Reference@TBML

Authors and Their Environment

It is always fascinating to go beyond the writing of an author and begin to investigate their environment.  Through this investigation we start to see how their environment, whether it be an immediate physical environment or the socio/political environment, informs their work.  There are several newer websites out there that provide this interesting window into the writer's process.

The well-designed and informative site Rowan Oak provides a virtual tour of William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Mississippi.  360* views and a timeline meshing Faulkner's writing history with that of Rowan Oak are the main features of this interesting site.

Another recent site outlines the cultural environment of America's favorite son, Mark Twain.  Mark Twain's Mississippi is a site chock-full of fascinating and helpful information for Twain scholars, students, and everyday users alike.  Included on the site are digitized primary documents, census maps from the Mississippi River Valley, sound recordings, and videos of Twain scholars and enthusiasts discussing and bringing his work to life.

And finally, a new book out called On Moving: A Writer's Meditation on New Houses, Old Haunts, and Finding Home Again by Louise DeSalvo offers a more contemporary perspective on the more contemporary act of moving from place to place and home to home.

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In Memoriam: Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt (19 August 1930-19 July 2009), whose Angela's Ashes made him into an overnight literary sensation in 1996, died of metastatic melanoma a month short of his 79th birthday in Manhattan on Sunday 19 July, 2009. Many of us who never even met him will remember him fondly for his liltingly told tale of a ghastly childhood in Ireland and New York and back in Ireland again.
The world is a poorer place for your passing, Frank McCourt. You are loved and missed by many of us! May you Rest in Peace.
 
And now raise a cup in his honor, remember the joy and wisdom he brought to our lives, as we drink a toast to his memory!
 
To read McCourt's obituary in the New York Times, click here.

To find out which Frank McCourt books we have in the library, click here.

MAP

Revisiting Karl Malden

One of Hollywood's legends passed away a week ago on July 1st.  Karl Malden, a mainstay of the silver screen passed away at the venerable age of 97.  A Gary, Indiana native, Karl Malden is perhaps best known for his Academy Award winning role in A Streetcar Named Desire.  Read his obituary in the Los Angeles Times to find out more about his long life.

As a way to stay cool and save some bucks, check out one of Malden's flicks from the library today.

Elsa Schiaparelli: Fashion Maverick

On this day, September 10, 1890, Coco Chanel's greatest rival was born in Rome.

Today, few know the name of Elsa Schiaparelli, but between the World Wars, she was a fashion force to be reckoned with. Influenced by the Surrealist movement that was sweeping through Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, Schiaparelli's fashions were cutting-edge and exciting.

She collaborated with artists such as Man Ray and Salvador Dali (who designed for her a hat that looked like a shoe and another that looked like a lamb chop); Coco Chanel herself once referred to her as "that Italian artist who makes clothes". She also dabbled in other areas such as perfume and costume design.

Sadly, Schiaparelli failed to adapt to post-war fashion trends, which were being led by designers such as Christian Dior, and her fashion house folded in 1954. She spent her retirement moving between Paris and Tunisia and died on November 13, 1973.

The Library does not have any books on Schiaparelli, but they do exist and can be Inter-Library Loaned:

Schiaparelli, Elsa
Shocking Life
ISBN 978-1851-775156 

White, Palmer
Elsa Schiaparelli: Empress of Paris Fashions
ISBN 978-1854-103581

Baudot, Francois
Elsa Schiaparelli (Universe of Fashion)
ISBN 978-0789-301161

And, if you're curious to know more about this fashion maverick, check out the following links:

Elsa Schiaparelli's clothes in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum exhibit: Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli

Victoria and Albert Museum: Golden Age of Couture

Wikipedia: Elsa Schiaparelli

Image Credit:
Apollo of Versailles, Cape, 1938
Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973), Designer
French; Made Paris, France
[no medium available]; Length at CB: 40 in. (101.6 cm)
Gift of Estate of Lady Mendl, 1951 (C.I.51.83)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The remarkable life of Elizabeth I

Throughout history, extraordinary women have escaped the bonds of oppression to become powerful leaders. Women such as Boadicea and Isabella I of Spain commanded armies and respect. One of the most fascinating female leaders is Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen" of England.

The last monarch of the Tudor line, Elizabeth ruled for a remarkable 45 years, the longest of any of the Tudor monarchs. She inherited a kingdom crippled by the religious wars of her father Henry VIII and sister, Mary I as well as by financial difficulties and tense relations with other countries such as Spain. Despite all the daunting tasks before her on her coronation day or perhaps because of them, she flourished, ruling over an unprecedented four decades of financial, cultural and political prosperity.

