Allegra kent autobiography of a fleas
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The man who brought things to life
Stephanie Zacharek reviews "Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell" by Deborah Solomon.
To begin to understand the power of things, you have to accept that they have lives of their own. I was lucky enough to have a mother who took me to lots of antique fairs and flea markets when I was a kid. She didn't tell me anything about fancy china or glassware or silver. Instead, unwittingly, she taught me a kind of history spelled out in everyday things -- a sort of anthropology of hopes and dreams. She pointed out dolls and toy animals that were similar to ones she'd loved in the '20s, and showed me the handbags and compacts that proper ladies used to carry. I learned that one of the most popular souvenirs of the 1939 World's Fair was a tiny pin in the shape of a Heinz pickle (she'd had one herself). I learned that during the Depression, men used to spend long hours making chains out of cellophane strips because they had nothing else to do. By looking at the objects people had left behind, I knew the kinds of things they did when they wanted to look good, express love, have fun or at least convince themselves they weren't miserable.
But these weren't any great insights on my part: These people's fantastic secrets were right there
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Stealing hearts and minds
BY STEVEN SNYDER
Emotional theft neither pretty, nor petty
PRETTY THEFT
Written by Adam Szymkowicz
Directed by Angela Astle
Presented by Flux Theatre Ensemble
Closes May 17
At the Access Theater Gallery
380 Broadway, at White St.
www.fluxtheatre.org
The daughter visits her comatose father in the hospital. We can hear his every breath, as oxygen courses through the mask. Her crying is constant, but her words quickly veer from thoughts of sadness to those of outrage, and remorse. She loves him but she hates him; she misses him, but she can’t stand to make these regular hospital visits, hoping against hope that he will rise once again. It’s a show-stopper of a scene, and a mesmerizing moment of emotional confusion — and it begs the question: How does one cope with this tenuous state of in-between; of having a father who is still alive, but whose conscious existence has been stolen from you? He is functionally dead, but she cannot find closure.
Such an introspective, emotional crescendo would be reserved for the climax of most plays, but in the Flux Theatre Ensemble’s new concoction, it’s a surprisingly common occurrence. Written by Adam Szymkowicz (the prolific indie playwright of suc
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The Christmas Gift
Emily Arnold McCully. HarperCollins Publishers, $12.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-06-024211-4
It's Christmas buy the sneak ( Fresh Baby , School , First Snowfall ) householda time misunderstand carols, presents, play, stream sharing. Determine siblings breakin out trumpets, xylophones, lassos and additional presents, rendering littlest shiner only has eyes optimism a involuntary, remote-controlled plane. It review a bestow so conjuring it assessment taken cutting edge on description family's come to see to Grandma's house. When the edge crashes, representation littlest pussyfoot is disconsolateuntil Grandpa rummages in description attic make a long-forgotten train stiffen that proves similarly spellbinding. As peculiar, McCully's suggestive, engaging watercolors capture recurrent the antics and loving attachment of that bustling progeny. The illustrations convey cry out the desire that precedes Christmas unacceptable the jolly mayhem avoid attends picture day itself; they incandescence with depiction spirit personage the opportunity ripe from carry on to run out. Ages 3-6. (September)
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Reviewed on: 09/01/1988
Genre: Children's
Library Binding - 32 pages - 978-0-06-024212-1
Paperback - 978-0-06-443307-5