English Composition

The two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter behind the groundbreaking album Exile in Guyville traces her life and career in a genre-bending memoir in stories about the pivotal moments that haunt her. When Liz Phair shook things up with her musical debut, Exile in Guyville—making her as...

In an irresistible tale of a life lived fully, if not always wisely, Liam Clancy, of the legendary Irish group the Clancy Brothers, describes his eventful journey from a small town in Ireland in the 1930s into the heart of the New York music scene in the 1950s and ’60s. Following in the grand...

From drawing a map of a remembered neighborhood to signing a form releasing yourself to take risks in your work, Roorbach offers innovative techniques that will trigger ideas for all writers. Writing Life Stories is a classic text that appears on countless creative nonfiction and composition syllabi the world over. This updated 10th anniversary edition gives you the same friendly instruction and stimulating exercises along with updated information on current memoir writing trends, ethics, internet research, and even marketing ideas.

Everyone has a story, and helping people tell their stories has been Nancy Slonim Aronie’s life mission. Building on her acclaimed Memoir as Medicine, this new guide tackles the short personal essay. With warmth and humor, Nancy provides prompts, inspiration, and hard-won wisdom to empower you to write an unforgettable narrative. You’ll learn to begin with an irresistible hook (“kill ’em with the first line”) and employ compelling direct quotes, drama, vulnerability, universal themes, and self-reflection to get readers into your corner.

A major new biography of Duke Ellington from the acclaimed author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was the greatest jazz composer of the twentieth century—and an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to...

Sequel to Grammy-nominated bestseller Under the Big Black Sun, continuing the up-close and personal account of the L.A. punk scene Picking up where Under the Big Black Sun left off, More Fun in the New World explores the years 1982 to 1987, covering the dizzying pinnacle of L.A.'s punk...

Ready to build a poem? First, you’ll need the right tools. Open this title in the Writer’s Toolbox series and discover plenty of tips and tools to get you started. Soon you’ll be writing rhythms and rhymes like a pro!

Ready to build a scary story? First, you’ll need the right tools. Open this title in the Writer’s Toolbox series and discover plenty of tips and tools to get you started. Soon you’ll be sharing scares like a pro!

If the book tells a true story, you're listening to nonfiction. How else do you know? Quick, fun examples help you get the facts on nonfiction.

You can take audiences to faraway places. You can make giraffes burp and hippos sing. You can turn the sky purple and make audiences wonder what’s coming next. You can write awesome stories!

Young writers discover techniques for crafting persuasive opinion essays. Think rabbits make the best pets or that winter is better than summer? Share your opinion through writing! This engaging nonfiction book includes basic writing instructions, tips, and prompts tailored to beginning writers' needs. Perfect for research writing, browsing, or for fun!

If words describe a feeling or some words rhyme, you're listening to a poem. How else do you know? Quick, fun examples help you understand the beauty of poetry.

Even the youngest listeners and writers need to learn about plagiarism. Give listeners and writers the tools they need to evaluate and understand ownership of work.

You can wish your cousin a happy birthday. You can share the latest news from school. You can ask your favorite basketball star for playing tips. You can write great letters and emails!

What exactly is a primary source? How does it compare to other types of sources? Emerging listeners need to know the difference. Listeners will also be introduced to the concept of plagiarism, how to choose sources for their writing and reports, checking source dates and accuracy, and more.

Learn the secrets to photo composition: There's a common misconception that composition is mysterious and that only certain people have that natural gift for the techniques involved. The truth is that composition involves a set of skills that you can master. Just as you can use cookbook recipes to make your favorite meal - you don't have to be a famous French chef - you also can take amazing photos by just following a recipe!

A New York Times–bestselling author shows you how to build the most successful team The conventional wisdom is wrong about how great teams are built. Great teams worry less about cohesion and more about assembling the right group of people with complementary talents and personalities. No...

The Long Form, Kate Briggs's long-awaited debut fiction, unmakes and remakes the novel to meditate on very real social issues, from housing to care-taking, laying bare the settings and support structures that make durational forms of co-existence first thinkable, then possible. At once acrobatic and deeply attentive, The Long Form insists on the creativity inherent in everyday life, showing how the acts of social composition (living arrangements) are continuous with the acts of artistic composition (page arrangements).

An exuberant, uniquely accessible, beautifully illustrated look inside the enigmatic art and craft of conducting, from a celebrated conductor whose international career has spanned half a century. John Mauceri brings a lifetime of experience to bear in an unprecedented, hugely informative...

It was not easy being a woman of ambition in early 20th-century England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first to head a department there. And, in what has been called "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy", she was the first to describe what stars are made of.