Penguin Classics: Arts & Culture

Against Interpretation and Other Essays is a landmark collection that showcases the formidable intellect and insightful critique of Susan Sontag. Originally published in 1966, this collection has never gone out of print and continues to resonate with readers around the world due to its timeless exploration of art, culture, and thought. As Sontag's first collection of essays, it firmly established...

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a pioneering work that laid the groundwork for modern feminism and the enduring struggle for gender equality. Written in 1792 by the trailblazing philosopher and advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, this seminal treatise is a compelling call to arms for the emancipation and education of women. In an era marked by the revolutionary fervour...

Create Dangerously by Albert Camus is a compelling and thought-provoking collection of essays that delve into the intricate relationship between art and society. Written with the precision and eloquence that only Camus can offer, this collection is a profound exploration of the artist's duty in a time of sociopolitical turmoil. The title essay, "Create Dangerously," lays bare the inherent risks...

Dark Days by James Baldwin is a powerful collection of essays that vividly reflects on Baldwin's own experiences of racial prejudice and systemic injustice in mid-20th century America. As a seminal voice in the civil rights movement, Baldwin unflinchingly explores the deeply entrenched racism that pervades society and envisions a more equitable and hopeful world. Through these searing essays, Baldwin...

De Profundis and Other Prison Writings by Oscar Wilde offers a profound glimpse into the soul of one of literature's most enigmatic figures during his darkest hours. This collection, edited with an insightful introduction by Colm Tóibín, compiles Wilde's poignant letters and poems penned during his incarceration. It reveals the extraordinary depths of Wilde's emotional and intellectual resilience amidst adversity,...

Essays in Idleness by Kamo no Chomei and Yoshida Kenko offers timeless reflections on Buddhism, nature, and the value of leisure. These two classical Japanese texts, penned by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, provide a profound glimpse into two contrasting yet deeply philosophical views of life. In the short memoir Hōjōki, Chomei eloquently describes his retreat from the chaos of...

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 What matters is to live everything. Live the questions for now.

Notes of a Native Son is a seminal work of social and cultural criticism by James Baldwin, one of the most distinguished intellectuals of the twentieth century. First published in 1955, this powerful collection of essays captures Baldwin's reflections on the intricate dynamics of race and identity during the formative years of the civil rights movement. Written when Baldwin was...

In Notes on Camp, Susan Sontag explores the intriguing and often misunderstood aesthetic of "camp," delving into the reasons why certain art forms, fashion, and cultural expressions resonate uniquely with audiences. Through incisive analysis and sharp insights, Sontag unravels the complex interplays between taste, irony, and exaggerated style. This essay is a compelling exploration of the pseudo-serious, the extravagant, and...

Immerse yourself in the quintessential text on architecture that has influenced generations of builders and designers. On Architecture, written by the Roman architect Vitruvius around 40 BC, delves into the principles and practicalities of architecture, engineering, and urban planning through ten exhaustive chapters. This new illustrated edition from Penguin Classics not only presents Vitruvius' vision with renewed clarity but also...

Orwell and Politics is the definitive collection of George Orwell's timeless political writing, showcasing the enduring brilliance of one of the 20th century's most influential authors. This anthology comprehensively assembles Orwell's powerful political essays and journalism along with his enduring satire on totalitarianism, Animal Farm. The collection is arranged to illustrate Orwell's vast range of political interests. It includes provocative...

Aristotle's Poetics stands as a seminal work in the history of literary criticism and is a cornerstone of Western philosophy. In this profound analysis of Greek tragedy, Aristotle meticulously dissects the elements that converge to create the quintessential dramatic experience. Delving into the intricacies of plot, character, and spectacle, Aristotle elucidates how these components intertwine to evoke feelings of pity...

Selected Poems by Rumi is a mesmerising collection of profound and richly textured verses that delves into the depths of the human experience. This compilation showcases the unparalleled brilliance of Jelaluddin Rumi, a thirteenth-century Persian philosopher, mystic, scholar, and the founder of the Whirling Dervishes. Rumi's poetry transcends time, inviting readers on a spiritual journey that explores the universal themes...

In Speaking Out, Albert Camus, renowned for his profound influence on 20th-century literature, offers readers an evocative collection of his most illuminating speeches and lectures. This anthology captures the essence of Camus’ philosophical and moral standpoints, vividly portraying his enduring commitment to humanism, justice, and freedom. Through this definitive collection, readers are invited to journey through pivotal moments in Camus'...

