Facerea unei case necesit? voin?a ?i pricepere, cu at?t mai mult facerea unei lumi. Acum, cred ca Muzulie Ceatpat avea geniu. ?mprejur?rile ?ns? i-au fost neprielnice. Amintirile mele legate de proiectul lui se pierd ?n tenebrele Templului s?pat, mai ?nainte de to?i vecii, ?n st?nca hercinic?, de natur?, de oamenii primitivi, ori de c?tre sfin?ii atra?i prin lucarna surprinz?toare a cupolei, ?n str?dania lor de a comunica cu o lume mai presus de fire. Templul Celui Foarte Mare, Bai Ulgun, cum se pomene?te el din str?vechime, este o caverna uria?? ascuns? vederii ?n inima gorganului ?nalt acoperit de zmeuri? ?i tufe de alun printre grohoti?uri. Calota lui, deschisa lumii de un trepan uria?, permite accesul ?n interior pe traseul ?erpuitor al unei sc?ri?e s?pat? ?n t?mpla de piatra p?n? la arhitrava care ?ncercuie?te naosul. De aici se ajunge la platforma principala mult mai u?or, pe scara solida de stejar, ce coboar? ?n fr?nturi de cate ?apte trepte, ?n jurul unei coloane de sus?inere, p?n? la locul unde se petrec toate: jertfe, impreca?ii, rug?ciuni. De jur ?mprejur, delimit?nd parca secven?ial spa?iul ?i timpul, pe suprafa?? concav? a platformei dou?sprezece ?an?uri sub?iri pornesc ?n raze, ca spi?ele unei ro?i ce se unesc ?ntr-un un punct virtual din mijlocul chepengului p?trat aflat ?n opozi?ie cu lucarna rotund? din acoperi?, ?i care prelungit sub podeaua naosului, duce ?ntr-un h?u b?nuit, unind astfel cerul cu p?m?ntul. (Ileana Cudalb) Un roman senza?ional.

Volumul reune?te c?teva studii ?i eseuri care interogheaz? rela?ia controversat? ?n ?tiin?a actual? dintre comparatism ?i germanistic?, respectiv noua paradigm? cu preten?ii salvatoare, ?germanistica intercultural?“, aduc?nd ?n scen? c?teva analize consacrate scriitorilor germani mai vechi ?i mai noi sau unor probleme de estetic? a crea?iei. Incitante sunt perspectivele deschise de investigarea fenomenologiei faustice ?n hermeneutica lui Ernst Bloch ?i Constantin Noica ?i nu mai pu?in interesante sunt spa?iile de cercetare asupra operei lui Lucian Blaga ?n context german ?i cele dedicate lui Heidegger ?i implica?iei sale politice.Reflex al dublei direc?ii pe care o reprezint? de fapt toate volumele lui Vasile Voia, cartea de fa?? este expresia unei dimensiuni de profunzime ?i, desigur, am putea spune, a unicit??ii ei ?n cultura noastr? actual?. Ea ?mbin? inspirat un comparatism al ideilor cu estetic? ?i filosofia, realiz?nd interferen?a ?i unitatea la nivelul superior al discursului critic.

Aceast crticic nu reprezint pariul unor mari ambiii auctoriale, nu urmrete s revoluioneze “filosofia iubirii“, nici s deschid vreun drum nou. Nu este nici un manual, un “ghid“ al relaiei de cuplu, cum au nceput sa apar attea, ca i cum ai putea da sfaturi n ceea ce privete iubirea! Scopul su este infinit mai modest – i anume de a depune mrturie despre un fenomen esenial cum este dragostea, n funcie de experiena proprie, de lecturile ce fac i ele parte din aceasta experien i de meditaia, cat s-a putut de onest, n jurul propriilor mele triri. Dac o singura pereche va nelege ce miracol i se ntmpl, dac un singur solitar ce sufer din dragoste va depi criza, dac un mare dezamgit va cpta puterea i curajul de a mai ncerca o dat, voi crede c n-am scris-o aiurea, c n-am nfruntat n zdar temperaturile unei veri incendiare. Pe deasupra, am crezut, cred i voi crede, pn la extincie, c se mai poate nc scrie despre dragoste i altfel dect n romanele “roz“, n filmele de serie X ori n celebrele telenovele. Dragostea este mult prea importanta pentru a fi abandonata complet i definitiv melodramei, vulgaritii, prostului gust. Un subiect vechi de cnd lumea, frecventat de pene ilustre, compromis de scribi mediocri, te poate solicita s-i ncerci puterile nelegerii, precum i pe cele expresive. M ntreb ct de sincer am reuit s fiu. Dar nu mai este, de-acum, problema mea, ci a eventualilor cititori. Ca niciodat, probabil, oricum nu n aceste proporii, m ncearc emoia. n cele din urm, nu te poi prezenta oricum fa n fa cu dragostea.“ (Liviu Antonesei)

