New Releases by Lisa Williams

This is the official guide to the 236 miles of the Appalachian Trail from its southern terminus on Springer Mountain in Georgia (about an hour north of Atlanta) to the eastern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina-Tennessee border. The route traverses the Chattahoochee-Oconee and Nantahala national forests, as well as the park, and includes the most rugged sections of the legendary footpath south of New Hampshire and Maine.This guidebook comes with four five-color topographic maps printed on two sheets of waterproof, tear-resistant material, for the areas south of the park and National Geographic Maps'' five-color topographic map of the park, with its side trails. All the maps have scales of about one inch to one mile.The book includes detailed trail descriptions as well as information on overnight sites, water sources, natural and cultural history of the areas, and directions to trailheads. Packaged in an exclusive, Kraft display box designed for shelves, with consumer information on the back.

Letters to Virginia Woolf is both a lyrical memoir and meditation on Woolf''s life and writing. Starting with the events of 9/11, Williams examines Woolf''s anti-war views and their relevance to our present time. In her pacifist manifesto, Three Guineas, Woolf wrote, "A common interest unites us; it is one world, one life." This book explores the events of 9/11 within the context of Woolf''s passionate cry for a world without war. In six concise parts, Lisa Williams writes letters to Virginia Woolf that reflect on Woolf''s ideas about war, memory, and childhood as well as her own experiences with these very issues.

Selah is a slavegirl, small and dusty, who fetches water from a well. She gazes at the distant mountains that hold things she has never seen--like trees, stars, lakes, and snow. Her Master Regan and The Craft have kept nature from the valleys, damning rivers and turning all to desert. They weave their material spells upon the slaves, and nothing ever changes. Then, one day, Regan summons Selah to serve him at a banquet. Before she steps into the Hall, another slavegirl tells her, "You can be walking along the same dark hallway you have trod for years, and suddenly, around the corner comes unexpected help, and everything changes." As Selah serves the guests, a stranger in a hooded cloak speaks to her. That very night, Micah leads her from the Keep, across the valley, to meet a band of travelers. They journey through hills, moors, and highlands to Mountain Gate. Selah finds beauty, music, and love in the Maker''s world and Micah. Regan follows, bent to take his slavegirl back. He captures Selah, imprisons her again, and she must face loneliness and The Craft.

Examines the literary relationship between Woolf and Morrison and how differing structures of domination define their art.

Lisa William''s poems are infused with what John Hollander calls "a guarded wonder." A poet of unique vision, she seems always to be "looking at," with special attention to the experience of the senses. Moreover, Williams is equally concerned with epistemology—the how of seeing. And it is perhaps this quality of attention that informs her interest in the formulations of poetry itself, in its constructed dimension. Her control of the line, of rhythmic possibilities, of structures both formal and free, is evident in every poem. Together, William''s original voice and her poetic finesse allow her to create those harmonies of wonder evoked by the very instrument, the hammered dulcimer, that gives her collection its name. Judge for the 1998 May Swenson Poetry Award was John Hollander, poet, critic, professor. Long a major figure in American letters, Hollander was a personal friend to May Swenson, and has influenced the work of many of our best emerging poetic voices.

In the early years of the 20th century, inspired by a free-thinking teacher and determined not to get married and stay trapped in her North Carolina fishing village, teenage Eleanor sets out to seek her chosen path of living as an independent woman.