The Aeneid by Virgil stands as a monumental work in the annals of literature, a timeless epic that has profoundly influenced Western culture for over two millennia. This exquisite clothbound edition offers a beautiful presentation of Virgil's magnum opus, which not only celebrated the glory of ancient Rome but also explored deep human emotions and experiences. The story follows the...

The Eclogues by Virgil is an exquisite collection of ten pastoral poems that masterfully blend a Greek literary form with vivid depictions of contemporary Roman life. These poems traverse the tranquil landscapes of rural Italy, where shepherds converse and sing, grappling with the various emotional and socio-political upheavals of their time. Filled with idyllic imagery and poignant emotion, the Eclogues...

The Essays by Michel Montaigne is a timeless collection of musings that delve deep into the human condition, exploring a vast array of themes with unparalleled originality. Without adhering to a strict narrative, Montaigne's essays meander through topics as diverse as personal introspection, philosophical contemplation, and societal critique. His writing is deeply rooted in personal experience, as he reflects on...

The Histories by Herodotus is an extraordinary work of classical literature that offers a compelling account of the ancient world. This landmark of historical writing, often regarded as the first great narrative history in Western literature, primarily centres on how a small confederation of Greek city-states united against the mighty Persian Empire. Set during the 5th century BC, the narrative...

The Iliad, authored by Homer, stands as the greatest literary achievement of Greek civilisation and is now available in a stunning new clothbound edition. The Iliad plunges readers into the throes of the legendary Trojan War. Set during the conflict's final year, this epic poem paints a vivid picture of bloodshed, glory, and the immortal struggles of heroes. The tale...

The Odyssey by Homer is a monumental epic that has enthralled readers for centuries with its rich tapestry of adventure and human struggle. It chronicles the perilous journey of Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, as he strives to return home after the fall of Troy. During this ten-year odyssey, Odysseus confronts myriad dangers, both natural and supernatural, that test...

The The Odyssey by Homer is a timeless epic that chronicles the adventures of the legendary Greek hero, Odysseus, as he endeavours to return home to Ithaca following the conclusion of the Trojan War. This monumental journey spans ten arduous years, during which Odysseus encounters a myriad of natural and supernatural challenges. From shipwrecks and ferocious battles to formidable monsters...

In The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell embarks on a harrowing journey through the industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire during the bleak 1930s. Commissioned by the Left Book Club in 1936, Orwell's aim was to report on the living conditions of the working class. What he discovers profoundly changes his perspective and leads to the creation of a...

Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry Thoreau are two seminal works that reflect on personal freedom, individuality, and the inherent connection between humanity and nature. Walden is the fruit of Thoreau's two-year experiment in simple living on Walden Pond in Massachusetts. It meticulously follows the natural cycle of the seasons, weaving a thoughtful narrative that extends beyond a mere account...

Based on the groundbreaking BBC television series, Ways of Seeing by John Berger is an innovative and compelling examination of how we perceive visual art. Published as part of the celebrated Penguin on Design series in Penguin Modern Classics, this book delves into the intricate relationships between art, society, and individuals. The opening premise, "Seeing comes before words. The child...

In Paradise Lost, Milton produced a poem of epic scale, conjuring up a vast, awe-inspiring cosmos and ranging across huge tracts of space and time. Yet, by placing a charismatic Satan and naked Adam and Eve at the centre of this story, he also created an intensely human tragedy on the Fall of Man. Written when Milton was in his...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. A young man and woman meet by chance and fall instantly in love. But their families are bitter enemies, and in order to be together, the two lovers must be prepared to risk everything. Set in a city torn apart by feuds and...

The heroic Greek dramas that have moved theatre-goers and readers since the fifth century B.C. Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, the three plays that tell the story of the fated Theban royal family—Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus—are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles's authoritative and acclaimed translation conveys all of...

The story centres on the critical events in four days of the 10th and final year of the war between the Greeks and Trojans. It describes how the quarrel of Agamemnon and Achilleus sets in motion a tragic sequence of events, which leads to Achilleus' killing of Hektor and determines the ultimate fate of Troy. But Homer's theme is not...

One of Williams' best-loved plays, this emotional rollercoaster tells the tale of the iconic Blanche DuBois and her demise by Stanley Kowalski. Fading southern belle Blanche DuBois depends on the kindness of strangers and is adrift in the modern world. When she arrives to stay with her sister Stella in a crowded, boisterous corner of New Orleans, her delusions of...