Proza rural“ ajunsese s nsemne, n percepia obteasc, o proz conservatoare, desuet, presupus simplist, schematic, dnd seam cu mijloace artistice modeste de o realitate uman mai degrab rudimentar, lipsit de rafinament, subtilitate ori profunzime sufleteasc. I se opunea, ntr-o viziune cvasi-maniheist, proz urban, presupus a fi n mod automat purttoarea complexitii, a nnoirii i rafinamentului, a valorii. n practic, ns, respectiva prejudecat a fost, de fapt, tot mai viguros contrazis de ivirea unor opere de proz rural“ nzestrate cu caracteristicile literaturii moderne de calitate. Acest studiu caut s depisteze, s reliefeze i expliciteze succint trei dintre etapele semnificative ale afirmrii unei proze efectiv moderne, cu tematic rural“, survenite de-a lungul ultimelor dou treimi ale secolului trecut i marcate de contribuia a trei scriitori reprezentativi: Pavel Dan, Marin Preda i Sorin Titel.

Planeta Rilke. Planeta uria?ului Rilke. Totul irumpe ?nl?untru cu for?e neb?nuite, ?mplinindu-se sub semnul ?noii fiin?e“, al unui ?nceput formidabil de puternic, sugestiv, inspirat, ?n raza presim?irii unei ?noi mari str?luciri, care d? for?? ?i o abunden?? de imagini limbii mele“, a?a ?nc?t ?ma surprind c?teodat? c?t de mult ?mi sunt mie ?nsumi receptiv ?i c?t de mult ?nv??, ?ntr-o uimitoare venera?ie, din propriile mele dialoguri. R?sun? ceva ?n ad?ncul meu, ce vrea s? ajung? la oameni, trec?nd peste aceste pagini, peste dragele mele c?ntece ?i peste toate planurile de viitoare fapte“.?nsemn?rile jubilatorii se transform?, sub ochii no?tri, ?n prelungirea ?ncinselor lecturi de sine, ?n exces de for??, deci, ?ntr-o iubire at?t de plin? ?i de puternic?, ?nc?t elibereaz? numaidec?t din grelele lan?uri ale fricii, devenind o laud? fiin?ei, o laud? f?cut? ?mplinirii ?i viului con?inut ?n exces: ?M? simt de parc? ar trebui s? vorbesc acum, ?n clipe de for?? ?i claritate, c?nd din mine vorbe?te mai mult dec?t eu ?nsumi: sufletul meu. M? simt de parc? ar trebui s?-i convertesc pe to?i cei care ezit? ?i care se ?ndoiesc; c?ci am mai mult? putere ?n mine dec?t pot re?ine ?n cuvinte ?i vreau s? o folosesc pentru a elibera oamenii de str?ina fric?, din care eu ?nsumi am venit“.

Demersul exegetic al lui Constantin Cuble?an vine ?ntr-o perioad? ?n care scriitorii nu sunt trata?i a?a cum se cuvine ?n societatea actuala. Cartea include eseuri docte, ample, axate pe crea?ia unor importan?i scriitori ca, bun?oara, Valeriu Anania, Ioan Alexandru, Ion Barbu, Ana Blandiana, Nicolae Breban, Emil Brumaru, Augustin Buzura s.a. Un fragment important, sugestiv, din peisajul literaturii de dup? 1989. ?i nu numai.