Elizabeth's long reign can be attributed to several factors: she surrounded herself with loyal and intelligent courtiers whom she rewarded well, she was a shrewd politician and, most remarkably for the time, she never married. Not a strange decision for an intellient woman to make, especially after seeing the fates of her father's six wives, her sister Mary I and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Instead of sharing or completely giving her power over to a husband, instead of risking the danger of dying by an ambitious husband or childbirth, Elizabeth ignored the demands of her advisors and remained resolutely single. She was not above dangling marriage above their heads for political gain, however, and she kept them guessing until her old age.

But, we should not forget that above all, she was human. History reports that she was stubborn, possessive and jealous. She was vain, covering herself in silks and jewels. She manipulated people and was thin-skinned. And she was not, most probably, a virgin.

The complex, intelligent, mercurial Elizabeth I of England was born on September 7, 1533.

Find out more about her life and times by checking out these books...

The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir
Location: B Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset
Location: B Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I: The shrewdness of virtue by Jasper Godwin Ridley
Location: B Elizabeth I

The pirate queen: Queen Elizabeth I, her pirate adventurers, and the dawn of empire by Susan Ronald
Location: B Elizabeth I

Her majesty's spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham and the birth of modern espionage by Stephen Budiansky
Location: B WALSINGHAM

The Queen's slave trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I and the trafficking in human souls by Nick Hazlewood
Location: B HAWKINS

The Queen's conjurer: the science and magic of Dr. John Dee, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I by Benjamin Woolley
Location: B DEE

Elizabeth and Leicester by Sarah Gristwood
Location: 942.05 Gri

Or by checking out our catalog, keyword Elizabeth I

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About the image:

The "Hampden" portrait of Elizabeth I of England, an early full-length portrait of the young queen in a red satin gown. Oil on canvas transfered from panel, 196 by 140 cm., 77¼ by 55¼ in. Sold at Sotheby's, London, for £2.6 million in November 2007. Reuters news story "Sir Roy Strong, a leading authority on portraits of Elizabeth I, who has written about the painting for Sotheby's in-house magazine, Preview, believed it to be an important early portrait, undertaken at a time when her image was being tightly controlled. 'This is a portrait dating from the mid to late 1560s, one of a group produced in response to a crisis over the production of the royal image, one which was reflected in the words of a draft proclamation dated 1563,' he said." FindArticles Portrait of a royal quest for a husband, The Independent, (London), Nov 1, 2007

Source: Scanned in the US from Sotheby's Catalogue #L07123, Important British Paintings 1500-1850 22 November 2007
Date: c. 1563 (per catalogue description)
Author: Steven van der Meulen
Permission: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

Birding Adventurer

“It’s an immature redwing!” “No, it’s a female tri-colored!” “Well, pull out your Peterson’s and let’s settle this!”

Last week (August 28th), we celebrated the anniversary of the birthday of naturalist Roger Tory Peterson, author and illustrator of A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America (first published in 1934) and developer of “the Peterson System” for bird identification. Peterson was born at Jamestown NY in 1908 and died in Old Lyme CT on July 28 1996. He is credited with almost single-handedly popularizing the hobby of “birding” or “bird watching” for generations of Americans. His magnum opus went through several editions and eventually was joined by a companion volume for the western part of the continent. Today, these field guides have gone through numerous editions and revisions and are still among the most highly regarded by amateur ornithologists in the field. On this centenary of his birth, RTP is fondly remembered and acknowledged by all of us as the man who, more than any other got it all started.

Check out his book, All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures.
Or put one or more of his books to good use.  MAP

Joyeux anniversaire, Napoleon!

Napoleon Bonaparte came screaming into the world on August 15, 1769. His family was minor nobility on the island of Corsica and he had a comfortable childhood along with his seven sisters and brothers. As a child, he was sent away to military school, a decision which would shape not only his life, but the history of modern Europe, as well. He graduated and went on to military college, where he studied artillery.

After graduating college, he was, at the age of 16, commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fere artillery regiment.  The upheaval of the French revolution allowed him to move quickly up the ranks, becoming a celebrated General after leading the French military to victory in several decisive battles. He used his popularity to become influential in politics and, in 1799, he was declared the First Counsul of the French Republic. A mere five years later, he completely abandoned any pretense of a democratic government by declaring himself Emperor of France.

