Celebrated master calligrapher Hassan Massoudy carries the desert within him. Through majestic, sweeping strokes, he depicts its breath-taking beauty and wonder. Massoudy draws inspiration from the words and wisdom of some of our greatest poets and writers – Rumi, Paul Bowles, Goethe, Baudelaire, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Khalil Gibran – who have lost themselves in the mysteries of the desert. Beautifully illustrated, Calligraphies of the Desert offers inspiration for meditation. Speaking to the senses, it is a treasure for travellers, poets and dreamers.

Inspired by timeless poems from around the world, Hassan Massoudy's calligraphy takes us on a visual journey through love in its many forms. Through his signature broad strokes and vibrant colours, this master calligrapher brings to life the words and wisdom of some of our greatest poets, from Ibn Zaydoun and Rumi to Kahlil Gibran, John Keats and Paul Éluard. Beautifully designed and illustrated throughout, Calligraphies of Love is the perfect gift for lovers, poets and dreamers.

"A feast for the eyes and balm for the soul."--Tlrama Hassan Massoudy's elegant calligraphy depicts the four seasons of the garden. From the icy palettes of winter to delicate spring growth, and from the dazzling sunshine and blooms of summer through the fading hues of autumn, he captures in calligraphy what countless poets have crafted with words. The proverb or quotation that inspired each artwork is handwritten in Arabic by Massoudy alongside the English texts on the facing page. Hassan Massoudy was born in Najaf, Iraq. He moved to France in 1969, where he studied at L'cole des Beaux-Arts. His work has been exhibited throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Mexico, 1683. When Concepción Benavidez flees her indenture from the convent of San Jerónimo in Mexico City and sets out to join a band of refugee slaves along with her friend Aléndula, the two are captured by buccaneers in Vera Cruz led by the famed Laurens-Cornille de Graaf, who is running a slave- and provisions ship headed for New England. Aléndula dies on the journey, but Concepción, upon arrival, is renamed Thankful Seagraves and sold to a Boston merchant, Nathaniel Greenwood, who plans to have her care for his crippled father-in-law and manage the Old Man’s chicken farm. Delirious, half-starved, and terrified by her ordeal on board the Neptune, during which the Captain raped her repeatedly, Thankful Seagraves gives birth to a daughter, coveted by Rebecca, Nathaniel's fallow wife, and over the next eight years struggles to adapt herself into English colonial life. With great difficulty she attempts to raise her daughter in the faith and language of New Spain and thus forge a connection between herself and the girl even while Rebecca slowly turns Hanna against her. Like her friend, Tituba Indian, Concepción is a perpetual outsider—her mixed-race looks as well as her accent and her Catholic background set her apart—and before long she gets swept up in the hysteria of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692, culminating in a shocking accusation by her own daughter, who renounces her mother and declares her a witch.

Existential and curiously hypnotic, Pablo d'Ors evokes the sharp stylized prose of Bolaño, Bernhard, and DeLillo in this strange tale of one man's repeated forays into the desert, and the ultimate silence it contains. "Thanks to the back cover of a book I knew that there lived in Brno a man who had dedicated a good portion of his life to traveling through many of the world's deserts." So begins Pavel's story, as a series of mysterious circumstances lead him to change the course of his life. On his repeated trips to the Sahara, first as part of an enigmatic organization called Friends of the Desert and later on his own, Pavel explores the drifting sands, and, ultimately, something approaching infinity. Nothing is as it seems. As the unknowns increase, each encounter presents a new mirror for Pavel's own expanding consciousness. Innumerable artists, thinkers, and mystics have paid their respects to the void. With refinement and care, Friend of the Desert inserts itself to that tradition. In the wake of Hesse's famous Siddhartha, Bolaño's By Night in Chile, and Don DeLillo's The Names, Pablo d'Ors approaches the depths and casually settles in. Friend of the Desert is a rare gift for seekers of the absolute.

• Details the author’s time living with the Navajo people as a teacher, sheepherder, and doctor and her profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits • Shows how she learned the Navajo language to bridge the cultural divide • Reveals the miracles she witnessed, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck • Shares her fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting “skin walker” and how she fulfilled a prophecy by returning as a doctor In 1971, Erica Elliott arrived on the Navajo Reservation as a newly minted schoolteacher, knowing nothing about her students or their culture. After a discouraging first week, she almost leaves in despair, unable to communicate with the children or understand cultural cues. But once she starts learning the language, the people begin to trust her, welcoming her into their homes and their hearts. As she is drawn into the mystical world of Navajo life, she has a series of profound experiences with the people, animals, and spirits of Canyon de Chelly that change her life forever. In this compelling memoir, the author details her time living with the Navajo, the Diné people, and her experiences with their enchanting land, healing ceremonies, and rich traditions. She shares how her love for her students transformed her life as well as the lives of the children. She reveals the miracles she witnessed during this time, including her own miracle when the elders prayed for healing of a tumor on her neck. She survives fearsome encounters with a mountain lion and a shape-shifting “skin walker.” She learns how to herd sheep, make fry bread, and weave traditional rugs, experiencing for herself the life of a traditional Navajo woman. Fulfilling a Navajo grandmother’s prophecy, the author returns years later to serve the Navajo people as a medical doctor in an underfunded clinic, delivering numerous babies and treating sick people day and night. She also reveals how, when a medicine man offers to thank her with a ceremony, more miracles unfold. Sharing her life-changing deep dive into Navajo culture, Erica Elliott’s inspiring story reveals the transformation possible from immersion in a spiritually rich culture as well as the power of reaching out to others with joy, respect, and an open heart.

In the last years of Salazar's dictatorship, a struggling young artist is commissioned to paint the portrait of a wealthy client and struggles to capture his likeness while acknowleging his artistic limitations.

These poems by the Sufi master evoke the experience of spiritual love--provoked by an encounter with a young Persian woman who becomes for the poet an emblem of the divine. Illustrations.

A unique and extraordinary collection, Desert Songs of the Night presents some of the finest poetry and prose by Arab writers, from the Arab East to Andalusia, over the last 1,500 years. From the mystical imagery of the Qur'an and the colourful stories of The Thousand and One Nights, to the powerful verses of longing of Mahmoud Darwish and Nazik al-Mala'ika, this captivating collection includes translated excerpts of works by the major authors of the period, as well as by lesser known writers of equal significance. Desert Songs of the Night showcases the vibrant and distinctive literary heritage of the Arabs. Beautifully produced, this is the ideal book for lovers of world literature and for those who seek an acquaintance with gems of Arab thought and expression. 'Desert Songs of the Night is a wonderful introduction to fifteen centuries of a literature still largely unknown in the West, without which much of our civilizations would not have developed as they have, from the rediscovery of Aristotle by Arab commentators to the lyric poetry of Europe, from the magical world of the Arabian Nights to the modern revolutionary poets of Palestine. Absolutely essential reading for our troubled times.' Alberto Manguel 'At a time when the world is obsessing about violence and bloodletting in the Arab world, this remarkable anthology, which spans 1,500 years of Arab literary genius, is a stark reminder of the untold story we keep missing about the region.' Hanan al-Shaykh

"THULUTH" is a game changing instructional book that aims to teach the art of Arabic Calligraphy in a truly comprehensive and step-wise method. The book looks to synergize traditional techniques of learning the art that have survived the test of time with contemporary learning methods that have proven to develop skills faster than ever. The result is a book that is not only an ultimate road map for absolute beginners but also a timeless guide for experienced calligraphers.