EARLY in 1939, Georgia
O’Keeffe, the artist most famous for depicting the arid Southwest,
suddenly decided to paint America’s diametrically opposite landscape — the lush
tropical valleys of Hawaii. In an era
when advertisers often hired fine artists to add a touch of class to their
campaigns, the “least commercial artist in the U.S.” (as Time Magazine
described her) was persuaded by the Dole pineapple company to visit the remote
Pacific archipelago and produce two canvases.
Despite initial reservations about the project, her many letters back
home show that her experience of the then little-known Territory of Hawaii was
a revelation. O’Keeffe ended up spending
nine weeks on different islands, of which by far the most productive and vivid
period was on Maui, where she was given complete freedom to explore and paint. When O’Keeffe arrived, Hana was a thriving community of 3,500 people. Its six sugar plantations attracted a
cosmopolitan mix of Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Portuguese, Pacific islanders
and native Hawaiian workers, with two cinemas, three barbershops, several
restaurants and a pool hall. Although
the last plantation closed in 1946, memories of the glory days linger. On the volcanic sand beach, a crumbling jetty
still extends into the surf, with railway tracks for loading the sugar boats
still visible. Back in Manhattan, O’Keeffe completed a series of 20 sensual, verdant
paintings. Dole advertising executives
were exasperated to learn that she had painted almost everything except
pineapples, including papaya trees, heliconia plants and even fishhooks. So the company had a whole fresh pineapple
couriered to her by seaplane, which she graciously did paint. Artistically, the trip was a success, and Alfred
Stieglitz’s Madison Avenue gallery, An American Place, was turned into a
“madhouse” by fans eager to see the new collection — a “health-giving” dose of
Pacific color and sunshine — when it was displayed in the freezing February of
1940. The critic for The New York Sun
noted that the works “testify to Miss O’Keeffe’s ability to make herself at
home anywhere.” Many of the attractions of the
Hana district are easy to find: the
black sand beaches with wild lava formations and lush rain forests extend along
the coastline, and the natural swimming pools of Oheo Gulch, also known as the
Seven Sacred Pools, are a clearly signposted part of the Kipahulu section of
the Haleakala National Park. Hamoa
Beach, just south of town, is renowned as one of the most beautiful and
pristine in Maui. Tony Perrottet http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/travel/georgia-okeeffes-hawaii.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=travel
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing
system. It is based on the Early
Cyrillic, which was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th
century AD at the Preslav Literary School. It is the basis of alphabets used
in various languages, past and present, in parts of the Balkans and Northern
Eurasia, especially those of Slavic
origin, and non-Slavic languages influenced by Russian. As of 2011 around 252 million people in Europe and Asia use it as the
official alphabet
for their national languages. About half
of them are in Russia.
Cyrillic is one of the most used writing systems in
the world. Cyrillic is derived from the Greek
uncial
script, augmented by ligatures and consonants from the older Glagolitic alphabet and Old Bulgarian for
sounds not found in Greek. It is named
in honor of the two Byzantine Greek brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who created
the Glagolitic alphabet earlier on. Modern scholars believe that Cyrillic was
developed and formalized by early disciples of Cyril and Methodius. With the accession of Bulgaria to
the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic became the third official
script of the European Union, following the Latin
and Greek
scripts. See history and letters of the Cyrillic alphabet at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_alphabet
The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction selected by the editors of The New York
Times Book Review See 100 Notable Books of 2012 published
Nov. 27, 2012 at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2012.html?pagewanted=1&hpw
When Laurent de Brunhoff was a boy in Paris, his
mother began telling him and his younger brother, Mathieu, a bedtime story
about an elephant named Babar who flees a hunter in Africa and goes traveling
around the world, before returning and becoming the King of the Jungle. “We loved it,” recalled Mr. de Brunhoff, 87. “And my father, Jean, who was a painter, was
taken by the idea of doing some illustrations.” The illustrations turned into a book, the book
turned into a series, and translations turned it into practically the most
popular French cultural export besides the Chanel jacket. (It celebrated its 80th anniversary in Paris
this year with shows at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Bibliothèque
Nationale.) Then, at the tender age of
21 (nine years after his father died of tuberculosis), Mr. de Brunhoff picked
up the torch with his first book, “Babar’s Cousin: That Rascal Arthur.” He is currently completing what he guesses is
his 49th book, “Babar on Paradise Island.” Jacob
Bernstein http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/realestate/what-i-love-laurent-de-brunhoff-and-phyllis-rose.html?ref=garden
Stephen
Crane (1871–1900) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet and
journalist. Prolific throughout his
short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early
examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of
the most innovative writers of his generation. The eighth surviving child of
Methodist Protestant parents, Crane began writing at the age of four and had
published several articles by the age of 16. Having little interest in university studies,
he left school in 1891 and began work as a reporter and writer. Crane's first novel was the 1893 Bowery tale
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, which
critics generally consider the first work of American literary Naturalism. He won international acclaim for his 1895
Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage, which he wrote without any battle
experience. Search the poems of Stephen Crane at: http://www.poemhunter.com/stephen-crane-2/
On March 17, 2012 in Keller Hall at UNM,
Albuquerque's contemporary chamber ensemble, Chatter 20-21, presented the world
premiere of "Spaces of Night," a, 18-minute song cycle for organ,
strings and mezzo-soprano, based on poems by Stephen Crane. New Mexico composer Frederick Frahm.
commissioned by the Albuqerque chapter of the American Guild of Organists, was
the composer.
After failing to entice even thrift-store shoppers, the next stop for an
unwanted book is often the landfill. Thousands, if not millions, wind up on the
heap every year. “It’s just a tremendous
amount,” said Steve Grossman, the president of Creative Green Marketing, a
Westerville, Ohio-based recycling broker and processor. The company’s sister operation, Book-destruction.com,
announced a partnership with Goodwill Columbus that aims to dent the flow and
return more old tomes to pulp. Individuals,
schools, libraries and other organizations now can drop off unwanted books at
any Goodwill donation center or retail store in Franklin County and know that
they will be properly recycled, Grossman said.
Goodwill officials say they are regularly asked to accept book donations
but generally had a market only for in-demand titles in the thrift stores. “A lot just did not sell,” said Josh
Schilder, the retail-operations manager.
Grossman said he thinks the new book-acceptance and recycle plans will
boost donations to Goodwill and help generate money for the nonprofit
organization, which serves people with disabilities and other challenges. Book-destruction.com and Green Marketing will
pay for the recyclable books by the pound.
Rita Price http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/28/old-books-landfill-fodder-no-more.html