He and his military ran amuck throughout Europe until a disastrous decision to pay a visit to Russia checked his ambitions in 1812. A year later, a coalition of countries including England, Russia, Austria and Sweden defeated his army, drove him out of Germany, swept into France and sent Napoleon into exile. He staged a brief come-back in March of 1815, escaping from his island prison of Elba, marshalling forces and briefly taking back control of France.  In June of that year, he finally met his Waterloo in…Waterloo. After four heated battles, Napoleon was through courtesy of the Duke of Wellington and his allied forces. He was sent into exile again, this time to the island of St. Helena, where he died six years later at the age of 51.

Of course, a few paragraphs cannot do justice to a man who, in a relatively short time, changed the face and direction of European history.  We have many books that do, however. Check them out!

Napoleon and his Marshals / by A.G. Mac donell
944.05 Mac

Napoleon and Wellington: The battle of Waterloo and the great commanders who fought it. / by Andrew Roberts
940.27 Rob

Napoleon Bonaparte / by Alan Schom
B NAPOLEON I

Napoleon: Man of war, man of peace / by Timothy Wilson-Smith
B NAPOLEON I

The Terror Before Trafalgar: Nelson, Napoleon and the secret war / byTom Pocock
940.278 Poc

The wars against Napoleon: Debunking the myth of the Napoleonic Wars / by Michel Franceschi
940.27 Fra

The black room at Longwood: Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena / by Jean-Paul Kauffmann
944.05 Kau

The first total war: Napoleon’s Europe and the birth of warfare as we know it / by David Avrom Bel
940.27 Bel

Moscow 1812: Napoleon’s fatal march / Adam Zamoyski
940.2742 Zam

You can also find more books, DVDs and audio books on Napoleon by searching for Napoleon Bonaparte in our catalog: http://chile.las-cruces.org/

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Image information: Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole by Antoine Jean Gros, c. 1801, currently at the Louvre in Paris. The work of art depicted in this image and the reproduction thereof are in the public domain worldwide. The reproduction is part of a collection of reproductions compiled by The Yorck Project. The compilation copyright is held by Zenodot Verlagsgesellschaft mbH and licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/home.html Biography of Napoleon, Public Broadcasting Corp.

http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/ Napoleon Society

http://www.napoleon-series.org/ Napoleon Series

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Bonaparte Wikipedia: Napoleon Bonaparte

I Would Prefer Not To

“I Would Prefer Not To,” a refrain from Herman Melville’s short story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener", could be the song of office workers the world over. The story chronicles the antagonism and resistance both between office worker and supervisor and the office worker and the office.

In honor of this great gift to the white-collar workforce, we celebrate August 1^st which marks the birthday of Herman Melville—one of the U.S.’s most famous authors. Although most well known for his epic work Moby Dick, Melville published 11 novels, several collections of poetry, and one book of short stories. He achieved his fame early in life with his novels inspired by his trips to the South Pacific and Hawaii. At the age of 32, when Moby Dick was published, Melville had slipped into veritable anonymity. His work had lost favor and Moby Dick sold few copies. In the 1920’s (30 years after his death), Herman Melville’s work enjoyed a revival with Moby Dick quickly being identified as a masterpiece. Visit the online annotated version of Moby Dick for some help with those lengthy passages.

Herman Melville’s work explores both language and the world with humor and sensitivity--and is well worth the time. Check out one of his books today or check out the excellent Melville Biography by Andrew Delbanco.

Visit the extensive (but infrequently updated) site, The Life and Works of Herman Melville, for a plethora of Melville related information.

Planning a trip to the East Coast? Visit Melville’s home in Massachusetts (http://www.mobydick.org/). BES

“This Land is Your Land”

As I went out walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said, "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.
                      --Woody Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land"*

 July 14^th marks the birthday of Woody Guthrie—one of America’s most influential folk singers. Guthrie, born in Oklahoma, came of age during the Dust Bowl and was one of thousands of “Okies” who migrated to California in search of work. Often concerned with the lives and experiences of the dispossessed, Guthrie was heavily influenced and wrote in the custom of traditional American folk music. Woody Guthrie in turn, served as an influence to subsequent generations of musicians ranging from Bob Dylan to Billy Bragg and Wilco.

Click here to listen to a recording of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly performing on live on WNYC in 1940.

 

Check out Ramblin’ Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie by Ed Cray for an authoritative biography.

As a supplement and way to better understand Guthrie’s process, you may want to look at Woody Guthrie: Art Works.

Online, you can visit Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song (hosted by the Library of Congress).

And visit The Official Woody Guthrie Site (hosted by the Woody Guthrie Foundation) which offers an extensive biography and sampling of lyrics.  BES

*Guthrie, Woody.  "This Land is Your Land".  This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Vol. 1.  Smithsonian Folkways, 1997.