This book traces the history of French literature from its beginnings to the present. Within its remarkably brief compass, it offers a wide-ranging, personal, and detailed--though selective--account of major writers and movements. Developments in French literature are presented in an innovative way, not as an even sequence of literary events but as a series of stories told at varying pace and with different kinds of focus. Readers can thus take in the broad sweep of historical change, grasp the main characteristics of major periods, or enjoy a close appraisal of individual works and their contexts. The book is written in an accessible and non-technical style that will make it attractive both to students of French and to non-specialist readers.

A Short History of French Literature

Literature & Fiction

Cave, Terence

Bowie, Malcolm

KAY, Sarah

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

This book traces the history of French literature from its beginnings to the present. Within its remarkably brief compass, it offers a wide-ranging, personal, and detailed-though selective-account of major writers and movements. Developments in French literature are presented in an innovative way, not as an even sequence of literary events but as a series of stories told at varying pace and with different kinds of focus. Readers can thus take in the broad sweep of historical change, grasp the main characteristics of major periods, or enjoy a close appraisal of individual works and their contexts. The book is written in an accessible and non-technical style that will make it attractive both to students of French and to non-specialist readers.

Just like we do today, people in medieval times struggled with the concept of human exceptionalism and the significance of other creatures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the medieval bestiary. Sarah Kay’s exploration of French and Latin bestiaries offers fresh insight into how this prominent genre challenged the boundary between its human readers and other animals. Bestiaries present accounts of animals whose fantastic behaviors should be imitated or avoided, depending on the given trait. In a highly original argument, Kay suggests that the association of beasts with books is here both literal and material, as nearly all surviving bestiaries are copied on parchment made of animal skin, which also resembles human skin. Using a rich array of examples, she shows how the content and materiality of bestiaries are linked due to the continual references in the texts to the skins of other animals, as well as the ways in which the pages themselves repeatedly—and at times, it would seem, deliberately—intervene in the reading process. A vital contribution to animal studies and medieval manuscript studies, this book sheds new light on the European bestiary and its profound power to shape readers’ own identities.

Animal Skins and the Reading Self in Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries

Arts & Photography

University of Chicago Press

Sometimes joy and grief are separated by mere moments. A last-minute run down a ski slope ... a catastrophic accident ... and an amazing young man is reduced to a comatose form in a hospital bed. His adoring fiancee remains to weep, pray, grieve, rage, and struggle with the jagged trauma of suffering and loss. Some questions have no answers. Some things in life just don't make sense---including God. And yet ... There is God. There is a deeper, more real faith that roots in the wasteland. There is a promise that comforts, and there is hope, and there is life. Pieces of Glass is the poignant, deeply personal chronicle of a young woman's journey through grief. With eloquence and relentless honesty, author Sarah Kay shares the emotional ebb and flow of her own heart and spirit---and in so doing, reassures, comforts, and encourages us all.

Pieces of Glass: A Moment of Tragedy, a Lifetime of Faith

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Mental Health

Zondervan

Sarah Kay's powerful spoken word poetry performances have gone viral, with more than 10 million online views and thousands more in global live audiences. In her second single-poem volume, Kay takes readers along a lyrical road toward empowerment, exploring the promise and complicated reality of being a woman. During her spoken word poetry performances, audiences around the world have responded strongly to Sarah Kay's poem The Type. As Kay wrote in The Huffington Post: "Much media attention has been paid to what it means to 'be a woman,' but often the conversation focuses on what it means to be a woman in relation to others. I believe these relationships are important. I also think it is possible to define ourselves solely as individuals... We have the power to define ourselves: by telling our own stories, in our own words, with our own voices." Never-before-published in book form, The Type is illustrated throughout and perfect for gift-giving.

The Type

Poetry

Grand Central Publishing

A whimsical love letter, a shared promise, a thank you note, and a whispered secret to mothers and daughters everywhere. The perfect gift, B celebrates the bond that exists between a parent and a child. Short, touching, and lovingly illustrated, it is a family tradition waiting to begin.

From renowned poet Sarah Kay, a single volume poem perfect for teachers and mentors. All Our Wild Wonder is a vibrant tribute to extraordinary educators and a celebration of learning. The perfect gift for the mentors in our lives, this charming, illustrated poem reminds us of the beauty in, and importance of, cultivating curiosity, creativity, and confidence in others.

All Our Wild Wonder

Subjectivity in Troubadour Poetry (Cambridge Studies in French, Series Number 31)

The medieval troubadours of the South of France profoundly influenced European literature for many centuries. This book is the first full-length study of the first-person subject position adopted by many of them in its relation to language and society. Using modern theoretical approaches, Sarah Kay discusses to what extent this first person is a "self" or "character," and how far it is self-determining. Kay draws on a wide range of troubadour texts, providing many close readings and translating all medieval quotations into English. Her book will be of interest both to scholars of medieval literature, and to anyone investigating subjectivity in lyric poetry.

Cambridge University Press

The medieval troubadours of the South of France profoundly influenced European literature for many centuries. This book is the first full-length study of the first-person subject position adopted by many of them in its relation to language and society. Using modern theoretical approaches, Sarah Kay discusses to what extent this first person is a "self" or "character," and how far it is self-determining. Kay draws on a wide range of troubadour texts, providing many close readings and translating all medieval quotations into English. Her book will be of interest both to scholars of medieval literature, and to anyone investigating subjectivity in lyric poetry.

Romance of the Rose (CRITICAL GUIDES TO FRENCH TEXTS)

Foyles

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by KAY, Sarah. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by KAY, Sarah

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by KAY, Sarah. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Short History of French Literature

A Short History of French Literature

Animal Skins and the Reading Self in Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries

Pieces of Glass: A Moment of Tragedy, a Lifetime of Faith

The Type

B

All Our Wild Wonder

Subjectivity in Troubadour Poetry (Cambridge Studies in French, Series Number 31)

Subjectivity in Troubadour Poetry (Cambridge Studies in French, Series Number 31)

Romance of the Rose (CRITICAL GUIDES TO FRENCH TEXTS)