Arts

Published by Contemporary Play Publications; Volume II, no. 4, October 1938. Contents: Plays: "The Jar," Luigi Pirandello; "Don't You Want To Be Free," Langston Hughes; Television Script: "It's Really Quite Simple," Harold L. Anderson; Film Sequence: "Blockade," John Howard Lawson; Departments: Music in the Theatre - One Act Opera, Paul Rosenfield; The Theatre, John W. Gassner. Wraps, stapled; covers have water stains, remnants of tape; corners creased; spine missing 1" from bottom; tear at top of spine/front cover; pages slightly tanned. G-

"The Podium Papers" is an honest and entertaining dispatch from the front lines of one of the world's most interesting and misunderstood professions. Like Anthony Bourdain in his "Kitchen Confidential," Martin Kessler takes the reader through the swinging doors and into the real 'kitchen' of the art of conducting. This non-linear memoir uses the informal essay to explore the life and work of a veteran mid-level artist, and it does so in a voice that excludes no one. It contains a surprising assortment of topics--from sex and drugs, to short-cuts taken and reputations deflated. It also offers elegant portraits of the author's colleagues and mentors, while celebrating the hard work and dedication that this unusual calling requires. Obviously, the book's strongest appeal will be for readers with an interest in classical music--from the casual listener to the seasoned professional. But like any well-written memoir, it is also a snapshot of the author's generational milieu--in this case, coming of age in the '60's and maturing in the 21st century. It should find an avid following in those locales that provide the backdrop for the arc of author's life: college at Harvard, post-graduate studies in London and Salzburg, and of course, in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, where Mr. Kessler spent the bulk of his conducting career.

Organized into ten sections with each devoted to a poetic concept, The Practicing Poet begins with "Discovering New Material," "Finding the Best Words," "Making Music," "Working with Sentences and Line Breaks," "Crafting Surprise," and "Achieving Tone." The concepts become progressively more sophisticated, moving on to "Dealing with Feelings," "Transforming Your Poems," and "Rethinking and Revising." The final section, "Publishing Your Book," covers manuscript organization, book promotion, and presentation of a good public reading.

The book includes thirty brief craft essays, each followed by a model poem and analysis of the poem's craft, then a prompt based on the poem. Ten recyclable bonus prompts are also included. Ten Top Tips lists are each loaded with poetry wisdom from an accomplished poet

The Practicing Poet pushes poets beyond the basics and encourages the continued reading, learning, and writing of poetry. It is suitable as a textbook in the classroom, a guidebook in a workshop, or an at-home tutorial for the practicing poet working independently.

The craft essays, poems, and top tips lists include the work of 113 contemporary poets.

New York: Equinox Cooperative Press, Inc., 1933. "This book has been designed by Lewis F. White printed from woodblocks on Casson and Montgolfier's Vidalon Velin and bound by hand." #788 of 920 copies. SIGNED. Octavo [22 cm] Handbound with a black string-tie binding, 1/4 copper foil with black star-patterned decorative boards, and an embossed title on the spine. Matching decorative pastedowns.  Lacks the foil slipcase. A story told entirely via wood engravings by the author.  Signed on the limitation page by Lynd Ward. The fourth of six wordless novels that Ward produced between 1929-1937.