Nadine Gordimer (Cambridge Studies in African and Caribbean Literature)

Book Description

In this study, which may be used as an introduction as well as by those already familiar with Gordimer's work, Dominic Head discusses each of Nadine Gordimer's novels in detail, examining the texts both as a reflection of events and situations in the real world, and as evidence of her constant rethinking of her craft. Head shows how Gordimer's typical concerns are developed through increasing stress on the politics of textuality; and he considers how her work as a whole contributes to the creation of a literature to challenge apartheid.

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me

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My Painted house, my friend chicken,and me
Anthopology for Children
Shows the pure heart of a child
Outstanding children's story!

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0517596679
Release Date: 1994-09-10

Book Description

Full color photographs. "Hello, Stranger-Friend" begins Maya Angelou's story about Thandi, a South African Ndebele girl, her mischievous brother, her beloved chicken, and the astonishing mural art produced by the women of her tribe. With never-before-seen photographs of the very private Ndebele women and their paintings, this unique book shows the passing of traditions from parent to child and introduces young readers to a new culture through a new friend.

Customer Reviews:

My Painted house, my friend chicken,and me.......2006-07-04

Reading this book my daugther(6yrs.) and I enjoyed a special moment learning about how beautiful are the simple things. And gave us the oportunity to learn how easy is to celebrate life and love.
The most important lesson of all is to be proud of what we love and care.

Anthopology for Children.......2002-11-04

I am a senior in college, and an elementary education major with a minor in anthropology- when I found this book, I was estatic. Its beautiful photography is greatly complimented with Maya Angelou's flowing words. Humor, color, and the similarities with the Ndebele girl (Thandi, which means hope) are sure to attract children. They will learn that even though Thandi is across the world, all children share many similaries- a lesson that should be remembered, especially in modern times. I will definately use this in my classroom someday. Never have I seen such a great childrens book that is infused with anthropology and the study of a culture!

Shows the pure heart of a child.......2000-03-22

I bought this book today and read it with my 10 year old niece. It has exceptionally beautiful photographs of the Ndebele people. It is a story that reminds us that the simple things in life are the most precious. Thandi tells the story of her people and family and her best friend, a chicken. She is a proud and pure hearted child that shares the culture of the Ndebele people with us. This is a lovely story that is a fun, educational, easy to read one that made me feel young at heart again. I'll be needing an additional copy to share with my grandaughter.

Outstanding children's story!.......1997-12-14

As a reading tutor, I have enjoyed sharing this book with my 4th grade students. It examins the differences of people, our different cultures, and is a colorful and enchanting story. My kids, both boys and girls are facinated by this book, and we always continue a dialogue with it. The recognize the author, as one their parents respect, and enjoy talking about it and laughing about the silly chicken.We have talked about trying to paint houses with a chicken feather, and may jsut try to do this during black history month! I adore this book!

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WOW - great book!!! Wonderful art, beautiful color pics
Women's art as a poltical message
a visual feast for the eyes

African Painted Houses
Gary N. Van Wyk
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Women in Art | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Religious | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Folk Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Lesotho | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Amazon.com

Prayer and protest come in many guises. The Basotho women of South Africa and Lesotho pray to their ancestors for rain, abundance, and peace by painting and slicing brilliant geometric murals on the mud plaster walls of their houses. "If the prayers are successful," says photographer and author Gary N. van Wyk, "the rains arrive and wash away the paintings." Growing up white under apartheid, van Wyk noticed these vivid houses while traveling with his family through the Highveld below Johannesburg where many Basotho lived and worked on white-owned farms. In the years when links to the outlawed African National Congress party were often severely punished, some Basotho women defiantly splashed their homes with the black, green, and gold colors of the ANC. Van Wyk joined in such protests as an art student by helping paint street murals of state-sanctioned violence. A passion for recording political graffiti led him back to the dwellings decorated in ANC colors, several of which he photographed for this dazzling testament to Basotho lives, ceremonies, history, and art. --Francesca Coltrera

Customer Reviews:

WOW - great book!!! Wonderful art, beautiful color pics.......2003-08-20

This is really a wonderful book! I bought it because it looked like it had nice color pictures, and it turned out they're fantastic! I'm an artist and I just LOVE these beautiful painted houses. It also looks like it has a lot of good information in the narrative, but so far all I've done is look at the great color pics. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Women's art as a poltical message.......2001-03-27

