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AMERICAN LITERATURE

AMERICAN LITERATURE


NEW ENGLAND TRANSCENDENTALISTS, THE: THE AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALISTS - CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

The ideas and ideals of three American Transcendentalists-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller-initially given expression through The Dial continue to shape the discourse of literature, philosophy, and religion worldwide. This program, hosted by James H. Bride II and divided into eight chapters, traces the origins and defines the concept of Transcendentalism. It also spotlights key landmarks in and around Concord, where the Transcendental movement began, while profiling Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller in depth through readings, interviews, and dramatizations from significant Transcendentalist texts. Scholarly commentary is provided by Richard Baker, Lawrence Buell, Burnham Carter, Philip McFarland, Joan von Mehren, Joel Myerson, Wesley Mott, Robert Richardson Jr., and David Reynolds. Several dramatic passages are reenacted by Jeffrey Hyatt as Thoreau at Walden Pond.

Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

Item no.: KP02452767
Format: DVD
Duration: 54 minutes
Copyright: 2008
StdBkNo: 9781421387727
Price: USD 169.95

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RAISIN IN THE SUN, A: CHARACTER STUDIES CONVERSATIONS

Hosted by Eli Wallach

This program dissects Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun through the sharp insights of Joe Morton (Walter Lee Younger); Kim Yancey (Beneatha Younger); Phylicia Rashad (Lena Younger); Ruby Dee, Audra McDonald, Starletta DuPois, and Ernestine Jackson (Ruth Younger); Ralph Carter (Travis Younger); John Fiedler (Carl Lindner); directors Lloyd Richards and Jack Hofsiss; Broadway producer Philip Rose; and Hansberry expert Lynn Domina, author of Understanding A Raisin in the Sun: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. The first play to realistically portray the daily lives of a contemporary African-American family, Raisin-a revolutionary work about race written during the civil rights era-makes the universal statement that dreams of a better future are important to everyone.

Item no.: NP00272346
Format: DVD
Duration: 60 minutes
Copyright: 2008
StdBkNo: 9781421386393
Price: USD 169.95

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EMERSON: THE IDEAL IN AMERICA (EDUCATOR'S EDITION)

A generation after Americans had freed themselves politically and economically from Britain, it would be up to Ralph Waldo Emerson to carry the Revolution to individual men and women by exhorting them to a freedom of the spirit as well. Through a detailed recounting of Emerson's life, this program traces his vision of the ideal in America from its genesis to its flowering as the principles of Transcendentalism. Readings from Emerson's journals, addresses, and published works - including Nature and "Self-Reliance" - are interwoven throughout. Commentary is provided by Robert Richardson, author of Emerson: The Mind on Fire; Richard Geldard, author of God in Concord; and others.

Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

Reviews
  • "An efficient and engaging introduction to the overall shape of Emerson's life and thought. Recommended."-Educational Media Reviews Online

  • "Provides a comprehensive overview of [Emerson's] major contribution to American literature and the intellectual movement of the time.... Bonus materials on [DVD] explore the strong influence of women in his life, the role of oratory, the Lyceum Movement, and Eastern influences on Transcendentalism."-School Library Journal

  • Recommended by Curriculum Connections.

    Item no.: HB02452828
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 54 minutes
    Copyright: 2007
    StdBkNo: 9781421380483
    Price: USD 169.95

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    GLASS MENAGERIE, THE: CHARACTER STUDIES CONVERSATIONS

    Tennessee Williams' masterpiece The Glass Menagerie is a prime example of the memory play in modern literature. In this program hosted by Eli Wallach, former cast members and directors of Menagerie discuss plot and thematic elements, the characterization of some of theater's most memorable and enduring dramatic figures, and the era in which the play was written. Commentary is provided by Ruby Dee, Olympia Dukakis, Julie Harris, and Molly Regan (Amanda); James Naughton (Jim, the Gentleman Caller); Eric Stoltz and Sam Waterston (Tom); Martha Plimpton (Laura); and directors Mark Brokaw and Austin Pendleton.