Aceste Stampe din Germania se datoresc unui poet român de o ascu?it? sensibilitate. Este, de fapt, un jurnal personal, în parte – dar numai în parte – echivalent cu ceea ce în veacul al XIX-lea s-au dovedit a fi Confesiunile unui copil al secolului . Totul, îns?, se cere a fi privit mutatis mutandis, ?inând seama de spiritul diametral opus al veacului nostru. Dumitru Stancu este un sensibil, dar nu un sentimental în genul lui Musset . În rest, ni se înf??i?eaz? ca un intens f?uritor de atmosfer?, îndeosebi dramatic?. ?i aici iar??i trebuie s? accentu?m o anumit? distinc?ie fa?? de trecut. Ceea ce era atmosfer? liric?, în veacul al XIX-lea, cap?t? intensitatea tensionat? de atmosfer? dramatic? în veacul nostru cutreierat de cataclisme istorice f?r? precedent.

Cea mai inconfortabil? carte a anului editorial 2009. (?tefan Borbely)Tr?darea criticii este o excelent? nara?iune eseistic?, o nara?iune subiectiv?, inevitabil iritant? (fiind vorba de via?a literar? ?i de opiniile radicale ale unui prozator care nu ezit? s? scrie ceea ce crede despre colegii s?i), cu portrete ce se ?in minte, uneori foarte crude, alteori luminoase, dominate de superlative… Meritul ei, dincolo de calit??ile literare, este acela de a deschide o dezbatere real? despre via?a noastr? literar? ?n care grupurile se confrunt? ?i ??i confec?ioneaz? propria istorie ?i propria mitologie. Nicolae Breban vine ?i tulbur? apele, enerv?nd, probabil, pe mul?i, dac? nu pe to?i. (Eugen Simion)Cartea lui Breban e una puternic?, neconcesiv?, sulfuroas?, emo?ionant? prin miza ei optimist?, prin militantismul ei pa?optist ?i prin dorin?a autorului de a ?nfrunta prejudec??ile ?i ridicolul ?n numele idealului tinere?ii lui, care era idealul autonomiei esteticului, ?n numele marii crea?ii – spre care a aspirat continuu – ?i ?n numele na?iunii romane, de care nu ?i e ru?ine s? vorbeasc?. Dar e o carte greu de clasat. Surprinz?toare prin oralitatea ei debordant?, prin colocvialitatea ei dezl?n?uit?. (…) Seam?n? cu un aeropag al destinelor tr?date, preschimbat ?n pledoarie ?i discurs de ?mb?rb?tare. ?i, totu?i, ceva, ?n ?inuta de condotier a autorului m? ?ndeamn? s? asociez discursul acestei c?r?i cu acela al unui general rom?n dup? o b?t?lie pierdut? sau indecis?, undeva ?n Nordul germanic, sau ?n fa?a altei b?talii care ar trebui cu orice pre? c??tigat?. (…) ?ntregul discurs se ?ntemeiaz? pe ideea de dec?dere a spiritului ofensiv, pe ideea de pierdere a vechilor virtu?i; ?i aser?iunile par a veni din partea celui care a cunoscut ?n tinere?e o glorie ?i o m?re?ie greu de egalat. (…) Enun?ul patetic, ?nvolburat, al discursului lui Breban – marcat de furie, de candoare, de dezn?dejde ?i de speran?? – este capabil s? absoarb? portrete, minunatele lui portrete, ?nso?ite de celebrele jerbe de epitete brebaniene. ?n aparteu sunt limpezite situa?ii literare (de exemplu, rolul Europei Libere ?i al Grupului de Dialog Social este foarte atent ?i nemilos analizat); ne sunt oferite amintiri nepre?uite pentru istoria literar?, cu nu pu?ine idei. Pe unele dintre ele le-am adoptat deja pentru c? m-au convins. (Eugen Negrici)Crea?ia literar?, spiritul critic au fost profund afectate de polarizarea etica ?i politic?, dup? sf?r?itul comunismului rom?nesc. Etica ?i politica ?i-au dep??it limitele, chiar f?r? ca ele s? ajung? la o reala putere ?i autonomie. Publicul literar, sub?iat de noile interese proprii unei lumi deschise, s-a risipit ?i asist?nd la luptele fratricide ale scriitorilor ?i criticilor care, sub tiranie, fraternizaser? ?n numele impunerii sau cel pu?in al men?inerii criteriilor de art? ?i valoare. Prozatorul scrie o carte de cunosc?tor, g?ndit? cu o ?n?elegere vie, o carte necesar? realit??ii noastre literare, de ultima or?, dar ?i pentru un timp foarte larg, despre o literatur? ?i o critic? ?tr?date“ ?i mai pu?in traduse. Pentru c? ?tr?dare“ a fost, o ?tim bine, doar nu e vreun secret fer(m)ecat. (Marian Victor Buciu)

