最近送出的最好的禮物：大概是Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children這本書吧，我的教子教女都收到了這份禮物。他們可能會喜歡一些更酷的禮物，但是我覺得這些詩歌是他們這個年紀的孩子應該讀的。
The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children
The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children is a treasury of great poems chosen for the sheer pleasure they offer to readers of all ages. Compiler Gillian Avery's aim was to avoid condescending to children and "to assemble a collection of poems that the owner will not outgrow." With that in mind, she has included very few works that were written solely for a young audience. The more than 250 pieces gathered here range from ballads to epics, from inspired nonsense to memorable reflections on love and death. A wide variety of poets grace these pages, from Mother Goose to Shakespeare, from Emily Dickinson to Noel Coward, from Robert Frost to Ogden Nash. Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" and Rosetti's "Goblin Market" will enchant young readers as much as T. S. Eliot's "The Naming of Cats" and Lewis Carroll's "The Mock-Turtle's Song" will entertain them. Adorned with engravings by the eighteenth-century artist Thomas Bewick, this collection belongs in every family's library.
今天買到一本1994年的16世紀末英國豔詩集 才想到英國介紹 Everyman's Library.
我們看約1920年代周作人的文章 和1960年代王雲五在臺灣商務出版的人人文庫
都可以了解此文庫對我們的影響
(我曾在一篇評此公司的藝術類的書評讀到:"此出版商愛藝術不愛錢" (定價太低廉)
底下的這篇大體說明此公司百多年來的起伏.....
一
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
J. M. Dent and Company began to publish the series in 1906. It was conceived in 1905 by London publisher Joseph Malaby Dent, whose goal was to create a 1,000 volume library of world literature that was affordable for, and that appealed to, every kind of person, from students to the working classes to the cultural elite. Dent followed the design principles and to a certain extent the style established by William Morris in his Kelmscott Press. This was later replaced in 1935 by Eric Ravilious's designs.[1] Everyman's Library books were pocket-sized hardcovers that sold initially for what was then the remarkably low price of a shilling apiece. The original U.S. distribution rights were granted to New York City publishers, E. P. Dutton.
Contents |
History
The first title published was Boswell'sLife of Johnson, published with a quotation on the title page from the works of John Milton: "A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured upon purpose to a life beyond life." In 1910, 500 books had been published under the Everyman trademark, and in 1956 the thousandth volume (Dent's original goal) was published, with Aristotle's Metaphysics selected for the honour. By 1975, Dent's vision had been well surpassed, as Everyman's Library consisted of 994 titles published in 1,239 volumes.[2]Each book belonged to one of the following genres: Travel, Science, Fiction, Theology & Philosophy, History, Classical, For Young People, Essays, Oratory, Poetry & Drama, Biography, Reference, and Romance. The appropriate genre was printed inside and used to organize lists of the series issued from time to time.[3]
After ceasing publication of new titles in the 1970s, the hardback rights to Everyman's Library were sold to the newly formed David Campbell Publishers in 1991 and relaunched with the support of the Random House Group in the United Kingdom and through Alfred A. Knopf (which had been acquired by Random House in 1960[4]) in the United States—a move which was praised by many notable authors. Control of Everyman's Library passed to US-based Random House in 2002, who continue to publish it under the Knopf Publishers imprint there and (albeit without changes) as Random House UK elsewhere.[5] The current membership of the Honorary Editorial Committee includes Harold Bloom, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Seamus Heaney, Toni Morrison, Cynthia Ozick and Simon Schama.[6]
J. M. Dent & Sons was acquired by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1988, itself acquired by the Orion Publishing Group in 1991, now both part of Hachette Livre (UK). Not to be confused with Everyman's Library, Orion continues to publish Everyman Classics in paperback under the J. M. Dent imprint in the UK and through Charles E. Tuttle Co. in the US.[7]
The name of the publication series was suggested by poet and editorErnest Rhys, who was named head editor of the series initially, and asked to find a suitable name to encompass Dent's goal. Rhys tried and discarded many ideas before recalling a quotation from the medieval play Everyman in which the character of Knowledge says to Everyman:
- Everyman, I will go with thee
- and be thy guide,
- In thy most need to go
- by thy side.
Everyman's Encyclopedia
Main article: Everyman's Encyclopaedia
A notable addition to the library was a multi-volume encyclopedia which was added to the range in 1913. Individual volumes could be purchased separately, enabling the set to be budgeted over time. The fifth edition was published in 1967, by which time it consisted of twelve volumes, containing 7763 pages.The page size was 9 inches by 5 inches, but as the printing was 8 point, a large amount of information was contained in each volume. As a volume only weighed about 1¼ kg (2¾ lb) it was considered a better size for use by children.