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THE ARTIST'S LIBRARY

Name: THE ARTIST'S LIBRARY
Author: Laura Damon-Moore
ISBN: 978-1-56689-353-4

A FIELD GUIDE

by Laura Damon-Moore ; Erinn Batykefer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2014

This quirky and imaginative book celebrates individuals’ potential for creativity and libraries as vital and vibrant...

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Librarians Damon-Moore and Batykefer show how libraries are more than just places to shelve books.

Founders of the Library as Incubator Project in Madison, Wis., the authors conceive the library as “a one-stop shop—a place where a broad variety of creative lifelong learners, artists of all kinds, and librarians could gather to share ideas about programs that support hands-on creativity.” The Incubator Project believes that “a library isn’t just about things—like books, databases, magazines, and free tax forms—it’s about people.” Their ideal library would welcome knitters, crafters, musicians, filmmakers and photographers, as well as readers, all of whom would be nurtured by the special ambience. Interviews with poets, teachers, actors, researchers and artists working in a variety of media are followed by exercises that encourage readers to think imaginatively: “The library is alive, and you are listening to its heartbeat. Record your ideas in a notebook.” Mostly, Damon-Moore and Batykefer focus on public libraries geared to general-interest readers, but their project is applicable to specialized and university libraries, as well. One artist, working at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, finds historical artifacts there that she interprets in her drawings. Recently, for example, she discovered 18th-century medallions commemorating the voyage of Capt. James Cook. “I am interested in how events and ideas of the past have influenced and persist within current cultural preoccupations,” she says. Another artist decided to illustrate every page of Finnegan’s Wake, a book, he decided, “that would really benefit from illumination.” Besides inspiring particular artists, libraries can serve as showcases for the arts: mounting exhibitions, hosting readings and book signings, staging performances and concerts, and providing a communal space for artists to work collaboratively.

This quirky and imaginative book celebrates individuals’ potential for creativity and libraries as vital and vibrant community resources.

Pub Date: May 13, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-56689-353-4

Page Count: 220

Publisher: Coffee House

Review Posted Online: March 10, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.