| This week I’ve got Samuel Beckett and stitching. What could be more exciting you ask? Read further….
Last April 13 marked the centenary of Samuel Beckett’s work. It’s strange that it’s only been 17 years since the dark progenitor of postmodern writing died in 1989, leaving behind classics both in prose and drama, still strange and impenetrable. Perfect for our modern age.
And yet, Beckett’s best work still feels years away. His writing continued to delve further into fractured bits of syntax – paragraph puzzle boxes, some of which may have been meant for larger works, but all carefully constructed.
Beckett Remembering, Remembering Beckett (Bloomsbury U.K., 318 pp.) isn’t a biography (read Anthony Cronin’s great Samuel Beckett: The Last Modernist) so much as a collection of thoughts and interviews on his art. His life’s pragmatic details are glimpsed at, but it isn’t the point of the book. Rather, various directors, actors and authors ruminate on what it was like to work with him, how they interpreted his work and its influence on their own.
Editors James and Elizabeth Knowlson seem to have included everything they could. Some snippets will only be of value to his most rabid acolytes – this isn’t really a book for neophytes. Some comments (Eugene Ionesco calling Beckett "a fine fellow" – and not much else) are lame. But there’s enough there to delight those looking for intelligent conversations (including Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee) by writers on writing. I’d now like to temporarily hand over Bookends to fellow editor Kirsten Kosloski.
KIRSTEN’S REVIEW
Jenny Hart, the woman who once embroidered the likeness of The White Stripes, now has her own instructional book, Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Patterns and How-To (Chronicle Books, 224 pp.). The book is a crafty bitch’s dream – containing a comprehensive list of what you’ll need in your sewing kit to step-by-step instructions on a number of beginner-level embroidery stitches (such as the French knot and cross stitch).
Hart is responsible for bringing embroidery (once thought of as a pass-time for blue-haired old ladies) into the living rooms of women between the ages of 18 to 35. She revolutionized crafting for a generation of women who had turned their backs on handicrafts and became an unstoppable force in the art world with her own embroidered portraits of celebrities – immortalizing everyone from Dolly Parton to Iggy Pop.
A member of the Austin Craft Mafia, an organization of similarly crafty ladies who began selling their wares on the Internet, Hart’s enthusiasm for her chosen art form is infectious. Her personality comes out in the writing, making the book a fun read and much more than a boring instructional manual. She also gives hints on how to make your own patterns and encourages you to be creative and keep trying, even if your finished product is less-than-perfect.
The book includes Hart’s beautifully photographed designs, and she includes hundreds of her sought-after iron-on patterns (such as cherries, space ships, dancing girls and race cars). The book even comes with a handy inside pocket to store the patterns after they’ve been removed and used. This book is a must-have resource for the beginner crafter as well as the more advanced stitcher.
Thanks Kirsten. In news and events this week, at McNally Robinson on Wednesday, August 9 at noon, poet Marshall Veal will read from his new collection of western-themed works, Who Has Seen the West: Poems, Songs and Reflections. On Thursday, August 10 at 7 p.m., Mark Hopkins hosts the next filling Station reading series. And fans of Jack Kerouac rejoice – Penguin plans to publish an unabridged version of On the Road, in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The excised passages are said to be chock full of sex and drugs.
Also, I’m going to retire from the Bookends gig. I’ve had a lot of fun with it over the last 50-plus issues, and am looking for some new blood to get into the column. If you’re interested, have a love and knowledge of all things book related, e-mail me at bevans@ffwd.greatwest.ca. |
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