    Item no.: YH00272354
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 55 minutes
    Copyright: 2007
    StdBkNo: 9781421382791
    Price: USD 169.95

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    OUR TOWN: CHARACTER STUDIES CONVERSATIONS

    In Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, the time is 1901 and the place is America's collective memory. But Thornton Wilder's Our Town is not the sentimental nostalgia piece most people perceive. This program hosted by Eli Wallach offers wide-ranging and extraordinarily deep insights into the play from those who arguably know it best: Our Town alumni who over the years have brought the play to life on stage and screen. Interviews with Paul Newman (Stage Manager); Cynthia Nixon and Maggie Lacey (Emily Webb); Paul Newman, Ben Fox, Harvey Evans, and Eric Stoltz (George Gibbs); James Rebhorn (Doc Gibbs); Frances Conroy (Mrs. Gibbs); Jeff DeMunn (Editor Webb); and Stephen Spinella (Simon Stimson) are featured. Our Town director James Naughton and Tom Jones, writer of the musical adaptation Grover's Corners, also contribute.

    Reviews
  • "A fine choice for American studies and drama classes." - School Library Journal

  • "The DVD interviews a who's who of actors of stage, film, and television, all of whom at one or more points in their career acted in Our Town. It was thrilling to listen to the insights of Paul Newman, Cynthia Nixon, Stephen Spinella, Erik Stoltz, Frances Conroy, James Rebhorn, Jeffrey de Munn, and others. Directors of adaptations of Our Town also make interesting comments about the themes of the play, its revolutionary theatrical style, and audiences' response to their productions. These theatre artists also brought the perspective of working on major revivals of Our Town at different time periods and parts of the country. It was fascinating watching these actors and directors reflect on their craft, the play's challenges, and what it teaches us about our relationships, American society, and life as a whole. The online teacher's guide would be very helpful for teaching the play and incorporating the DVD at both the high school and college levels. It contains fast facts (e.g., stats on population, life expectancy, the economy, etc.) at the time the action of Our Town takes place. There are stimulating discussion questions and learning activities, as well as photographs from the original stage production and the feature film. I intend to show the documentary to students in my Wilder course. I think theatre students will greatly value what the theatre artists say about the process of mounting a production, and the English majors will engage with the interpretation of the themes of the play." - Lincoln Konkle, Professor of English at The College of New Jersey and Executive Director of the Thornton Wilder Society; author of Thornton Wilder and the Puritan Narrative Tradition (2006)

  • Recommended by Curriculum Connections.

    Item no.: YL02301552
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 68 minutes
    Copyright: 2007
    StdBkNo: 9781421366678
    Price: USD 169.95

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    REALISM: THE ARTISTIC SHAPE OF THE TRUTH

    It is a creative impulse as old as humanity itself: to depict life faithfully, accurately, in words or images. This program shows how that impulse led to Realism-a widespread artistic movement, born in the latter half of the 19th century, which rejected pretense, distortion, and sentimentality. Incorporating interviews with art historians and literary scholars, the program explores the sociopolitical origins of the phenomenon in the 1848 Revolution in France and the concurrent wave of industrialization that swept Europe and America. Luminous images by Edouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, and Honore Daumier-along with the unflinching writings of Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, August Strindberg, and Heinrik Ibsen-are analyzed and compared with the work of Thomas Eakins, George Bellows, Mark Twain, Jack London, Stephen Crane, and others. The contributions of early photographers and filmmakers, as well as the first stirrings of feminism, are also examined.