An Inspector Calls, first produced in 1946 when society was undergoing sweeping transformations, has recently enjoyed an enormously successful revival. While holding its audience with the gripping tension of a detective thriller, it is also a philosophical play about social conscience and the crumbling of middle-class values. Time and the Conways and I Have Been Here Before belong to Priestley's...

Arthur Miller's extraordinary masterpiece, Death of a Salesman changed the course of modern theatre, and has lost none of its power as an examination of American life. In the spring of 1948, Arthur Miller retreated to a log cabin in Connecticut with the first two lines of a new play already fixed in his mind. He emerged six weeks later...

Discover Dante's original Inferno - the inspiration for Dan Brown's new novel - in this modern and acclaimed Penguin translation. Describing Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of the seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric...

The essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde. The woman's place of power within each of us is neither white nor surface; it is dark, it is ancient, and it is deep. The revolutionary writings of Audre Lorde gave voice to those 'outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women'. Uncompromising, angry and yet...

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. I am Black and lesbian, and what you hear in my voice is fury, not suffering. From the self-described 'black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet', these soaring, urgent essays on the power of women, poetry and anger...

A new anthology of 100 years of artists', filmmakers', and architects' manifestos. In this remarkable collection of 100 manifestos from the last 100 years, Alex Danchev presents the cacophony of voices of such diverse movements as Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Feminism, Communism, Destructivism, Vorticism, Stridentism, Cannibalism, and Stuckism, taking in along the way film, architecture, fashion, and cookery. Artists' manifestos are...

A View from the Bridge is a tragic masterpiece of the inexorable unravelling of a man. Eddie Carbone is a longshoreman and a straightforward man, with a strong sense of decency and honour. For Eddie, it's a privilege to take in his wife's cousins, newly arrived from Italy. However, as his niece begins to fall for one of them, it's...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. Promised a golden future as ruler of Scotland by three sinister witches, Macbeth murders the king to ensure his ambitions come true. But he soon learns the meaning of terror – killing once, he must kill again and again, and the dead return...

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 'It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself'

Robin Kirkpatrick's superb translation of the most famous work of Italian literature, in a one-volume edition. The Divine Comedy describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide; his ascent of Mount Purgatory and encounter with his dead love, Beatrice; and finally, his arrival in Heaven. Examining questions of faith, desire and enlightenment, the poem is a brilliantly nuanced...

"You have talked so often of going to the dogs - and well, here are the dogs, and you have reached them." George Orwell's vivid memoir of his time among the desperately poor and destitute in London and Paris is a moving tour of the underworld of society. Here he painstakingly documents a world of unrelenting drudgery and squalor. Sleeping...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. When young prince Hamlet is confronted by his father's ghost on the battlements of Castle Elsinore, he is burdened with a terrible task—slay King Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, who the ghost alleges murdered him. Wrestling with...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. A vivacious woman and a high-spirited man both claim that they are determined never to marry. But when their friends trick them into believing that each harbours secret feelings for the other, they begin to question whether their witty banter and sharp-tongued repartee...

Beautifully designed clothbound edition of this brilliant translation. Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. Describing Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide, Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in...

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. A Terrible Beauty Is Born features the powerful lines: 'But I, being poor, have only my dreams; / I have spread my dreams under your feet...' By turns joyful and despairing, this collection presents some of the twentieth century's greatest verse,...

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 And when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars.

The Little Black Classics series introduces 46 new books to celebrate the first-ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Love That Moves the Sun and Other Stars by Dante Alighieri evokes happiness beyond all words, portraying a life filled with peace and love, entire and whole.

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 'It's coming - the postponeless Creature'

The Night is Darkening Round Me is part of the Little Black Classics series, released to celebrate Penguin's 80th anniversary. '... ever-present, phantom thing; My slave, my comrade, and my king'

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Tyger, Tyger by William Blake explores profound and thought-provoking themes through its powerful imagery and lyrical style. This collection of poetry delves into the complexities of human experience and the questions of creation and existence. ‘How can the bird that is...

Truman Capote began writing when he was eight and became one of America's most versatile and gifted authors. A Capote Reader contains much of his published work: his fiction, including "Breakfast at Tiffany's", as well as his prolific output of short stories. Also included are travel sketches in which he evokes places from Tangiers to Brooklyn, and portraits of his...

All My Sons brought Miller his first major success, and continues to be a bestseller today. In Joe and Kate Keller's family garden, an apple tree—a memorial to their son Larry, lost in the Second World War—has been torn down by a storm. But his loss is not the only part of the family's past they can't put behind them....