O ilustrare elocvent a poziiei pe care poetul Vasko Popa o ocup, la ora actual, pe plan mondial, este faptul c Barack Obama, n campania sa electoral pentru preedenia SUA (pe care a i ctigat-o), a afirmat, n 27 octombrie 2008, pe blogul Fundaiei internaionale Harriet, c poetul su preferat este Vasko Popa cu volumul Cutia mic, fiindc Vasko Popa: Este contient i responsabil de lumea n care triete i de propriul sine“. Nici John McCain nu s-a dus prea departe, preferndu-l pe confratele lui Vasko i, pn la un punct, modelul su – Henri Michaux. Aceasta este partea bun i frumoas a lucrurilor, care se datoreaz celor doi stlpi de susinere internaional a lui Vasko Popa, de aducere permanent a poeziei lui Popa n spaiul vast, universal, al limbii engleze: Anne Pennington, traductoarea i prietena familiei Popa (ale crei traduceri, i dup moartea ei, sunt, n continuare publicate), dar mai ales Charles Simic, unul din poeii americani de frunte, de origine srb (a emigrat n SUA la aisprezece ani), ctigtorul Premiului Pulitzer n anul 1991, i care n-a ncetat nici o clip s susin destinul de poet universal al lui Vasko Popa. De cealalt parte ns, politicul a jucat i n cazul lui Popa, ca i n cazul altor lideri, fie ei i formatori de opinie poetica, un rol nefast...“Liubia Raichici

Cosmoza, demonstrat? aproape matematic ?ntr-o construc?ie original?, este drumul sacru al ?mplinirii. Iubirea cosmic? e ideea de raport ?ntre Dumnezeu ?i lume, un raport ?ntemeiat pe compatibilitate ?i justificat prin deosebire. F?r? ea, crea?ia s-ar destr?ma. Cu ea, cele dep?rtate se apropie, se unesc, se ?nal?? ?i devin asemenea. Un parcurs temerar al g?ndului ?ntre generarea, degenerarea ?i regenerarea noastr?.Un demers care une?te prin metafizic? ?i metafor? trecutul cu viitorul, Orientul cu Occidentul, credin?a cu ?tiin?a, matematica cu teologia. Un eseu holistic profund ?i liric pres?rat cu sentin?e ingenue ?i disec?ii nemiloase. O carte despre cunoa?tere, care se cite?te cu creionul ?n m?n?...

Az igazság cím? k?nyvben Damu Roland d?bbenetes ?szinteséggel és részletességgel mesélte el életét egészen addig a pillanatig, amíg a bíróság ki nem mondta rá a joger?s ítéletet: négy és fél év szabadságvesztést. T?rténete azonban ezzel korántsem ért véget. 2012. április 19-én (egy héttel a hivatalos behívó el?tt) váratlanul szembesült azzal a visszavonhatatlan d?ntéssel, hogy azonnali hatállyal meg kell kezdenie a b?rt?nbüntetését. ?s ez még csak az els? olyan jogtalan d?ntés volt a sorban, amelyet nem volt egyszer? megemésztenie... Miért vitték el egy héttel korábban? Miért került egy, az otthonától 320 kilométerre lév? b?rt?nbe? Miért kellett t?bbet bizonyítania másoknál? Szakadatlan igazságkeresése a b?rt?nbe vonulása után semmit sem vesztett lendületéb?l. Második k?nyvében a t?le megszokott részletességgel számol be a három b?rt?nben t?lt?tt év pokláról, az ottani mindennapokról, megaláztatásokról... ?s persze a számára oly fontos emberi kapcsolatokról, a megtalált igaz szerelemr?l. "A második k?nyvem szorosan kapcsolódik az els?h?z, de ez már a b?rt?nben t?lt?tt évekr?l szól. Olyan dolgokért ültem három évet, amit nem k?vettem el. Ez a k?nyv rólam, a feleségemr?l szerelmünkr?l és a b?rt?nben megélt dolgokról szól az én szemsz?gemb?l. Továbbra is ragaszkodom ahhoz, hogy csak az igazságot írjam le. Pontosan tudom, hogy a feleségem szeretete, h?sége, kitartása nélkül nem éltem volna túl a b?rt?néletet. Most tele vagyok ?tletekkel, tervekkel. A legfontosabb pedig: T?L?LTEM!" (Damu Roland)

