The authors of oral literature in the Pashtun language create their work at a far remove from any books. Generally deprived of the support of schools and universities, their compositions are inseparable from song. Their poetry is never declaimed; rather, their rhyme and rhythm have melodic value. These popular improvisations do not exalt mystic love. In them there is no aspiration whatsoever to an unfathomable and incommunicable heaven, nor devotion to the lord, nor praise for an absolute master, nor any Adonis. To the contrary, they are songs of the earth. They celebrate nature, mountains, rivers, dawn and night’s magnetic space. They are songs of war and honor, shame and love, beauty and death. The repression of Afghan women has caused untold suffering, particularly through moral subjugation. Infant daughters and their mothers are received with scorn and shame, and lead lives of subordination and humiliation. Their rebellion against these tribal codes comes only through suicide and song. Translated from the Pashtun into French by the eminent Sayd Bahodine Majrouh, the greatest Afghan poet of the twentieth century, his text has been rendered into English in the expert hands of Marjolijn de Jager of the Translation Department at NYU.

Previously published in the US as The Girl in the Castle. The #1 international bestseller about the enduring bond between three women and the castle they will never forget. Their lives were mapped out ahead of them. But love and war will change everything... It’s the early 1900s and Castle Deverill stands staunchly untouched by time, hidden away in the rolling Irish hills. Within the castle walls, three friends have formed a close bond: affluent, flame-haired Kitty Deverill; Bridie Doyle, Kitty’s best friend and daughter of the castle’s cook; and Celia Deverill, Kitty’s flamboyant English cousin. They’ve grown up together, always sheltered from the conflict embroiling the rest of the country. But when Bridie learns of a secret Kitty has been keeping, their idyllic world is forever torn apart. Later, the three women scatter to different parts of the globe. Kitty must salvage what she can before Castle Deverill and everything she has ever known is reduced to ash. Songs of Love and War is an epic generational saga about the lasting bonds of true friendship and the powerful ties we all have to the place we call home.

Castle Deverill, nestled in the rolling Irish hills, is home to flame-haired Kitty Deverill. Her best friend is Bridie Doyle, the daughter of the castle's cook. Jack O'Leary, the vet's son, is always reminding Kitty that she isn't fully Irish; Bridie is jealous of Kitty's wealth and glamour. When the Irish revolt begins Jack enlists to fight, and Kitty throws herself into the cause for Irish liberty. Their lives are wrenched apart by betrayal, and when Castle Deverill comes under attack the only home Kitty has ever known is threatened.

The dawn chorus: a single voice cutting through the darkness heralds a breaking wave of sound at the very beginning of the day. It is an iconic natural phenomenon with many familiar performers, yet it is a mysterious event for which there is no complete explanation. A mass of starlings gathers at the end of the midwinter day. As the sun sets, wave upon wave of bodies rolls in and embarks upon another of nature's great attempts to show off. The murmuration is another much-admired spectacle, but again its purpose is obscure and defies our understanding. From dawn until dusk, birds do things that are surprising and mystifying. Songs of Love and War delves into bird behaviour and uncovers its purpose and meaning. More than just an inside look at bird behaviour, this book also represents a personal journey of discovery. What starts as a desire to learn more about the birds encountered on a regular father-and-son walk through the woods leads to a realisation that a bird's life is very far from the idyllic scene that can often be glimpsed by the casual birdwatcher. Actually a bird's life is often unusual and surprising, but above all it is brief and much darker than you might think.

This book presents political and war poems relating to the U.S. Civil War and love poetry.

Excerpt from Songs of Love and War "He gave his life that his country might live. One winter morn I saw a rose, A white rose blooming in the snow. As pale as death by a grave it grows. With a fragrance sweeter than earthly rose That white rose blows in the glistening snow. As fair it blooms as it bloomed of yore On a winter morn long, long ago, When the land had rest from a cruel war, And the soldier's friends this tribute bore To him who lay in the grave below. Methinks that once that rose was red, Before it bloomed above the dead, A new-blown rich-red jacqueminot, Symbol of the abundant life That through the soldier's veins did flow. But that was many years ago; And he who plucked the rose so red And turned it white above the dead, The cunning hand that carved the rose Laid down the chisel long ago. Nor do I think it was in grief That skilful hand turned petals white, And changed to marble each green leaf, And carved a bud beside the rose - His was the seer's inner light. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.