A widely revered collection from the Nobel prize-winning poet, publishing in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time. This startlingly original reworking of the Persephone myth takes us to the icy shores of Averno, the crater lake regarded by the ancient Romans as the entrance to the underworld. Here, the consolations of rebirth and renewal are eclipsed by the immediacy...

A drama of decay in Southern America, this depiction of patriarchy, power and repression is one of Williams' landmark works. Big Daddy Pollitt, the richest cotton planter in the Mississippi Delta, is about to celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His two sons have returned home for the occasion: Gooper, his wife and children, and Brick, an ageing football hero who has...

The complete collection of Kingsley Amis's poems, as witty, scabrous and bracing as his celebrated novels. Although best known for his comic novels, Kingsley Amis wrote poetry throughout his career. Collected Poems spans subjects from nature and cricket to love, ageing and literature, brimming with his characteristic wit and irreverence, yet full of compassion. 'The Last War' brings home the...

A landmark collection of verse from one of the twentieth century's supreme writers. These masterly poems span the decades of Nabokov's career, from Music, written in 1914, to the short, playful To Vera, composed in 1974. The University Poem, one of Nabokov's major poetic works, is here in English for the first time. This extraordinary autobiographical poem looks back at...

Calvino's fascinating and cerebral collection of essays celebrating all aspects of the visual, translated for the first time and new to Penguin Modern Classics. Italo Calvino claimed that 'the brain begins in the eye'. The essays collected here display his fascination with the visual universe, in which the things we see tell a truth about the world. With encyclopedic knowledge...

These essays, reviews and articles illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of this century - a man who created a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloud and who elevated political writing to an art.

The king of gonzo journalism's most scorching work for Rolling Stone “It would not do to be found in the desert under these circumstances—firing wildly into the cactus from a car full of drugs.” Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone showcases the evolution of a writer through his work at the magazine that he helped to put on the map....

Anaïs Nin's classic exploration of love and sex in 1930s Paris. The brilliant tale of Anaïs Nin's true love affair with Henry Miller, and her ambiguous, charged relationship with his wife, June. Drawn from the journals of a single momentous year in Paris, Henry and June provides a wildly lyrical account of a woman's sexual awakening and the disillusion of...

'I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked' Beat movement icon and visionary poet, Allen Ginsberg broke boundaries with his fearless, pyrotechnic verse. This new collection brings together the famous poems that made his name as a defining figure of the counterculture. They include the apocalyptic Howl, which became the subject of an obscenity...

Illuminating reflections on painting and drawing from the great 'art-historical odd man out' Thank God for yellow ochre, cadmium red medium, and permanent green light How does a painter see the world? Philip Guston, one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century, spoke about art with unparalleled candour and commitment. Touching on work from across his career as...

Set in the First World War, Journey's End concerns a group of British officers on the front line and opens in a dugout in the trenches in France. Raleigh, a new eighteen-year-old officer fresh out of English public school, joins the besieged company of his friend and cricketing hero Stanhope, and finds him dramatically changed... Laurence Olivier starred as Stanhope...

A singular journey through the visionary world of Kafka and its captivating mysteries, now in Penguin Modern Classics. What are Kafka's stories about? Are they dreams? Allegories? Symbols? Things that happen every day? But where and when? In this remarkable book, Roberto Calasso sets out not to dispel the mystery but to let it be illuminated by its own light....

Jorge Luis Borges was a literary spellbinder whose tales of magic, mystery, and murder are shot through with deep philosophical paradoxes. This collection brings together many of his stories, including the celebrated Library of Babel.

A defining collection from Alistair Cooke's legendary BBC Radio broadcasts guiding us through nearly sixty years of changing life in the United States. When Alistair Cooke retired in February 2004, he was acclaimed as one of the greatest broadcasters of all time. His Letter from America radio series, which began in 1946 and continued every week for fifty-eight years until...

An extraordinary collection of essays arguing for literature's complicity with evil, new to Penguin Modern Classics. Literature is not innocent, stated Georges Bataille in this extraordinary 1957 collection of essays, arguing that only by acknowledging its complicity with the knowledge of evil can literature communicate fully and intensely. These literary profiles of eight authors and their work, including Emily Brontë's...

