, and public hysteria...

American entrepreneur, blogger and author Eric Ries talks to Audible about the release of his latest audiobook, The Startup Way. An intelligent, innovative and highly educational title, it has received rave reviews from critics and industry experts. In this exclusive interview, Eric discusses his journey from business mogul to celebrated author as well as his advice to companies of varying sizes in what he deems is an unknown and ever-changing time for the economy.

The Zen Buddhist teacher and writer Haemin Sunim visits the Audible Studios to discuss The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm in a Busy World. With over three million copies of his book sold worldwide and more than a million followers on social media, Haemin Sunim is one of the world's most influential Buddhist teachers. He shares his journey from South Korea to Harvard and back again in his own words and explains why life at a slower pace would be better for us all.

Joining us in the Audible Studios to discuss his latest novel, Smile, is award-winning novelist, dramatist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle, who talks to us about his own childhood growing up in Dublin and the backstory behind his 11th novel. One of the most celebrated Irish authors of the late 20th century, Roddy Doyle tells us why his latest novel is different from the others.

Legendary short story writer George Saunders joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to talk about his long-awaited first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. George has won decades of acclaim for his short-story collections (1996's CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, 2013's Tenth of December) that amplify the intricacies of American culture via the surreal and fantastical. He's a longtime contributor to The New Yorker and GQ and a professor at Syracuse.

See the difference, read Maya Angelou in Large Print * About Large Print All Random House Large Print editions are published in a 16-point typeface This wise book is the wonderful continuation of the bestselling Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now. Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya...