Blonde Faith, is the final book of the popular series, written by Walter Mosley.
We were introduced to Easy Rawlins in Devil in a Blue Dress, 1990. (This was also made into a great 1995 movie with Denzel as “Easy” and Don Cheadle as his explosively, lethal buddy “Mouse”.)
“Easy” becomes a reluctant private investigator in 50’s L.A. and the 10 books span a 20 year journey. What makes the perspective so interesting and different is that in addition to solving “who dunnit” (or, who didn’t) we get a chance to follow the black detective as he maneuvers gingerly thru life making a living, forming relationships, etc. in an often hostile environment.Very entertaining!
The ambitious intentions of the playwright August Wilson, (Apr. 1945 – Oct. 2005), consisted of a play for every decade of the 20th century that would chronicle some part of the black experience in America.Through the use of his great ear for dialogue, Wilson was able to give us some insight into the daily life – both struggles and triumphs – of an assortment of universal characters that his audience could easily recognize.
An ambitious undertaking, but, his huge vision was realized and, btw, it resulted in 2 Pulitzers and a Tony award. He accomplished a lot doing what he loved to do and perhaps more importantly, August Wilson left a powerful body of work that will be read and performed for years to come. Dreaming big has rewards of all kinds.
All 10 of August Wilson’s plays are collected in hard cover with a nice presentation box. Each has an introduction by either an actor, director, or writer familiar with his work.
In 2005, August Wilson completed the ten-play cycle:
“30,000 YEARS OF ART- THE STORY OF HUMAN CREATIVITY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE”is a book that charts the history of art from 28,000 BC to the present day – 1,000 masterworks of art in chronological order.
Suzan-Lori Parks is an author, award winning playwright and screenwriter. I was going to categorize her as an “over achiever”. But, that’s probably a disservice – she is just doing what she has to do. Doing what matters to her – with excellence.
She won her 2002 Pultitzer Prize for the play “Topdog/Underdog”. I saw this in San Francisco a few years ago and enjoyed this clever, funny and explosive story about 2 brothers – “Lincoln” and “Booth”. You might imagine how it ends, but, it will still shock you.
Like in the Akira Kurosawa’s film “Rashomon” , where the same scenario is told from different points of view, this play illustrates how 2 boys in the same family can remember differently and be affected differently by the same traumatic event. Their perceptions colored their actions and attributed to the way they chose to lead their lives.
(The NYC Public Theater production had Jeffrey Wright and Don Cheadle as the siblings – you can just imagine the power of that duo.)
Ms Parks had an idea to write a play for every day of the year, the result is “365 Days, 365 Plays“ which she wrote between 2002 – 2003. Starting in 2006, they were presented at theaters, coffee houses and auditoriums across the country. Some venues could do a few of the plays, some as short as one page , and other locations could only stage one. However, all were seen before the end of 2007, just as she envisioned.
From 10/26/08 – March 1, 2009, LACMA, Los AngelesCountyMuseum of Art, will present portraits from the archives of Vanity Fair Magazine – 150 of the world’s most famous faces past and present.
Pictures of the most influential from sports, music, art, dance, and politics, have been culled from hundreds of images from 1913 to now.These photos give us an historic view of who was considered in/out over the years.
Vanity Fair’s favorite photographers represented here include “James Abbe, Malcolm Arbuthnot, Cecil Beaton, Harry Benson, Julian Broad, Imogen Cunningham, George Hoyningen-Huene, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Mary Ellen Mark, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Herb Ritts, Lord Snowdon, Edward Steichen, Mario Testino, and Bruce Weber.“
LACMA/ Los AngelesCountyMuseum of Art 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
323-857-6000
(Image: Actress Gloria Swanson, “AMuch Screened Lady”, by Edward Steichen, 1924)
Most of us were first introduced to John le Carré via the very anti James Bond like spy master George Smiley. “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold”, “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy” & Smiley’s People” and more. A spy with very human problems and no super power talents. He got things done by thinking.
“The Perfect Spy” another le Carré novel is the perfect spy book. Spies are not necessarily good or bad people, just people without a cause. They don’t know who to root for. Being authentic is difficult – “I’ll be who ever you need me to be”.
Since the end of the Soviet Union, spies have become people with causes, their own. Individualized causes are reasons for governments to be concerned. I am sure to be enlightened once again when I read “Most Wanted Man”
