Next book

OH PRAY MY WINGS ARE GONNA FIT ME WELL

POEMS

This is Maya Angelou's second volume of poems and her poetry is just as much a part of her autobiography as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in My Name. She writes deceptively simple songs of experience that are disarming because there isn't any conventional persona between her and you when she says "Come. And Be My Baby." She's a funky kind of mother with a lowdown wisdom of the heart, which may be why you open to her sentiment. Mostly these are poems about and for people, especially children. Like "John J.," whose momma didn't want him or "Little Girl Speakings" which makes something special of the contention that "Ain't nobody better's my Daddy." There's one about "The Telephone" that never rings when you need it; and a number of rhymed and repetitive lyrics that might almost be incantations to comfort the lonely. It's all so damned artless, there's just no accounting for how strong she is, except to say Maya's got the gift.

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 1975

ISBN: 0679457070

Page Count: 66

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1975

Categories:
Next book

NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:
Next book

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

Categories:
Close Quickview