Alexander Calder (1898–1976)

I borrowed this to read before (or instead of) attending the local museum exhibit. I was hoping I could learn and see enough so that I could spend less (covid) time at the exhibit or maybe even feel okay skipping it. After reading it I think it served its purpose.

It's dense text heavy in the first parts of the book. I struggled to read it even though much of it was interesting. I liked that family members participated.

The art shown in the latter long part of the book was good. I’ve always been a huge Calder fan and like Picasso’s art too. When seeing so many of their pieces side by side I was shocked at seeing how similar they often were.

I liked the art, appreciated the included photos and source material. The story behind the exhibit is interesting, but if it wasn’t pandemic times I’d have preferred to read the shorter written pieces at the exhibit, going through in a more leisurely manner than I’m now willing to do. I still plan to go to the exhibit but if it won’t be the end of the world if I decide I don’t feel safe to do so, including leaving when I get there and seeing what “50% capacity” looks like. Last autumn I went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the same museum and I went through really quickly because “25% capacity” ended up being too many people for me to feel comfortable.… (more)

Jean de la Fontaine is a must-read for anyone interested in folktales and fables throughout history.

The 17th-century poet took various tales from Aesop, Greek myth, and various other sources and set them to verse. Here, they appear in English translation. While the presentation of the stories and their social commentary is witty; I didn't find the 'poetry' of the language to be that engaging - the rhyme could be distracting, and the phrasing was often clunky. I don't know if this has to do with the original or the translation; I suspect a combination of both.

For French poems in translation; I tend to prefer a side-by-side presentation - even if one understands little of the original language, one can read to get an idea of the sound and rhythm of the original. However, I'm sure the originals are available freely online, for those motivated to look them up.

The selected fables presented here (apparently, the book includes about half of de la Fontaine's fabulist output) are prefaced by a very nice academic essay on the author, which really helps place the writing in context. There are also liberal endnotes mentioning the source (if known), and references found in each fable. I might've preferred if the notes relating to each story were found adjacent to the relevant section, but overall, this was fine.

A recommended volume.

I received a copy of this title through NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and Oxford University Press.… (more)