David D. Gilmore

Each year in the weeks preceding the deprivations of Lent, the Andalusian region of southern Spain erupts into madcap depravity, during a February carnival of riotous celebration. Carnival features subversive songs, burlesques and skits, transvestite parades, and public persecution of communal offenders, along with mournful elegies and heartfelt panegyrics. In this lively book, anthropologist David D. Gilmore, while exploring the meanings of Andalusian carnival, focuses particular attention on the songs, or coplas. He offers translations of many of these carnival productions and mines the rich vein of oral literature for a new understanding of the ways in which the Andalusian people interpret and negotiate their world.

The darkest parts of your brain house your darkest fears. Readers learn about the monsters that lurk in the shadows of their closet and beyond. They also discover the origin story of famous creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, and why people have searched for werewolves, dragons, and other creatures for centuries. Readers can also take a quiz to see if you could tackle the toughest monsters in the world and make it out alive.