Poetry. African & African American Studies. Latinx Studies. Women's Studies. Diannely Antigua's debut collection, UGLY MUSIC, is a cacophonous symphony of reality, dream, trauma, and obsession. It reaches into the corners of love and loss where survival and surrender are blurred. The poems span a traumatic early childhood, a religious adolescence, and, later, a womanhood that grapples with learning how to create an identity informed by, yet in spite of, those challenges. What follows is an exquisitely vulgar voice, unafraid to draw attention to the distasteful, to speak a truth created by a collage of song and confession, diary and praise. It is an account of observation and dissociation, the danger of simultaneously being inside and outside the experiences that mold a life. UGLY MUSIC emerges as a story of witness, a realization that even the strangest things exist on earth and deserve to live. "Diannely Antigua's UGLY MUSIC is a beautiful disturbance of erotic energy. This debut counters the pull of thanatos with the effervescent allure of pure imagination, and everything is dangerously alive. Antigua's seduction is both intellectual and physical, a force strong enough to counter the emotional pains recounted here--an abandoning father, trespassed bodies, pregnancies lost, wanted, feared. At times, the speaker of these poems trespasses on her own body, as if to say a body is both precious and to be ruined, used, used up. At its deepest song, this is a theological protest and investigation by a speaker wrestling with faith and fathers, with unapologetic desire. These poems have found a way to circumvent the most precarious silences, to boast and to rue." --Catherine Barnett

Gabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl’s body. With his new public access radio show gaining popularity, Gabe struggles with romance, friendships, and parents. His entire future is threatened when several violent guys find out that Gabe the DJ is also Elizabeth from school.

Perfect for the changing seasons, this wacky twist on The Ugly Duckling is a great read for Halloween and Thanksgiving. The Ugly Pumpkin has waited all through October for someone to take him home, but no one wants him. He doesn't look like other pumpkins. So the lonely Ugly Pumpkin leaves the patch in search of a place where he'll fit in. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, he discovers the truth about who he is--but it's not what he expected!

What does jazz mean 20 years into the 21st century? Has streaming culture rendered music literally meaningless, thanks to the removal of all context beyond the playlist? Are there any traditions left to explore? Has the destruction of the apprenticeship model (young musicians learning from their elders) changed the music irrevocably? Are any sounds off limits? How far out can you go and still call it jazz? Or should the term be retired? These questions, and many more, are answered in Ugly Beauty, as Phil Freeman digs through his own experiences and conversations with present-day players. Jazz has never seemed as vital as it does right now, and has a genuine role to play in 21st-century culture, particularly in the US and the UK.

A charming new picture book from the bestselling creators of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom!

People are chemical machines, yet we (and some other animals) develop a sense of beauty. Why and how did it evolve? How is it formed? This book answers these questions from the perspective of scientists with deep knowledge of the arts. It interweaves experimental sciences with the histories of art, architecture, music, dance, speech, literature, and food. Although we perceive each of our senses to be dramatically different, the authors show them all to be similar under the hood—similar in how they function and in how they shape our aesthetic experience. The authors cover many fields, and do not assume the reader has any special knowledge or expertise. They avoid jargon, equations and formulae, and begin every discussion at an introductory level. However, introductory does not mean elementary. This is a broad knife that cuts deep.

An ugly duckling spends an unhappy year ostracized by the other animals before he grows into a beautiful swan.

A funny, moving, and true story of an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face that's perfect for fans of Wonder—now available in the U.S. When Robert Hoge was born, he had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs. Surgeons removed the tumor and made him a new nose from one of his toes. Amazingly, he survived—with a face that would never be the same. Strangers stared at him. Kids called him names, and adults could be cruel, too. Everybody seemed to agree that he was “ugly.” But Robert refused to let his face define him. He played pranks, got into trouble, had adventures with his big family, and finally found a sport that was perfect for him to play. And Robert came face to face with the biggest decision of his life, he followed his heart. This poignant memoir about overcoming bullying and thriving with disabilities shows that what makes us “ugly” also makes us who we are. It features a reflective foil cover and black-and-white illustrations throughout.

Traces the chaotic breakdown of a friendship that shapes and unravels the identities of two rebellious girls in the wake of a stalker's predations.

Ugly Fish is ugly and big and mean, and he won't share his driftwood tunnel or his special briny flakes with anyone. And that means the wimpy little fish who keep showing up in his tank have got to go. But then one day someone bigger and uglier and maybe even meaner arrives . . . and suddenly Ugly Fish isn't feeling quite so confident anymore. From Kara LaReau, author of the Rocko and Spanky series, here is an irreverent and terrifically funny book about a bully who at last gets his comeuppance.