    Awards
  • 2007 Silver Telly Award-Education (for academic use) category

  • 2007 Silver Telly Award-Cultural category

  • Bronze Plaque, 55th Columbus International Film & Video Festival

    Item no.: CC00271999
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 50 minutes
    Copyright: 2007
    StdBkNo: 9781421369167
    Price: USD 169.95

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    AMERICAN POET LAUREATES

    The U.S. Poet Laureate has a unique opportunity to shape America's literary terrain-by fostering public appreciation of poetry and by continuing to produce his or her own work. This NewsHour collection profiles six such honorees at the onset of their terms. Each author reflects on experiences that have influenced his writing and describes what he hopes to accomplish during his tenure. In addition, each laureate reads a few of his own poems. Robert Pinsky delivers a compelling rendition of "December Blues," Ted Kooser movingly presents "Father," and Stanley Kunitz records a powerful recitation of "The Layers." Donald Hall, Robert Hass, and Billy Collins are also featured.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

    Item no.: SY00272276
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 60 minutes
    Copyright: 2006
    StdBkNo: 9781421362014
    Price: USD 169.95

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    AMERICAN WRITERS ON WRITING

    Updike, Roth, Barth, Irving: their names reverberate in the halls of modern American literature. In this NewsHour program, these four literary icons - along with the highly regarded writers Frank McCourt and Susan Sontag - offer insights into their books and the heady, and sometimes frustrating, process of writing them.

    Episodes include...

  • Irish Ashes - A Conversation with Frank McCourt: Elizabeth Farnsworth speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Frank McCourt about his Irish childhood and his best-selling memoir Angela's Ashes.

  • Art of the Story - A Conversation with John Barth: Elizabeth Farnsworth is joined by John Barth, author of epic-length novels and the shortest of short stories, to talk about storytelling and his book On with the Story.

  • From Print to Film - A Conversation with John Irving: Elizabeth Farnsworth interviews novelist/screenwriter John Irving on adapting his novels for the cinema, with a focus on The Cider House Rules.

  • Wake Up, America - A Conversation with Susan Sontag: "Be serious, be passionate, wake up." Elizabeth Farnsworth engages writer/photographer Susan Sontag on her book In America.

  • Early Years, Early Stories - A Conversation with John Updike: Jeffrey Brown speaks with John Updike about his early career as an author and his anthology The Early Stories: 1953-1975.

  • The Plot Thickens - A Conversation with Philip Roth: Jeffrey Brown and author Philip Roth talk about Roth's novel The Plot Against America.

  • Philip Roth - Looking Back: Jeffrey Brown and Philip Roth examine the creative process against the backdrop of Roth's long and prolific career as a writer of fiction.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

    Item no.: JJ00272768
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 75 minutes
    Copyright: 2006
    StdBkNo: 9781421389905
    Price: USD 179.95

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    WILLIAM FAULKNER

    The writer who best represents 20th-century Southern narrative led an existence every bit as colorful and dramatic as his fictional sagas. This program beautifully recounts William Faulkner's life and the great literary works it produced, exploring his affinity for the tragic and whimsical aspects of a decaying, racially fractured South. Beginning with the author's birth in New Albany, Mississippi, the DVD describes his early military and romantic ambitions, his family life, alcoholism, and stints in Hollywood, and his eventual garnering of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award-all within the framework of his vast literary output. Summaries of major Faulkner novels-including Soldier's Pay, Sartoris, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom!-highlight the author's recurring themes of loss, faded glory, and dignity in the face of mortality. Passages from several works are read aloud and displayed visually as text.

    Note: Only available in the US and Canada

    Award
  • Chris Statuette, Columbus International Film & Video Festival

    Item no.: HY00270776
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 2006
    StdBkNo: 9781421366050
    Price: USD 149.95

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    ZORA NEALE HURSTON: A HEART WITH ROOM FOR EVERY JOY

    "I have the strength to walk my own path, no matter how hard, in my search for reality, and not cling to the splendid wagon of desperate illusions." A writer of novels, short stories, folktales, plays, and essays, Zora Neale Hurston combined a hunger for research and a desire to penetrate the deepest of popular beliefs with a truly exquisite narrative talent. This illuminating biography of Hurston-a compelling story of a free spirit who achieved national prominence yet died in obscurity-examines the rich legacy of her writings, which include Mules and Men, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Tell My Horse, and Dust Tracks on a Road. Interviews with Lucy Anne Hurston, Zora's niece and author of the biography Speak, So You Can Speak Again, and with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., W. E. B. DuBois Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, are featured. The program amply demonstrates that Hurston truly had, as it said in her high school yearbook, "A heart with room for every joy."

