Labry’s stunning monochromatic images of Joan of Arc statuary are a love letter to the Maid of Orleans.
A professional photographer for over 30 years, Labry chose equestrian and other statues of Joan of Arc, the martyred saint and heroine of France, as the subject of his first book. The statues, all but two of which are in France, feature considerable texture, which the photographer captures beautifully in rich black and white. There is a timeless, sensitive quality about the images, many of which are close-ups of one detail—clasped hands, a bound torso, the Maid’s face lifted to the heavens. A few too many tight shots of horse heads appear, however, and the one of the stallion draped in Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans seems out of place. But the depth and dimension of all the photographs are notable; the contrast is strong but not excessive. An artist’s statement explaining the photographer’s fascination with Joan, as well as an intro to the life and times of the medieval peasant girl–turned–victorious army leader, is provided. Although the photos easily could stand on their own, Labry pairs them with quotes that are attributed to Joan of Arc, directly refer to her, or could describe achievements and mindsets credited to her. For example, a photo of a sculpture of Joan prepared for battle is coupled with Maya Angelou’s quote, “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.” The selected font for the quotations, Herculanum, an all-capital typeface that mimics Roman letters written in clay, however, is not reader friendly. Also, the index could be more helpful for readers; the general location of each statue photographed is given, but additional beneficial information isn’t supplied in the index or anywhere else in the book. For example, one reference to a statue reads, “Town Square, Chinon, France,” but a more helpful entry would say the piece was by Julies Roulleau (1855-1895) and is in the Place Jeanne d’Arc in Chinon.
Fabulous fodder for Joan of Arc fans, Francophiles, and lovers of fine photography.Pub Date: June 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-320-96360-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: Blurb
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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A New York Times columnist and editorial board member delivers a slim book for aspiring writers, offering saws and sense, wisdom and waggery, biases and biting sarcasm.
Klinkenborg (Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile, 2006), who’s taught for decades, endeavors to keep things simple in his prose, and he urges other writers to do the same. (Note: He despises abuses of the word as, as he continually reminds readers.) In the early sections, the author ignores traditional paragraphing so that the text resembles a long free-verse poem. He urges readers to use short, clear sentences and to make sure each one is healthy before moving on; notes that it’s acceptable to start sentences with and and but; sees benefits in diagramming sentences; stresses that all writing is revision; periodically blasts the formulaic writing that many (most?) students learn in school; argues that knowing where you’re headed before you begin might be good for a vacation, but not for a piece of writing; and believes that writers must trust readers more, and trust themselves. Most of Klinkenborg’s advice is neither radical nor especially profound (“Turn to the poets. / Learn from them”), and the text suffers from a corrosive fallacy: that if his strategies work for him they will work for all. The final fifth of the text includes some passages from writers he admires (McPhee, Oates, Cheever) and some of his students’ awkward sentences, which he treats analytically but sometimes with a surprising sarcasm that veers near meanness. He includes examples of students’ dangling modifiers, malapropisms, errors of pronoun agreement, wordiness and other mistakes.
Analyzing his craft, a careful craftsman urges with Thoreauvian conviction that writers should simplify, simplify, simplify.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-307-26634-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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