African Painted Houses is filled with not only beautiful photographs of dwellings, but reminds us of a time not to far ago where South Africa was filled with distress, social and political upheavel, and when women were meant to be at home. Women are still told to stay at home, and these African women took it upon themselves to go against the social status quo and speak there minds in an amazing artistic manner. African Painted Houses will enlighten you to the true nature of the protest against the Apartheid. When the African men were out fighting for independence and when the African men were prisoned and not home, who maintained the house? who maintained the continuing fight against the Apartheid...it was women. African painted Houses is an easy read and will fill your minds from a world that is so far from ours but the messages are so close to the heart. Women have voices and in this book, women's voices are projected into a beautiful masterpieces.

a visual feast for the eyes.......2000-09-17

This book is full of wonderful photographs of African Painted houses. The verbage is complete in explaining the significance of the illustrations from a historical and present day view. This is a facinating rich culture. The use of patterns and color, and their meaning come together in an easy to understand format. This a book I can pick up and read for hours at a time or peruse for minutes.

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Women and Art in South Africa
Marion Arnold
Manufacturer: David Phillips Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

A History of South Africa, Third Edition

ASIN: 0864863071

Not Either an Experimental Doll: The Separate Worlds of Three South African Women

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a fascinating journey
a fascinating journey
Friendship or Paternalism? A Black and White Relationship

Not Either an Experimental Doll: The Separate Worlds of Three South African Women
Lily Patience Moya
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0253286409

Customer Reviews:

a fascinating journey.......2000-05-22

What a wonderful book! The exchange of letters is nothing less than fascinating. By reading these letters not only does one get a sense of the racial and economic divisions between the writers, but a glimpse is gained into what would be a peculiar exchange of correspondence even now: a seventy-something woman of well-intentioned but often misguided motives and a teenaged girl perplexed with all the rampant emotions and self-absorbtions of her age.

I cannot stress how inportant I feel it is to read the introduction by Shula Marks AFTER reading the letter exchange. Anyone who has even a fundamental knowledge of South Africa during this time would do better not to read the intro first. It's better to get caught up in the flow of the letters and let their story unfold unadulterated. There is an almost voyeuristic aspect to them as they come to their conclusion. I highly recommend this book--and not only to those with an interest in South Africa or Womens' History.

a fascinating journey.......2000-05-22

I cannot stress how inportant I feel it is to read the introduction by Shula Marks AFTER reading the letter exchange. Anyone who has even a fundamental knowledge of South Africa during this time would do better not to read the intro first. It's better to get caught up in the flow of the letters--and let their story unfold unadulterated. There is an almost voyeuristic aspect to them as they come to their conclusion. I highly recommend this book, and not only to those with an interest in South Africa or Womens' History either.

Friendship or Paternalism? A Black and White Relationship.......2000-05-17

Not Either An Experimental Doll, edited by Shula Marks details the relationship between an Englishwoman, Dr. Mabel Palmer, and a young Xhosa girl, Lily Moya, who requests her help.

The story itself, told through letters between Lily and Mabel, show the complexities of racial relations in South Africa at the time. The question of paternalism and white sponsorship arises when assessing the character of Mabel Palmer, an older woman who advanced the cause of education for black South Africans. Mabel was being very altruistic in helping Lily, she went without a winter coat so she could help pay her school fees. However, the divide in culture and race plays prominently in Mabel's relationship with Lily. Lily, a young orphan desperately looking for a mother figure, reaches out to Mabel, but is rebuffed by a woman who is still very much governed by the dictates of racial relationships and propriety within South Africa.

However, one cannot condemn Mabel and laud Lily as Shula Marks does in the introduction of her book. Reading the letters themselves, will reveal a disturbed and anxious young girl who the reader will come to pity and at the same time want to strangle. Lily herself, is a set of contradictions. She appeals to the reader's sympathy while at the same time repulsing the reader with her lack of gratitude and her attempt to adjust to her new situations.

What comes from reading the letters between these two women, is an appreciation for the complexities, misunderstandings, and the divide in understanding between two women of very different cultures. And that is what I reccomend. Skip the introduction and read the letters between Lily and Mabel first. Shula Marks, while giving a general history of the letters, also forces her own opinions on the reader which causes one to enter the narrative with preconceived notions of who is good and who is bad within this relationship. Also, one will see that Marks gives a ridiculous amount of importance to the third woman, Sibusisiwe Makhanya, a social worker. Her inclusion in the introduction serves as more of a literary addition to develop the ideal of three separate worlds. However, one can see the minimal role she plays within the context of Lily's and Mabel's relationship.

Read the letters and then go back and read the introduction and the epilogue. One must remember in reading this book to let the voices of Mabel and Lily stand for themselves, and they are strong voices echoing the history of a particular time period. Unfortunately, Shula Marks in editing this book imposes views on the reader which does not allow for an unbiased reading of the letters between these two extraordinary women themselves.