Edi?ie ?ngrijit? de Mircea A. Diaconu.Traian Chelariu apar?ine grupului tinerilor scriitori afirma?i ?n Cern?u?ii anilor ’30, a c?ror maturitate creatoare a fost distrus? de instaurarea comunismului ?n Rom?nia. Cu un doctorat ?n psihologie, cu burse de studiu la Paris ?i Roma, redactor-?ef al ?Universului Literar", se remarcase ?ntre r?zboaie ?i prin volumele sale de poezii ?i de eseuri filozofice. Dup? 1945, este exclus din ?nv???m?ntul superior, o vreme nu lucreaz? nic?ieri, apoi este angajat muncitor la deratizare, pentru a fi reintegrat, t?rziu, ?n ?nv???m?ntul superior, ca lector, la Institutul de ?nv???m?nt Superior care se ?nfiin?ase la Suceava ?n 1964. Avea sa moar? doar peste doi ani. De?i cu recomand?ri de la Vianu, Perpessicius, Tudor Arghezi ?i al?ii, nu reu?e?te s? fie reprimit ?n Uniunea Scriitorilor.

Edi?ie ?ngrijit? de Mircea A. Diaconu.Respectiva edi?ie ?n dou? volume Zilele ?i umbra mea ?ntrune?te pentru prima data ?n istoria culturii rom?ne, edi?ia integral? a disputatului jurnal al lui Traian Chelariu.Jurnalul din anii ’30, inedit ?n cea mai mare m?sura, este interesant din mai multe puncte de vedere. Pe de o parte, el ?nregistreaz? minu?ios atmosfera din mediul intelectual din Cernau?ii perioadei interbelice. Via?a universitar?, disputele tinerilor scriitori, ?ncercarea de a impune coordonate rom?ne?ti lumii culturale, toate acestea sunt minu?ios radiografiate ?n cele zece caiete manuscris. ?n jurnal, sunt reproduse scrisori trimise sau primite de la Ion Nistor, ministru ?n mai multe legislaturi, de la Mircea Streinul, tumultuosul coleg de genera?ie, de la alte figuri importante ale locului. Pe de alt? parte, g?sim aici reperele form?rii unui intelectual ale c?rui valori s?nt focalizate de necesitatea unei deveniri culturale. Viziunea stoic? pe care Traian Chelariu o ?ntruchipeaz? ?n anii ’50 este fundamentat? pe experien?a unei tinere?i angajate pe traiectul asum?rii culturii. ?n plus, jurnalul cuprinde experien?a studiilor sale la ?coala Rom?n? de la Paris ?i la Roma, fiind ?i din acest punct de vedere un document.