    Reviews
  • "The film provides interesting discussions of her books and the impact of her decision to use dialect instead of formal English in her works.... The production makes excellent use of photographs and recordings of Hurston singing folksongs she learned during her travels.... An interesting and well-done presentation. Recommended for academic and public libraries, especially for those with a strong African American literature collection."-Library Journal

  • "Includes commentary by Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Negro Folklore classics sung by Hurston herself. All technical aspects are of professional quality. This DVD is highly recommended."-Educational Media Reviews Online

    Awards
  • 2006 Bronze Telly Award

  • Chris Statuette, Columbus International Film & Video Festival

    Item no.: KE02450261
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 42 minutes
    Copyright: 2005
    StdBkNo: 9781421324296
    Price: USD 149.95

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    HENRY DAVID THOREAU: IN HIS OWN WORDS

    Filmed on location in and around Concord, Cambridge, and Cape Cod, this delightful program brings Henry David Thoreau's Walden and "Civil Disobedience" to life through the captivating delivery of Thoreau impersonator Jeffrey Hyatt. Long passages, as expressed by Hyatt, capture the energy and intensity of Thoreau's words, while presenter James H. Bride II and Thoreau specialists Lawrence Buell, Robert Richardson, and Joel Myerson provide commentary on the works, Thoreau's life, and the times in which he lived.

    Review
  • Recommended by Educational Media Reviews Online.

    Note
  • Featured at NCET (National Council for English Teachers) 2006

    Item no.: NC00270574
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 32 minutes
    Copyright: 2004
    StdBkNo: 9780736595179
    Price: USD 149.95

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    IN SEARCH OF THOREAU

    Few voices in American literature have been as bold and influential as that of Henry David Thoreau. This program traces the author's life from his early days in Concord and Harvard, to his friendship with Emerson and his years at Walden, to his role in the anti-slavery movement. In addition, Thoreau scholars Brad Dean and Wes Mott discuss his writings, including Walden and "Civil Disobedience." Interweaving dramatic readings and reenactments of Thoreau's life with beautiful nature photography of Walden Pond, this lyrical account allows Thoreau's unique character and writings to come to life.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

    Review
  • Recommended by Infotech and MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship.

    Item no.: SS00272868
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 45 minutes
    Copyright: 1999
    StdBkNo: 9780736577847
    Price: USD 169.95

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    LANGUAGE ARTS AND LITERATURE CORE CURRICULUM VIDEO LIBRARY: NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE - "YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN"

    Was there evil lurking in the gloomy New England woods the night that young Goodman Brown went on his secret errand? Or did he bring the evil with him, locked within his own heart? This program features an outstanding adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale - shot on location in historic Salem - that deftly captures the story's mystery and menace. In addition, a discussion of the life of Hawthorne and the Salem witch trials provides the historical context for this dark gem of American fiction.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan

    Item no.: LN02302893
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 43 minutes
    Copyright: 1999
    StdBkNo: 9780736556156
    Price: USD 169.95

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    POETRY SLAMS: REASSERTING POETRY'S ORAL TRADITION

    Part performance, part competition, poetry slams are boosting poetry's popularity with children, teens, and even adults. In section one of this NewsHour report, Elizabeth Farnsworth talks with nationally ranked slammers Ariana Waynes and Roger Bonair-Augard about the concept of slamming and their experiences with the genre. In section two, Spencer Michels investigates the positive impact that slamming is having on at-risk youth, as demonstrated by the Youth Poetry Slam League sponsored by WritersCorps, an organization that works with young writers in schools, detention centers, housing projects, and shelters.