Kerouac's famed freewheeling poem joins the Penguin Modern Classics. 'I want to be considered a jazz poet blowing a long blues in an afternoon jam session on Sunday' Freewheeling and spontaneous, Mexico City Blues is Jack Kerouac's most significant and emblematic poem. Consisting of 242 loosely linked 'choruses', it takes in life, death, spirituality, jazz improvisation, memory, fantasies and dreams,...

These three great plays by one of the founding fathers of the theatre of the absurd are alive and kicking with tragedy and humour, bleakness and farce. In Rhinoceros, we are shown the innate brutality of people as everyone, except for Berenger, turns into clumsy, unthinking rhinoceroses. The Chairs depicts the futile struggle of two old people to convey the...

The most beautiful and powerful of Milosz's poems from across his writing life This selection brings together the most beautiful and powerful of Czeslaw Milosz's poems, spanning his writing life. In verses such as Cafe, he considers the upheaval, revolutions, and two world wars that he had witnessed, while My Faithful Mother Tongue reflects the loyalty he felt to his...

Spain's greatest and most well-loved modern poet, Lorca has long been admired for the emotional intensity and dark brilliance of his work, which drew on music, drama, mythology and the songs of his Andalusian childhood. From the playful Suites and stylised Gypsy Ballads, to his own dark vision of urban life, Poet in New York, and his elegiac meditation on...

Hailed as the greatest modern lyrical poet of Germany, Rainer Maria Rilke's genius lies in his passion for perfection, artistic integrity and 'willingness to remain a perpetual beginner'. The verse contained in this selection ranges from the objective, naturalistic descriptions of his earliest works to the increasingly effusive outpourings of half-religious ecstasy and anguish that characterise his later poems. This...

The most acclaimed volume of poetry by the legendary Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet I have been woman for a long time beware my smile I am treacherous with old magic Filled with rage and tenderness, Audre Lorde's most acclaimed poetry collection speaks of mothers and children, female strength and vulnerability, renewal and revenge, goddesses and warriors, ancient magic and...

Dorothy Parker, more than any of her contemporaries, captured the spirit of her age in her writing. The decadent 1920s and 1930s in New York were a time of great experiment and daring for women. For the rich, life seemed a continual party, but the excesses took their emotional toll. With a biting wit and perceptive insight, Dorothy Parker examines...

One of 'the best artistic jokes of the century', this is both madcap cookbook and Futurist manifesto. Part manifesto, part artistic joke, Filippo Marinetti's The Futurist Cookbook is a provocative work about art disguised as an easy-to-read cookbook. Here are recipes for ice cream on the moon; candied atmospheric electricities; nocturnal love feasts; sculpted meats. Marinetti also sets out his...

Why Are We Artists? is a new anthology encompassing 100 years of manifestos by artists, filmmakers, and architects from across the globe. "Art is not a luxury. Art is a basic social need to which everyone has a right." This extraordinary collection features 100 artists' manifestos from around the world, spanning the past century. It brings together political activists, anti-colonialists,...

New to Penguin Modern Classics Why Read the Classics? is an elegant defence of the value of great literature by one of the finest authors of the last century. Beginning with an essay on the attributes that define a classic (number one - classics are those books that people always say they are 'rereading', not 'reading'), this is an absorbing...

Introduction by Amit Chaudhuri; translated by J.A. Underwood Walter Benjamin - philosopher, essayist, literary and cultural theorist - was one of the most original writers and thinkers of the twentieth century. This new selection brings together Benjamin's major works, including One-Way Street, his dreamlike, aphoristic observations of urban life in Weimar Germany; Unpacking My Library, a delightful meditation on book-collecting;...

A major career-spanning collection from the inimitable Nobel Prize-winning poet. For the past fifty years, Louise Glück has been a major force in modern poetry, distinguished as much for the restless intelligence, wit, and intimacy of her poetic voice as for her development of a particular form—the book-length sequence of poems. This volume brings together the twelve collections Glück has...

An enlightening anthology of George Orwell's journalism and non-fiction writing. Famous for his novels and essays, Orwell remains one of our very best journalists and commentators. Confronting social, political and moral dilemmas head-on, he was fearless in his writing — a champion of free speech, a defender against social injustice and a sharp-eyed chronicler of the age. But his work...

W.B. Yeats's Selected Poems is edited with an introduction and notes by Timothy Webb in Penguin Modern Classics. Few have lived their ideas so passionately and nobly as W.B. Yeats in his love affairs, politics, and poetry. From his youth in the 1880s, as a fertile dreamer rediscovering and remaking the Irish tradition, he grew into a great and innovative...