Tags
ariel, charlotte perkins gilman, grayson perry, kate tempest, playing to the gallery, sylvia plath, the yellow wallpaper, wasted
This week’s books are:
Wasted by Kate Tempest
Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry
The Yellow Wallpaper (and other stories) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Stories and poems about madness seemed to be calling out to me this week. I’ve read Ariel and The Yellow Wallpaper many times before, but I periodically go back to them, especially when I’m feeling low in mood. They both remind me of the madness that joins many creative women together. Reading books like these, and the two poetry books I read last week, really helps me when I am feeling miserable and absolutely alone. Books like these remind me how words and creativity keep me going, and connect me to people who have felt the same way in the past.
Meanwhile Wasted and Playing to the Gallery are both fiercely modern texts in their own way. They also both emphasise the importance of art that is accessible to people from all backgrounds. In her play, Tempest romanticises the lives of the “ordinary” people of London. It is a play about struggling with who you are and how all life paths are accessible in their own way. Drugs are (obviously) discussed, but not necessarily promoted.
In Playing to the Gallery Perry explains major themes and aspects of modern art using clear language. The book is illustrated by images made on photoshop, and I can’t decide if I like or hate them. I’ve loved other work Perry has used a computer to produce however, such as his tapestries.
Next on the agenda for today is catching up on an edX MOOC called “The Art of Poetry”, if they run it again I really recommend it. The tutor may be a little full of himself, but he does know what he is talking about. I’ve learnt a lot from it so far- like that Michelangelo was also a poet. I love doing American MOOCs, their way of teaching is so much more open-minded and creative than degree courses in the UK.