Raptis Rare Books Presents: Kabbalah on Worth with Rabbi Zalman Levitin.

Raptis Rare Books Presents: Kabbalah on Worth with Rabbi Zalman Levitin.

By Adrienne Raptis | February 1, 2019 | Comments Off on Raptis Rare Books Presents: Kabbalah on Worth with Rabbi Zalman Levitin.

Raptis Rare Books is pleased to present Kabbalah on Worth: a four-part lecture series exploring the history and teachings of the sacred text. Presented in collaboration with the Gary & Terri Schottenstein Palm Beach Torah Institute Presented by the Chabad House and 55 Croisette.

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The Epic Influence of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

The Epic Influence of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

By Susan Christiansen | November 15, 2018 | Comments Off on The Epic Influence of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Attributed to the singular ancient Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey are considered to be, not only, the most important works of ancient Greek literature but the oldest extant works of Western literature. The epic poems were likely composed near the end of the 8th century B.C.E. in the Greek coastal region of Anatolia…

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Celebrating the Life and Work of  V. S. Naipaul

Celebrating the Life and Work of V. S. Naipaul

By Susan Christiansen | September 1, 2018 | Comments Off on Celebrating the Life and Work of V. S. Naipaul

This week we are celebrating the life and work of prolific Nobel Prize-winning author, V. S. Naipaul who recently passed away at the age of 85 in London, England. The author of over thirty works of both fiction and non-fiction, Naipaul was born in Trinidad to a family with Indian roots. Many of Naipaul’s early…

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Joan Didion: Master of Narrative Storytelling

Joan Didion: Master of Narrative Storytelling

By Susan Christiansen | June 18, 2018 | Comments Off on Joan Didion: Master of Narrative Storytelling

Born in Sacramento, California on December 5th 1934, American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter Joan Didion created some of the most poignant portraits of American culture throughout the 1960s and 70s. Didion graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1956 and immediately began her career as a copywriter for Vogue, her work later appearing in…

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Celebrating the Life and Literary Contributions of Tom Wolfe

Celebrating the Life and Literary Contributions of Tom Wolfe

By Susan Christiansen | May 17, 2018 | Comments Off on Celebrating the Life and Literary Contributions of Tom Wolfe

This week we are celebrating the life and work of American journalist and author Thomas Kennedy Wolfe Jr. who recently passed away on May 14th, 2018 at the age of 88. Tom Wolfe was widely associated with the intensely immersive New Journalism style of news writing that emerged in mid 1960s America; he coined the…

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John Steinbeck: Great Man of Letters

John Steinbeck: Great Man of Letters

By Susan Christiansen | April 30, 2018 | Comments Off on John Steinbeck: Great Man of Letters

Born on February 27th 1902 in Salinas, California, American author John Steinbeck published sixteen novels throughout his lifetime and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. The rich cultural diversity and migratory history of the Salinas Valley distinctly influenced his work as did his experiences struggling to make ends meet during the Great…

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The Transatlantic Literature of Henry James

The Transatlantic Literature of Henry James

By Adrienne Raptis | March 9, 2018 | Comments Off on The Transatlantic Literature of Henry James

Born on April 15th 1843, American author Henry James was regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists of the English language. James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works frequently juxtapose characters from the Old World, embodying a feudal civilization that is “beautiful, often…

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Celebrating Black History Month and African American Literary Achievements.

Celebrating Black History Month and African American Literary Achievements.

By Susan Christiansen | February 22, 2018 | Comments Off on Celebrating Black History Month and African American Literary Achievements.

Initially proposed by a group of African American educators at Kent State University in February of 1969, Black History Month was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford as a month of national observance in 1970 during the United States Bicentennial where he urged American citizens to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of…

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The Enduring Words and Actions of Victor Hugo

The Enduring Words and Actions of Victor Hugo

By Therese Hair | December 28, 2017 | Comments Off on The Enduring Words and Actions of Victor Hugo

Romantic French author, Victor Hugo is widely known for his novels, Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He was born in France in 1802 and traveled around Europe at a young age because of his father’s job as a major in Napoleon’s army. His mother, a strong royalist, opposed much of his father’s political opinions…

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Joseph Conrad: Legends of the Sea

Joseph Conrad: Legends of the Sea

By Therese Hair | December 3, 2017 | Comments Off on Joseph Conrad: Legends of the Sea

[one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Joseph Conrad is considered one of the most influential English writers of the 19th century, inspiring great American authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, and William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Virginia Woolf with his…

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