James Elroy Flecker was born on 5th November 1884, in Lewisham, London.Flecker does not seem to have enjoyed academic study and achieved only a Third-Class Honours in Greats in 1906. This did not set him up for a job in either government service or the academic world.After some frustrating forays at school teaching he attempted to join the Levant Consular Service and entered Cambridge to study for two years. After a poor first year he pushed forward in the second and achieved First-Class honours. His reward was a posting to Constantinople at the British consulate.However, Flecker's poetry career was making better progress and he was beginning to garner praise for his poems including The Bridge of Fire. Unfortunately, he was also showing the first symptoms of contracting tuberculosis. Bouts of ill health were to now alternate with periods of physical well-being woven with mental euphoria and creativity.Before his early death he managed to complete several volumes of poetry, which he continually revised, together with some prose works and plays. It was a small canon of work but on his death on 3rd January 1915, of tuberculosis, in Davos, Switzerland he was described as "e;unquestionably the greatest premature loss that English literature has suffered since the death of Keats"e;.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. His early career was unremarkable. After failing to enter West Point he enlisted in the 7th Calvary but was discharged after heart problems were diagnosed. A series of short term jobs gave no indication as to a career path but finally, in 1911, married and with two young children, he turned his hand to writing. He aimed his works squarely at the very popular pulp serial magazines. His first effort 'Under The Moons Of Mars' ran in Munsey's Magazine in 1912 under the pseudonym Norman Bean. With its success he began writing full time. A continuing theme of his work was to develop series so that each character had ample opportunities to return in sequels. John Carter was in the Mars series and there was another on Venus and one on Pellucidar among others. But perhaps the best known is Tarzan. Indeed Burroughs wanted so much to capitalise upon the brand that he introduced a syndicated Tarzan comic strip, movies and merchandise. He purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California, which he named "e;Tarzana."e; The surrounding communities outside the ranch voted in 1927 to adopt the name as their own. By 1932 Burroughs set up his own company to print his own books. Here we publish the first of his Tarzan books 'Tarzan of the Apes'. A cultural classic.

The reality is that little is known of Aristophanes actual life but eleven of his forty plays survive intact and upon those rest his deserved reputation as the Father of Comedy or, The Prince of Ancient Comedy. Accounts agree that he was born sometime between 456BC and 446 BC. Many cities claim the honor of his birthplace and the most probable story makes him the son of Philippus of gina, and therefore only an adopted citizen of Athens, a distinction which, at times could be cruel, though he was raised and educated in Athens. His plays are said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more realistically than any other author could. Intellectually his powers of ridicule were feared by his influential contemporaries; Plato himself singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as a slander that contributed to the trial and condemning to death of Socrates and although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher his carried the most weight. His now lost play, The Babylonians, was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. Aristophanes seems to have taken this criticism to heart and thereafter caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights. His life and playwriting years were undoubtedly long though again accounts as to the year of his death vary quite widely. What can be certain is that his legacy of surviving plays is in effect both a treasured legacy but also in itself the only surviving texts of Ancient Greek comedy.

John Dryden was born on August 9th, 1631 in the village rectory of Aldwincle near Thrapston in Northamptonshire. As a boy Dryden lived in the nearby village of Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire. In 1644 he was sent to Westminster School as a King's Scholar. Dryden obtained his BA in 1654, graduating top of the list for Trinity College, Cambridge that year. Returning to London during The Protectorate, Dryden now obtained work with Cromwell's Secretary of State, John Thurloe. At Cromwell's funeral on 23 November 1658 Dryden was in the company of the Puritan poets John Milton and Andrew Marvell. The setting was to be a sea change in English history. From Republic to Monarchy and from one set of lauded poets to what would soon become the Age of Dryden. The start began later that year when Dryden published the first of his great poems, Heroic Stanzas (1658), a eulogy on Cromwell's death. With the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 Dryden celebrated in verse with Astraea Redux, an authentic royalist panegyric. With the re-opening of the theatres after the Puritan ban, Dryden began to also write plays. His first play, The Wild Gallant, appeared in 1663 but was not successful. From 1668 on he was contracted to produce three plays a year for the King's Company, in which he became a shareholder. During the 1660s and '70s, theatrical writing was his main source of income. In 1667, he published Annus Mirabilis, a lengthy historical poem which described the English defeat of the Dutch naval fleet and the Great Fire of London in 1666. It established him as the pre-eminent poet of his generation, and was crucial in his attaining the posts of Poet Laureate (1668) and then historiographer royal (1670). This was truly the Age of Dryden, he was the foremost English Literary figure in Poetry, Plays, translations and other forms. In 1694 he began work on what would be his most ambitious and defining work as translator, The Works of Virgil (1697), which was published by subscription. It was a national event. John Dryden died on May 12th, 1700, and was initially buried in St. Anne's cemetery in Soho, before being exhumed and reburied in Westminster Abbey ten days later.