    Item no.: LY02301622
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 16 minutes
    Copyright: 1999
    StdBkNo: 9780736593755
    Price: USD 99.95

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    RALPH ELLISON'S LEGACY

    In 1952 an unknown African-American writer caught the nation's attention with his very first book, which begins, "I am an invisible man." In this program, NewsHour correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth examines Ralph Ellison's legacy on the novel occasion of the publication of Juneteenth, left unfinished at the time of his death. Ellison's literary executor John Callahan and Professor Charles Johnson-a winner, like Ellison, of The National Book Award-consider the man behind the fame and the impact of the posthumous novel on Ellison's literary reputation, first established by Invisible Man.

    Item no.: FM00271660
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 12 minutes
    Copyright: 1999
    StdBkNo: 9781421324333
    Price: USD 99.95

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    MARK TWAIN

    Huckleberry Finn and other works...

    This valuable scholarly companion provides in-depth information that allows students to gain a true appreciation of six major works: Huckleberry Finn, The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, The $30,000 Bequest, A True Story, and Sociable Jimmy.

    Featuring
  • The full text of all six works, fully searchable by word or phrase

  • A screening room containing interviews with Twain scholars Justin Kaplan, author of the definitive Twain biography, Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain; David Lionel Smith, Professor of English at Williams College; and Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Professor of American Studies and General Editor of the Oxford Mark Twain

  • A network of hyper-links which illuminate themes in Huckleberry Finn

  • 10 essays including whether Twain should be considered a racist; his forays into publishing; his stance as an anti-imperialist; his early life and travels; his problems with international copyright infringements; the influences of his wife and of the Reconstruction backlash on his writing

    Special functions: All text is easily accessible with the "turn" of a page. Editions pop-up by moving the cursor over the text. Pages or portions of the text can be printed and added to portfolios.

    Review
  • Recommended by the Mark Twain Forum.

    Item no.: ND00270230
    Format: CD-ROM (Win)
    Copyright: 1998
    StdBkNo: 9780736571265
    Price: USD 149.95

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    MARK TWAIN: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN - UNDERSTANDING A CLASSIC

    Few works in American literature address issues as timeless as those explored in Mark Twain's controversial novel, Huckleberry Finn. In this program, three scholars, including noted Twain biographer Justin Kaplan, examine the work and its various themes-race, cruelty, consequences of greed, meaning of civilization, and the nature of freedom. The author's life is traced from his days as a printer's apprentice, riverboat pilot, and journalist, to renowned author. Twain scholars Shelley Fisher Fishkin and David Lionel Smith discuss African-American influences from Twain's childhood that are reflected in the work, and suggest that these references, misinterpreted by readers, form the basis for charges that Twain was a racist. Incidents from his life, including his vehement anti-slavery and anti-racist articles couched in irony, provide convincing counterpoint to the charges.

    Review
  • Recommended by the Mark Twain Forum and Media & Methods.

    Item no.: ZD02450003
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 34 minutes
    Copyright: 1998
    StdBkNo: 9780736577915
    Price: USD 169.95

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    NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

    For many, The Scarlet Letter represents the pinnacle of 19th-century literature. In this program, three leading Hawthorne scholars use the novel and several Hawthorne short stories to explore issues of interpretation and literary analysis. Each work is discussed in relation to American culture and political events. Significant details of Hawthorne's life are also illuminated. Experts include Millicent Bell, a leading Hawthorne scholar; Professor Larry Reynolds, President of the Hawthorne Society; and Professor Brenda Wineapple, author of a biography on Hawthorne.

    Review
  • Recommended by Booklist.

