DescriptionFour of the exceptional short stories that won Katherine Anne Porter both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In "The Cracked Looking Glass, " Rosaleen's dream and stories collide with the gray reality of life on a remote Connecticut farm. For 9-year-old Miranda, "The Grave, " is her grandfather's empty one, now just a hole in the ground. But the rabbit her brother shoots reveals the mystery of death...and life. The tale of a spell cast by a mean-spirited New Orleans fancy house Madam is related by a maid to her new employer in "Magic." In "Flowering Judas, " a young foreign woman aiding a revolutionary group in Mexico finds denial no match for her growing sense of moral responsibility.
DescriptionWilliam Stafford reads two of his poems: "Passing Remark" and "Serving With Gideon". William Stafford was a proponent of a poetic language that is barely elevated above everyday speech. His deceptively simple lyrics often spoke of his pacifism and his ability to see the human condition clearly, to have an opinion on it, and yet not to judge. Stafford won the National Book Award for Traveling Through the Dark (1962) and was named Poet Laureate in 1970.
DescriptionJohn Cameron Butler was kidnapped by Lenape Indians when he was four years old. He was raised as True Son and learned the customs and traditions of the tribe. Now, at 15 years old, John must be returned to his white family, but John considers himself Lenape and whites his enemies. After escaping from his white family, John must choose his destiny: Who is he and where does he really belong?
DescriptionMaxine Kumin reads "Woodchucks" and Lucille Clifton reads "cruelty. don't talk to me about cruelty". Maxine Kumin's work often focuses on rural life (she lives on a farm in New Hampshire); her 1972 book, Up Country: Poems of New England, won the Pulitzer Prize. Kumin has served as Poet Laureate and as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In addition to poetry, she has published many children's books. Lucille Clifton's terse, witty lyrics recall such episodes as growing up Black when Shirley Temple was all the rage. Clifton is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and a former Poet Laureate of the State of Maryland. She is a Professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Her 2000 volume, Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000, won the National Book Award.
DescriptionThough they've lived their entire lives less than five blocks from each other, Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders exist in very different worlds. Reuven blends easily into both his secular Jewish faith and his typical American teen life, while Danny's conservative Hasidic clothes and appearance make him stick out in any crowd. Their improbable friendship teaches them that the differences separating people through cultures and generations are never as great as they seem.
