Jane Dickson in Times Square

15.11.2018 | Blog , Literature | BY:

American author Chris Kraus,  culture critic Carlo McCormick and visual artist Fab 5 Freddy have all recently joined forces on the embarkment of a new hardcover creation titled Jane Dickson in Times Square.  The book tells a tale of the artistic, seedy and criminalistic night-time world of Manhattan in the 70’s and early 80’s through the eyes of renowned painter Jane Dickson. As a distinct creative voice of this period, Dickson has made her marks within the legacies of downtown art, punk rock and hip hop through her involvement with the Colab art collective which included her work in iconic exhibitions such as The Real Estate Show (1980) and Times Square Show (1980). Throughout this all,  the artist has lived her success from her apartment of 43rd street while raising two children in a time where the neighbourhood experienced it’s most crime-infested period. Through her journey, the artist has photographed, drawn and painted scenes of life in Times Square. In this book, many of these art works are reproduced for the first time along with candid shots, sketches and paintings.  The book tells the visual tale of a wild, manic, beautiful New York City with a foreword by Chris Kraus, afterword by Fab 5 Freddy and an interview by Carlo McCormick. This is the first first time Dickson has chosen to place her personal speech alongside her finished work as unfiltered personal memories.  “I was a flâneur, documenting this crazy scene: A painter, using the camera to take notes, trying to get some grip on what the hell was going on.. One of my main goals is to leave a record of how the world looked and felt, in this place, at this time, to this woman. The female gaze is not disembodied — it is very much embodied and grounded within the fame form and experience, here in my experience.” The book, published by Anthology Editions, is now on shelves in select stores in the US, UK and Australia, for more information on where and how to purchase, check out the official site. 

Imagery courtesy Jane Dickson In Times Square
Imagery courtesy of Jane Dickson In Times Square

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The Book List

12.04.2012 | Blog , Culture , Thoughts | BY:

Publisher and bookshop Persephone Books has a strict remit; female writers – mostly neglected ones – from the early Twentieth Century.

In 1983 Persephone founder Nicola Beauman wrote A Very Great Profession: The Woman’s Novel 1914-39. Sixteen years later, many of the writers she had discussed were still out of print, so she decided to do something about it. In 1999 Persephone was born and thirteen years on and Beauman hasn’t wavered in her mission to retell old stories to new audiences.

With 96 books to choose from, Twin asks Persephone for their recommendations…

A book for Spring…
We think our upcoming titles Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins, and Virginia Woolf’s posthumously edited A Writer’s Diary will make great Spring reads – both out on the 19 April.

A book to make you laugh
Without doubt Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – No. 21 -. This is a hilarious fairy-tale account of a dowdy governess’ accidental encounter with a glamorous night club singer. Although those with a dryer sense of humour might prefer Julia Strachey’s short novel, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding.

A book to make you cry
You’d have to have heart of stone not to cry at Still Missing – a book you wont be able to put down. William: An Englishman – No. 1 – is also extremely emotional, as it brings home the terrible human cost of the First World War through the fate of one very ordinary English couple.

A book that will shock you…
Margarita Laski’s To Bed With Grand Music – No. 86 – follows the protagonist, Deborah, as she sleeps her way round London, completely debunking the cosy myth of women patiently keeping the home fires burning while their husbands were fighting on the front line.

A book about style…
High Wages by Dorothy Whipple – No. 85 – is about a young woman who sets up her own dress shop in a northern town around the time of the First World War.

It includes some really interesting details about fashion and style in the period, and explores different women’s responses to the opening up of different opportunities both in terms of how they can dress and how they can make their mark on the world.

A book for living in the city…
Farewell Leicester Square
by Betty Miller – No. 14 – or Helen Ashton’s Bricks and Mortar – No. 49 – are great books about London in the first half of the twentieth century.

A book to expand your mind…
Round About a Pound a Week – No. 79 – and the suffragette novel No Surrender – No.94 -both explore different but equally important aspects of women’s lives before the First World War.

A book you won’t be able to put down…
Still Missing  – No. 88 – by Beth Gutcheon is literally impossible to put down. It is a beautifully written and extremely tense novel about a little boy who goes missing from his Boston home. We both cried when we read it. A lot.

persephonebooks.co.uk

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