An impassioned if meandering collection of thoughts arising from the peaceful contemplation of life.
Pederson offers a series of faith-infused reflections on life and nature.
The title of this book refers to a favored Catholic honorific for the Virgin Mary, the “Star of the Sea”; this reference guides the reflections in these pages, which are intended to reflect the traditionally “Marian” qualities the faithful have found in Mary’s various appearances in the Gospel, where she’s often seen as quietly contemplative (Luke 2:19) or the supreme embodiment of faithful acceptance (Luke 1:38). But, as Pedersen quickly points out, although his book is “an attempt to enter into and fully inhabit that blessed Marian silence and, to, thereby, evoke the wondrousness and the splendor of how the Spirit travels through us and into our lives,” he readily acknowledges that Mary’s name scarcely appears in the text. He instead focuses on capturing the “peacefulness that passes understanding” in more generalized terms, sometimes referring to a concept called an “OmniSoul,” a kind of disembodied, depersonalized background-field sentience. The author makes some provocative claims about this phenomenon, including the contention that rocks have souls: “Know then that the OmniSoul, ever contemplatively quiescent, is present in any least creature or stone.” Each of the book’s sections consists of a brief assemblage of thoughts and observations, usually grounded in Pedersen’s reactions to the natural world around him. “We see rivers which run, like dreams,” he rhapsodizes. “We see mountains which rise up from the earth, white clouds that glory through blue sky, above the green trees; lakes with surfaces of silver and blue.”
Pedersen writes with the kind of contemplative calm he’s trying to encourage in his readers; this is a very soothing volume, as easily consumed in piecemeal, random selections as it is read front-to-back. Much like its subject, the book lacks a firm form—passages seem to wander on and off the page for no discernible reason, in no real order, and often border on the incoherent. “I realize that I am content,” he writes at one point. “I observe my thoughts as they pass into a future that has become an atmosphere of supreme trust; I know that my faith is strong enough, and I am suddenly convinced that the trajectory of my life is influenced somehow by the all-knowing omnipotence of a guiding hand, that is a friend to man, and a friend of my own.” Rhetoric like this is clearly aimed at a target audience of spiritually/religiously oriented readers, as other constituencies presumably don’t require an all-knowing omnipotent guiding hand to enjoy a peaceful morning in the woods. Frequently throughout the book, Pedersen’s enjoyment of being alive elevates his prose to appealingly enthusiastic heights, as when he refers to “the sound of the mystic blood, throbbing in its dark thunderous furrows, and pulsing as the temple veins of the living body.” The book’s recto pages are left completely blank, leaving readers plenty of space for writing their own reactions.
An impassioned if meandering collection of thoughts arising from the peaceful contemplation of life.Pub Date: July 13, 2023
ISBN: 9798852079800
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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