    Item no.: EA02450254
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 29 minutes
    Copyright: 1998
    StdBkNo: 9780736557672
    Price: USD 169.95

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    TONI MORRISON UNCENSORED

    In this compelling program, world-renowned author Toni Morrison candidly answers questions regarding how she became a writer, the pain of empathizing with her characters, the sensual nature of her novels, and how it felt to win the Nobel Prize. In addition, she pulls no punches discussing how she first became aware of her racial otherness, how writing for a black audience has kept her work from becoming derivative, the societal uses of racism, and how racism leads to barbarism when individuals abdicate their humanity.

    Review
  • Highly recommended by MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship.

    Item no.: NK00271816
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 30 minutes
    Copyright: 1998
    StdBkNo: 9780736557702
    Price: USD 149.95

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    AFRICA TO AMERICA TO PARIS: THE MIGRATION OF BLACK WRITERS

    This program traces the path of African-American literature from the shores of the U.S. to the Left Bank of Paris at the end of World War II through the late 1960s. The program provides context by first exploring the New Orleans salon poetry of Desdunes and discussing the historic suppression of black activists in the U.S. After the Harlem Renaissance, an increasingly hostile climate drove writers James Baldwin and Richard Wright to Paris, where liberal racial attitudes allowed for greater artistic expression. This program traces their lives in France through remembrances of fellow artists and readings from their diaries and works.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan

    Item no.: GA02452761
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 53 minutes
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9780736552592
    Price: USD 169.95

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    JOHN UPDIKE: IN HIS OWN WORDS

    This is a rare glimpse into the literary psyche of one of America's premier novelists, who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for literature. In the only writers' workshop Updike has ever conducted, the author explores his beginnings as a writer, and offers his unique perception of the writing process - including his insistence that "most of the best fiction is written out of early impressions." Workshop sessions are blended with exclusive interviews in which Updike talks about his Pennsylvania roots, and reads aloud from his own works. Printed on-screen selections from specific titles emphasize given topics.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan

    Review
  • Recommended by Booklist and MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship.

    Item no.: MY00272880
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 56 minutes
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9781421316499
    Price: USD 169.95

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    MOBY DICK: HERMAN MELVILLE - MOBY DICK

    Moby Dick, Melville's classic sea tale of revenge and spiritual depravity, has earned its exalted status and its ranking as one of the most studied works in the canon of American literature. This program brings together leading Melville scholars to analyze this important work, and investigates the life of the man who wrote it from literary, philosophical, and social perspectives. Topics include the influence of the Bible, Shakespeare, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Melville's own conflicted life, from his father's bankruptcy to his adventures as a sailor in Polynesia. Themes include the universal brotherhood of man, the malignancy lurking within nature, and the nihilistic quality of the color white.

    Review
  • Recommended by Booklist.

    Item no.: WL00270172
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 41 minutes
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9780736577854
    Price: USD 169.95

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    MOBY DICK: HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK

    Melville's soaring prose and masterful characterization come to life in this excellent scholarly resource.

    Featuring
  • complete text of Moby Dick (Newberry edition), unabridged and fully searchable by word or phrase

  • Melville's essay, "Hawthorne and His Mosses," and a selection of Melville correspondence

  • analyses by Professors Walter E. Bezanson and John Bryant, Melville biographer Laurie Robertson-Laurent, and Stuart Frank, Director of the Kendall Whaling Museum

  • philosophical influences: American Transcendentalism, Plato's Phaedo, Bayle's Dictionary, Thomas Carlyle, and Montaigne

  • literary influences: Shakespeare, the King James Bible, Milton, Sir Thomas Browne, and cetological sources

  • video clips covering Melville's early life, interpretations of key events, literary contexts (Calvinism, Melville and gender, use of pictorialism, Hawthorne)

  • hyperlinks that allow users to gloss thousands of words and phrases to learn definitions, etymologies, geographical locations, and the meanings of puns and allusions

  • original-edition art

  • diagrams of whaling ships

  • Ishmael's Picture Gallery, with annotated period prints

  • annotated bibliography, including the Harold Bloom scholarly essay series and the Cambridge Companion

    Review
  • Recommended by Library Journal

    Item no.: RY02300173
    Format: CD-ROM (Win)
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9780736571241
    Price: USD 149.95

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    NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

    The Scarlet Letter and other Hawthorne works...

