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Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most important and influential American writers of the 19th century. He was the first author to try to make a professional living as a writer. Much of Poe’s work was inspired by the events that happened around him. His poetry alone would ensure his spot in the literary canon. Poe’s notable verses range from the early masterpiece “To Helen” to the dark, mysterious “Ulalume.” From “The Raven,” which made him world-famous upon its publication in 1845, to “Annabel Lee,” the posthumously published eulogy for a maiden “in a kingdom by the sea.” Most famously, Poe completely transformed the genre of the horror story with his masterful tales of psychological depth and insight not envisioned in the genre before his time and scarcely seen in it since. Stories like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” reveal Poe’s talent at its height. He was an early pioneer in the genre of science fiction. Poe was fascinated by the science of his time, and he often wrote stories about new inventions. Poe too is credited with inventing the modern detective story with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” His concept of deductive reasoning, which he called “ratiocination” inspired countless authors, most famous among them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Vivian Stanshall, the one-off, brilliant headmaster of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band of the 1960s, has left us – but his music and cultural legacy live on. His brilliant, accomplished, articulate, charming, no-nonsense wife, Ki Longfellow Stanshall, generously gives us her innermost, intimate, and telling thoughts on her time with Vivian and the incredible life she has lived as a highly successful, internationally acclaimed artist and author in her own right. As told to historian, author, and actor Geoffrey Giuliano many years ago, welcome to the inner sanctum of an amazing husband-and-wife team who continues to meaningfully shape culture to this very day. Perfect for all university and school collections.

In Spanish California, a troubling pattern had developed. The natives were reduced to peasants, the Franciscan friars that ministered to them were derided, and the only people who mattered were the caballeros – who styled themselves as knights of the New World. These men strutted about in elegant clothes, riding magnificent horses, and sporting rapiers at their sides that they were quick to draw if they felt their honor was affronted. Into this world burst Zorro (Spanish for “fox”). A later-day Robin Hood, he stole from the rich and gave to the poor, but he also took it upon himself to punish men who had notably abused others. Cloaked and masked, appearing suddenly from the dark, he always stayed ahead of the manhunt launched at his heels. The authorities called him a highwayman. And when the doings of a corrupt governor began to affect the good people around the pueblo of early Los Angeles, Zorro responded.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT INDIA’S GREATEST MYSTIC SAINT! THE CHANT The Hanuman Chalisa is a hymn in praise of Hanuman authored by Tulsi Das. The word ‘chālīsā’ means the number forty in Sanskrit, as the Chalisa has forty verses. Hanuman is a great devotee of Ram and one of the central characters in the epic, Ramayan. He is also an incarnation of Shiva. The qualities of Hanuman – his strength, courage, wisdom, celibacy, devotion to Ram, and the many names by which he is known are all in the Hanuman Chalisa. Hanuman is the epitome of ultimate devotion manifested with its full glory unchallenged. By the power of his devotion to Sita Ram, he easily achieved supreme status as the perfect devotee and servitor. Reciting the Hanuman Chalisa infuses one with unlimited energy and prana. This sacred mantra also increases a person’s resilience and they emerge victorious in every situation. THE TEACHER Neem Karoli Baba known to his followers as Maharaj-ji – was a mystic saint and devotee of Hanuman. Here is the essence of his remarkable life and teachings. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Americans who traveled to India in the 1960s and 70s, including Ram Dass and Bhagavan Das, as well as musicians Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. Dr. Richard Alpert, a former Harvard professor and Timothy Leary cohort, was an icon of the hippie, LSD-fueled revolution of the 1960s. Thereafter, on a trip to India – like Clark Kent changing into Superman – he became the much-beloved spiritual teacher Baba Ram Das. His 1970s’ iconic book ‘Be Here Now’ turned on a generation to the deep, non-sectarian spirituality within us all.