If ever a writer needed an introduction Arthur Conan Doyle would not be considered that man. After all, Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the foremost literary detective of any age. Add to this canon his stories of science fiction and his poems, his historical novels, his plays, his political campaigning, his efforts in establishing a Court of Appeal and there is little room for anything else. Except he was also an exceptional writer of short stories of the horrific and macabre. Something very different from what you might expect. Born in Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1876 - 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh following which he was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, after his graduation, as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast in 1881. Arriving in Portsmouth in June of that year with less than GBP10 (GBP700 today) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Conan Doyle again began writing stories and composed his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber. Although he continued to study and practice medicine his career was now firmly set as a writer. And thereafter great works continued to pour out of him.

If ever a writer needed an introduction Arthur Conan Doyle would not be considered that man. After all, Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the foremost literary detective of any age. Add to this canon his stories of science fiction and his poems, his historical novels, his plays, his political campaigning, his efforts in establishing a Court of Appeal and there is little room for anything else. Except he was also an exceptional writer of short stories of the horrific and macabre. Something very different from what you might expect. Born in Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1876 - 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh following which he was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, after his graduation, as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast in 1881. Arriving in Portsmouth in June of that year with less than GBP10 (GBP700 today) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Conan Doyle again began writing stories and composed his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber. Although he continued to study and practice medicine his career was now firmly set as a writer. And thereafter great works continued to pour out of him.

Euripides is rightly lauded as one of the great dramatists of all time. In his lifetime, he wrote over 90 plays and although only 18 have survived they reveal the scope and reach of his genius. Euripides is identified with many theatrical innovations that have influenced drama all the way down to modern times, especially in the representation of traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. As would be expected from a life lived 2,500 years ago, details of it are few and far between. Accounts of his life, written down the ages, do exist but whether much is reliable or surmised is open to debate. Most accounts agree that he was born on Salamis Island around 480 BC, to mother Cleito and father Mnesarchus, a retailer who lived in a village near Athens. Upon the receipt of an oracle saying that his son was fated to win "e;crowns of victory"e;, Mnesarchus insisted that the boy should train for a career in athletics. However, what is clear is that athletics was not to be the way to win crowns of victory. Euripides had been lucky enough to have been born in the era as the other two masters of Greek Tragedy; Sophocles and schylus. It was in their footsteps that he was destined to follow. His first play was performed some thirteen years after the first of Socrates plays and a mere three years after schylus had written his classic The Oristria. Theatre was becoming a very important part of the Greek culture. The Dionysia, held annually, was the most important festival of theatre and second only to the fore-runner of the Olympic games, the Panathenia, held every four years, in appeal. Euripides first competed in the City Dionysia, in 455 BC, one year after the death of schylus, and, incredibly, it was not until 441 BC that he won first prize. His final competition in Athens was in 408 BC. The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Aulis were performed after his death in 405 BC and first prize was awarded posthumously. Altogether his plays won first prize only five times. Euripides was also a great lyric poet. In Medea, for example, he composed for his city, Athens, "e;the noblest of her songs of praise"e;. His lyric skills however are not just confined to individual poems: "e;A play of Euripides is a musical whole....one song echoes motifs from the preceding song, while introducing new ones."e; Much of his life and his whole career coincided with the struggle between Athens and Sparta for hegemony in Greece but he didn't live to see the final defeat of his city. Euripides fell out of favour with his fellow Athenian citizens and retired to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedon, who treated him with consideration and affection. At his death, in around 406BC, he was mourned by the king, who, refusing the request of the Athenians that his remains be carried back to the Greek city, buried him with much splendor within his own dominions. His tomb was placed at the confluence of two streams, near Arethusa in Macedonia, and a cenotaph was built to his memory on the road from Athens towards the Piraeus.

If ever a writer needed an introduction Arthur Conan Doyle would not be considered that man. After all, Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the foremost literary detective of any age. Add to this canon his stories of science fiction and his poems, his historical novels, his plays, his political campaigning, his efforts in establishing a Court of Appeal and there is little room for anything else. Except he was also an exceptional writer of short stories of the horrific and macabre. Something very different from what you might expect. Born in Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1876 - 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh following which he was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, after his graduation, as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast in 1881. Arriving in Portsmouth in June of that year with less than GBP10 (GBP700 today) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Conan Doyle again began writing stories and composed his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber. Although he continued to study and practice medicine his career was now firmly set as a writer. And thereafter great works continued to pour out of him.