    This powerful multimedia tool offers students and scholars a vast array of information and resources to analyze, interpret, and better appreciate Hawthorne's literary masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, and his most popular short stories, including "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," "Ethan Brand," "Roger Malvin's Burial," and "My Kinsman, Major Molineux."

    Featuring:

  • a program overview

  • complete texts of The Scarlet Letter and six short stories, unabridged and fully searchable by phrase or word

  • hyperlinks that allow users to gloss thousands of words and phrases to learn definitions, etymologies, geographical locations, and the meanings of puns and allusions

  • analyses by Professor Larry Reynolds, President of the Hawthorne Society; leading Hawthorne scholar Millicent Bell; and Professor Brenda Wineapple, Hawthorne biographer

  • special video tutorials and text segments on Hawthorne's private and public life: his marriage, careers, politics, religious views (Puritanism and anti-Puritanism), and associations with Melville, Thoreau, Emerson, James Fields, and Franklin Pierce

  • annotated bibliography of widely available texts, including the Harold Bloom scholarly essay series

  • on-screen dictionary

    Item no.: EA02450253
    Format: CD-ROM (Win)
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9780736509855
    Price: USD 149.95

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    NEW ENGLAND TRANSCENDENTALISTS, THE

    The complete interactive guide to the ideas, ideals, and literary voices of Emerson, Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller.

    With video segments on the lives of the authors.

    Primary texts unabridged and completely searchable by word, phrase, or subject index include the following: Emerson: Nature, "The American Scholar," "The Divinity School Address," "The Transcendentalist," "History," "Self-Reliance," "Compensation," "Spiritual Laws," "The Over-Soul," "The Poet," and "Experience." Thoreau: Walden, "Civil Disobedience," and "Walking." Fuller: Woman in the Nineteenth Century.

    Trace the roots of Transcendentalism from Plotinus and Neoplatonism to Swedenborg, Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Goethe, Coleridge, and Carlyle. Learn more about the religious influence of Calvinism, Arminianism, Unitarianism, the Quakers, and Jakob Boehme.

    Investigate the social and political sources of Transcendentalism in America: the Abolitionist Movement; Women's Rights; Jacksonian Democracy; and the "Trail of Tears."

    Examine the manifestations of the Transcendentalist Movement, including "The Transcendentalist Club," the Dial, Brook Farm, Horace Greeley, and The Lyceum and the Lecture Circuit.

    Review
    ~Recommended by Library Journal and Booklist.

    Item no.: WC02300256
    Format: CD-ROM (Win)
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 9780736506175
    Price: USD 149.95

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    WENDY WASSERSTEIN: THE VOICE OF HER GENERATION

    A Baby Boomer herself, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein portrays the experiences of the women of her generation with humor and compassion. In this program, the exuberant Ms. Wasserstein discusses her career as one of America's leading dramatists and the serendipitous events that have brought her to where she is. Details of how she became a playwright and the challenges of writing comedy provide penetrating insights into both the writer and the woman. Excerpts from Uncommon Women and Others, The Heidi Chronicles, and An American Daughter are included.

