Benjamin Ring

In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths we once held to be self evident? The world of science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of tomorrow blurring the line between life and art. Now, in The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world…

One of the most accomplished and creative filmmakers in British cinema, Derek Jarman rose to prominence as an intensely creative force during the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. A maverick artist foremost, Jarman’s attention to detail and unconventional approach to filmmaking has been matched by few others. Along with fellow classicist Peter Greenaway, Jarman’s unique ability to blend music and imagery, exploring both the personal and the political is profoundly engaging.

Since the series' inception in 1915, the annual volumes of The Best American Short Stories have launched literary careers, showcased the most compelling stories of each year, and confirmed for all time the significance of the short story in our national literature. Now THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES OF THE CENTURY brings together the best: fifty-six extraordinary stories that represent a century's worth of unsurpassed achievements in this quintessentially American literary genre. John Updike worked with coeditor Katrina Kenison to choose the finest stories from the years since 1915. The result is "extraordinary… A one-volume literary history of this country's immeasurable pains and near-infinite hopes" (Boston Globe).

Stephen Mulhall presents a series of multiply interrelated essays which together make up an original study of selfhood (subjectivity or personal identity). He explores a variety of articulations (in philosophy, psychoanalysis, and the arts) of the idea that selfhood is best conceived as a matter of non-self-identity–for example, as becoming or self-overcoming, or as being what one is not and not being what one is, or as being doubled or divided.

Intent on creating something that contrasted their own individual projects, Moderat — the trio comprised of Gernot Bronsert, Sebastian Szary (aka Modeselektor) and Sascha Ring (aka Apparat) — complete the trilogy with III, out April 1 on Mute/ Monkeytown. III pairs an emotional pull with sensual imagery, creating dynamic sound and depth with sophisticated lyrics and themes as they direct their gaze inward.

“Shakespeare has been a part of my life as a performer from the very start” says Ian Bostridge, “Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream and Ades's The Tempest have been milestones for me as a singer. It has been a great joy to rediscover the music in Shakespeare's incomparable texts and the music that has been written over the past four centuries toclothe them, from the simplest songs of his own contemporaries, through the melodic delights of the likes of Haydn, Britten and Finzi to the matchless complexity of the late Stravinsky. Working again with Tony Pappano has been a joy; and making my first recording with a long term musical partner, lutenist Liz Kenny, a particular pleasure.”