Artistic Talent .... in Photography and Writing

These two new books each showcase an artistic project.

THE ATLAS OF BEAUTY: WOMEN OF THE WORLD IN 500 PORTRAITS by Mihaela Noroc is an amazing book which was several years in development. Noroc is a photographer whose work has become known through social media and her blog. She has traveled with a backpack and camera to over 50 countries to capture moving moments. After travelling to Ethiopia in 2013 and re-kindling her own interest in photographing women when she saw the variety (rural life in tribes, in conservative communities or in modern, urban settings) and beauty in that one country, Noroc expanded this project to cover more geographical distance as well as different ages and physical characteristics. She includes a brief story about many of the women who appear in her book and those are equally fascinating, particularly in light of the discrimination, social pressures and opportunities which Noroc encountered. She writes, “We shouldn’t build walls between us, based on gender, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation, or religion, but find paths that connect us … I hope this book will be one of those paths.”

THE ATLAS OF BEAUTY made me think of Robin Bowman’s It’s Complicated or Portrait Revolution by Julia L. Kay, two other works which celebrate diversity and to which our students are often directed. 

LIGHT THE DARK is edited by Joe Fassler, available in paperback, and contains essays by roughly 50 authors.  And quite a list it is: William Gibson, Khaled Hosseini, Mary Gaitskill, Billy Collins, Marilynne Robinson, etc.  It is an illuminating and eclectic look at whose work inspired each of them, for example: Michael Chabon (Jorge Luis Borges), Junot Díaz (Toni Morrison), Neil Gaiman (R.A. Lafferty), Walter Mosley (Raymond Chandler), and Jane Smiley (Charles Dickens).  I was previously unaware of the “By Heart” online series which Fassler had created for The Atlantic in 2013 and a source for many of the submissions.

I have already been talking about this brand new book with English teachers and they are eagerly waiting to begin reading the insights regarding “creativity, inspiration and the artistic process.” Fassler notes that "at the core of each of these pieces is a moment of transformative reading .... each contributor tells some version of the same story: I read something, and I wasn't the same afterward." LIGHT THE DARK seems like a perfect work for summer reading for our Senior Writers Seminar students, but I think it is one to keep referring to all year long. Library Journal gave it a starred review. 

For even more books on writing, see “The 28 Best Books on Writing,” recently posted on Penguin Random House’s Signature.

On language and writing

THE IDIOT by Elif Batuman appealed because of its cast of characters:

• Selin, daughter of Turkish immigrants beginning her undergraduate studies at Harvard
• Svetlana, a classmate from Serbia and
• Ivan, an older mathematics student from Hungary.

The time period, 1995, and setting - both in Boston and across Europe – also grabbed interest as I began reading and reflecting on college experiences, the efforts to find oneself, and to establish adult relationships. However, I soon felt that Selin was a little too self-centered; although clearly very introspective and clever. Here is an example of her mind at work: “I was thinking about the structural equivalencies between a tissue box and a book: both consisted of slips of white paper in a cardboard case; yet – and this was ironic – there was very little functional equivalence, especially if the book wasn’t yours.” After a time, Selin’s frequent musings did seem less amusing and began to grate, slowing down the story, even though  Batuman is an award winning author who provides a thoughtful commentary on culture, language and “adulting.”

Booklist, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly all gave starred reviews to this semi-autobiographical debut novel and despite its being over 400 pages, I am curious to see if any of our Senior English classes will decide to explore this unique text. 

 BLEAKER HOUSE by Nell Stevens is also about language, writing and finding oneself. She subtitles this memoir “Chasing My Novel to the End of the World” and describes her experiences during a three month fellowship writing on Bleaker Island in the Falklands.  I have to be honest and say I was a little jealous of her ability to get completely away and write in isolation. Granted, she must forego Internet access and lists some “Habits I am being forced to break: Wondering: ‘What year was so-and-so born?’ .... Or any other general, non-urgent but niggling questions, and looking it up at once. Instead, I start a WORD document listing all the things I’d Google if I could: a sprawling, eclectic list of idle curiosity ....”  

I also really enjoyed her observations of the desolation of the Falkland Islands: “I walk for hours and see only monosyllables: cliffs, birds, waves, sand, sheep, rock, moss.” Future writers, travel enthusiasts and anyone with an active imagination should read the excerpt from BLEAKER HOUSE provided by the publisher and then turn to the book itself; there is also a Reading Guide for this debut work which will appeal to book groups.