Book cover of The Prelude

Book description

"The Prelude" is William Wordsworth's epic reflection on his lifetime journey as an artist and is widely considered to be one of his most significant works. First published in 1850 after the poet's death, Wordsworth began working on the blank verse poem in 1798 and continued modifying and expanding it…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Prelude as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This long poem depicts the “prelude” – the influences from childhood – of William Wordsworth’s life as a poet. In other words, this literary biography explores the source of this poet’s unique voice. This poem was another exciting discovery made during my years as a graduate student.

There are many written works that explore the influence of a writer’s early life on the development of their unique poetic vision. A more recent example is a favorite of mine, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Living to Tell the Tale.

But, for me, Wordsworth stands out because of the incredible sustained poetic voice, vision,…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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