    Note: Only available in the US, Asia and Canada

    Item no.: ZJ02301880
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 45 minutes
    Copyright: 1997
    StdBkNo: 0736519378
    Price: USD 149.95

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    ERNEST HEMINGWAY: "A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE"

    Each night since he attempted suicide, the old man has come to the cafe-a clean, well-lighted place-to get drunk, staying until closing time at 2:30 a.m. But on this night, the younger of the two waiters turns the old man out an hour early, anxious to go home to his wife. How might this confident young man feel if he knew that his somewhat older coworker is also looking for a clean, well-lighted place? This 1994 dramatization of Hemingway's much-anthologized short story about the human need for an outpost in the darkness makes a powerful existential statement about the insufficiency of religion as a source of comfort.

    Item no.: MW00271222
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 15 minutes
    Copyright: 1994
    StdBkNo: 9781421338644
    Price: USD 149.95

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    ERICA JONG: A PORTRAIT IN THE FIRST PERSON

    Fear of Flying sold more than twelve-and-a-half million copies and has become a persona in itself that has almost eclipsed Erica Jong, author of many other books, prose, and verse. Here she explains how she writes and how she feels as she writes, and her purpose in writing-to be as honest for women as Updike's Couples or Roth's Portnoy's Complaint or Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover were for men.

    Item no.: MA02451221
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 1992
    Price: USD 99.95

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    WALT WHITMAN: SWEET BIRD OF FREEDOM

    The essence of Whitman's literary philosophy is distilled in this delightful dramatic monologue. We visit the elderly Whitman, portrayed by Dallas McKennon, in his Camden, New Jersey, home, where he talks about his personality, family history, and strong affinity to the common man. We learn about the frustrations he has endured as a poet, and of his disappointing relationships with his publishers, editors, and contemporary Ralph Waldo Emerson. He reminisces about his youth in New York, his wanderings throughout the United States, and his time spent as a nurse during the Civil War. A dramatic reading of "O Captain! My Captain!" pays homage to Abraham Lincoln. Portions of poems from Leaves of Grass are interwoven throughout.

    Award
  • Gold Apple Award, National Educational Film & Video Festival

    Item no.: PN02301871
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 29 minutes
    Copyright: 1991
    StdBkNo: 9781421373461
    Price: USD 149.95

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    EDGAR ALLAN POE: THE PRINCIPAL WORKS - THE RAVEN AND OTHER POEMS

    If "The Raven" is not the best-known American poem, then "Annabel Lee" is. Both have endured because they successfully illustrate Poe's esthetic theories of poetics; they use natural, comprehensible language whose music weaves a spell that underscores and heightens the language. These two poems and "The Dream within a Dream" are performed (not merely read!) as Poe himself might have recited them to his peers - with deep passion and intensity, but always with maximum attention to the text itself. The result is to magnify the mood and clarify the meaning, but never to illustrate, which the reader should do in his or her mind's eye.

    Item no.: TM02302135
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 17 minutes
    Copyright: 1988
    StdBkNo: 9781421370309
    Price: USD 99.95

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    EDGAR ALLAN POE: THE PRINCIPAL WORKS - THE TELL-TALE HEART

    Here is Poe weaving a web of psychological terror as a murderer recounts the bizarre details of his crimes against "the old man with the evil eye." The intensity and emotion build as the murderer becomes unhinged, a victim of his own crime. Again, the strength of Pomerleau's performance enables the audience to feel the power of Poe's macabre imagination.

    Item no.: PE00270284
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 20 minutes
    Copyright: 1988
    StdBkNo: 9781421370316
    Price: USD 99.95

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    SIDNEY LANIER: POET OF THE MARSHES

    This moving dramatization traces the life and works of one of America's most interesting literary figures of the Civil War period. Lanier's genteel childhood in Macon, Georgia, his time served as a Confederate soldier and prisoner of war, and his later days in Baltimore as a renowned musician and lecturer are shown as sources of inspiration for his work. Readings from several poems, including "Corn," and from his only novel, Tiger Lilies, are lyrically interwoven throughout the program.

    Note: Only available in the US, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan

    Item no.: GL02303042
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 29 minutes
    Copyright: 1983
    StdBkNo: 9781421320724
    Price: USD 99.95

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