I am sitting on the patio, under an awning, taking in the spring, the scent of purple and white lilacs from a corner of the garden. One by one, book podcasts are playing on the tablet. Let's take a look at the reading list. Last year a new translation, by poet Michael Hofmann, of the classic Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin was published by New York Review Books. I like their book design and have added many of their titles to my wish list. I never read the old translation and therefore, have no comparison. It's set in the underworld of Berlin, the Weimer Republic in the 1920s, and the book starts when Franz Biberkopf - shall we say the colourful? - is released from prison, determined to turn his life around. The other book I bought for the list is The Years by Annie Ernaux, which I mentioned in my last entry. The others are from the library.
It has been years since I read a volume of Anaïs Nin's diaries and it felt soothing somehow to pick up the one on the list, which starts in 1931. For a long time, I have been meaning to read stories by Katherine Mansfield, having been introduced to her work through Virginia Woolf's diaries and letters. The short story collection The Garden Party starts well and the writing style already appeals to me. Mansfield was only 34 when she died and one can only imagine what she could have accomplished as a writer.
№ 20 reading list:
1 The Years by Annie Ernaux
2 Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
3 The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
4 The Mexican Night by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
5 The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
6 It All Adds Up by Saul Bellow
7 The Diary of Anaïs Nin 1931-1934
1 The Years by Annie Ernaux
2 Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
3 The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
4 The Mexican Night by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
5 The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
6 It All Adds Up by Saul Bellow
7 The Diary of Anaïs Nin 1931-1934
Translated by: 1) The Years: Alison L. Strayer; 2) Berlin Alexanderplatz: Michael Hofmann
It has been years since I read a volume of Anaïs Nin's diaries and it felt soothing somehow to pick up the one on the list, which starts in 1931. For a long time, I have been meaning to read stories by Katherine Mansfield, having been introduced to her work through Virginia Woolf's diaries and letters. The short story collection The Garden Party starts well and the writing style already appeals to me. Mansfield was only 34 when she died and one can only imagine what she could have accomplished as a writer.
 |
Lee Krasner, Desert Moon, 1955
|
This summer I wouldn't mind taking a cultural trip to London, to see the exhibition Lee Krasner: Living Colour in the art gallery of the Barbican Centre, which opens on 30 May. Lee Krasner (1908–1984) was an American artist, born in Brooklyn; a pioneer of abstract expressionism. The catalogue says that her 'energetic work reflects the spirit of possibility in post-war New York' and the exhibition 'tells the story of a formidable artist, whose importance has too often been eclipsed by her marriage to Jackson Pollock.'
This is the first major presentation of Lee Krasner's art in Europe for more than 50 years, organised by the Barbican Centre, London in collaboration with these museums: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern and Guggenheim Bilbao. Coinciding with the exhibition is the Thames & Hudson publication of Lee Krasner: Living Colour by Eleanor Nairne.
In October, here in Germany, we can enjoy the art of Lee Krasner when the exhibition opens in the museum Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
This is the first major presentation of Lee Krasner's art in Europe for more than 50 years, organised by the Barbican Centre, London in collaboration with these museums: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern and Guggenheim Bilbao. Coinciding with the exhibition is the Thames & Hudson publication of Lee Krasner: Living Colour by Eleanor Nairne.
In October, here in Germany, we can enjoy the art of Lee Krasner when the exhibition opens in the museum Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
 |
Artist Lee Krasner in her studio
|
 |
Lee Krasner, Palingenesis, 1971
|
top image by me | Lee Krasner paintings via Barbican Centre: 1) LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 2) Kasmin Gallery, NY | Krasner in her studio: Kasmin Gallery via Artsy. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
 |
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment