A dazzling collection and already a standard reference for those interested in contemporary drama, Plays in One Act is a unique compilation of plays and monologues that showcases a stunning and diverse array of work from some of the most important voices in theater.

Forty-three modern works are collected here: from plays by important contemporary artists such as David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein, Sam Shepard, María Irene Fornés, and John Guare, to gems by masters like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. Leading British playwrights -- Tom Stoppard, David Hare, and John Osborne -- are also featured, along with the international voices of Václav Hacel and Kobo Abe, and works by such established writers as Eudora Welty and Joyce Carol Oates, who are writing outside their traditional genres.

A new telling of Dante's Inferno, this translation is the most fluent, grippingly readable version of the famous poem yet, and--with all the consummate technical skill that is the hallmark of Sean O'Brien's own poetry--manages the near-impossible task of preserving the subtle power and lyric nuance of the Italian original, while seeking out an entirely natural English music. No other version has so vividly expressed the horror, cruelty, beauty, and outrageous imaginative flight of Dante's original vision.

After seeing a new translation of Jorge Luis Borges′s mini-essay Borges and I (included here), Halpern asked numerous writers to muse briefly on the fictional persona ′behind the scenes,′ the alter(ed) ego that accompanies creation.

He asked some 50 well-known authors-such as Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, William Gass, Czeslaw Milosz, James Michener, Joyce Carol Oates, and Cynthia Ozick-to write pieces on this idea. The essays are mostly one- to two-page snapshots and vary widely as to approach. Some are touching, others delightfully silly.

Edward Gorey anagrams his name into those of characters including Ogdred Weary. Others, such as Cecil Brown, posit earthier personas: He is the proper Negro who is ashamed of me, the nigger. And still others are reflective: Susan Sontag recalls her longtime disavowal of her work and finally comes to feel that the writer is me: not my double and thus she is both Dr. Frankenstein and the monster. Each contributor also submitted a whimsical self-portrait.

Twenty-two acclaimed writers celebrate the art of eating

Wendell Berry - Colette - William Corbett - Michael Dorris - Alexandre Dumas - M. F .K. Fisher - Michael Frank - Betty Fussell - Evan Jones - Judith B. Jones - Barbara Kafka - Madeline Kamman - Charles Lamb - Rose Macaulay - Henry Matthews - Joyce Carol Oates - Francine Prose - Paul Schmidt - James Seay - Charles Simic - Edward Steinberg - Alice Waters

There is more to be gained from our daily bread than mere sustenance. Curiosity, romance, ritual, and insight can be as much a part of a meal as any of its edible ingredients. In this delectable collection of essays on fine food and drink, twenty-two renowned writers capture the gestures, the celebrations, and the moments in which food, wine, and the act of eating transcend their initial purposes to become something far greater. A window into the eating lives of a handful of our finest literary artists, Not for Bread Alone is a tasty and most satisfying delight--a true culinary classic.