Book Description

Black South African Women is the first single-volume anthology to focus exclusively on the lives of Black South African women. These ten plays about Black South African women challenge simple understandings of life in South Africa both before and after Apartheid, and represent the leading edge of the arts in the emerging new South Africa. Issues such as women s rights, displacement from home, family unity and cohesion, racial identity, education in the old and new South Africa, and issues involving health care all find voices in these pages. These theatrical works, along with verbatim interviews with the playwrights, reach beyond the theater doors onto a stage where a new nation with new prospects, and new challenges, awaits.

Customer Reviews:

Post-Protest: Plays about South African Women.......2001-01-16

An invaluable collection of 10 South African plays about experiences of black women, written from the early 1980's to the late 1990's. It includes works by well-known playwrights like Fatima Dike and Maishe Maponya aswell as new work by previously unpublished playwrights like Lueen Conning and Thulani Mtshali. The plays range from frighteningly serious to hilariously funny. The collection is supported by material gathered through interviews with the playwrights, offering insight into their artistic purpose and their take on theatre in post-apartheid South Africa. The book is easy to read and makes an important contribution to recording the vibrant body of new South African theatre which is muscling its way onto stages around the country.

Between Union And Liberation: Women Artists In South Africa 1910-1994

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Between Union And Liberation: Women Artists In South Africa 1910-1994

Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

South Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0754632407

Life and Soul: Portraits of Women who Move South Africa

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Life and Soul: Portraits of Women who Move South Africa
Karina Turok
Manufacturer: Double Storey Books [David Krut Distributer]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1770130438

Like a House on Fire: Contemporary Women's Writing, Art, and Photography From South Africa

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Like a House on Fire: Contemporary Women's Writing, Art, and Photography From South Africa

Manufacturer: COSAW Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Material Matters: Appliques by the Weya Women of Zimbabwe and Needlework by South African Collectives

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Material Matters: Appliques by the Weya Women of Zimbabwe and Needlework by South African Collectives

Manufacturer: Witwatersrand University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Folk Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Needlework | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Textile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 186814352X

Book Description

Introduction by John Szarkowski Essay by James Alinder

In the last years of his life Ansel Adams selected the seventy-five images that he believed represented the finest examples of the quality and breadth of his artistic legacy. Those images he designated for exhibition throughout the country as "The Museum Set" and published in this essential volume:Classic Images.

Classic Images includes many of Adams' most famous and best-loved photographs and encompasses the full scope of his work: elegant details of nature, architectural studies, portraits, and the breathtaking landscapes for which he is revered. The latter range from his beloved Yosemite to the Pacific Coast, the Southwest, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Northwest. The portfolio is preceded by an eloquent introduction by John Szarkowski, former Director of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art. An authoritative biographical essay - and a detailed chronology - by James Alinder further establish Classic Images as required reading for a full understanding of Adams' development as a pre-eminent American artist.

Customer Reviews:

Gave it as a gift.......2005-08-17

I gave it as a gift to a friend of mine who loves nature photography. He loved it.

Nice Reproductions.......2004-06-17

Ansel Adams: Classic Images

This book provides high quality representations of Ansel Adams' photography in examples of 75 of his best images. The text, written by James Alinder along with a preface by John Szarkowski, portrays the story of Adams' life and his philosophy regarding art and existence. The text starts the reader off at his birth and takes you through Adams' childhood and the decisions he makes as he searches for an outlet for his creativity and a strong career path. Having also been a professional pianist, Adams' later discovers his passion for photography and nature, and spends the rest of his life a successful artist and activist.
This book takes you through major events in his life and references prints in the book to give visual examples of his ever-evolving photographic style. I would definitely recommend this book, if not as a successful biography, but as a stage for some beautiful, high quality reproductions of Adams' work.

A fantastic Collection.......2002-03-16

This collection can be seen at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, through July 7, 2002. This book is the catalogue of the exibition! If you like the book you should see the originals! They will blow you away.

An exquisite collection!.......2001-03-18

This is a wonderful book filled with breathtaking photographs taken by the late and well-respected Ansel Adams. Each of the photographs contained is a unique masterpiece with a life of its own. Looking at these splendid photographs, one feels drawn right in to the specific location and year. Some of my favorites include, "The Golden Gate Before the Bridge" (1932), "Barn, Cape Cod, Massachusetts" (ca. 1937), "Clearing Storm, Sonoma County Hills, California" (1951) and "Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona" (1942). This book will definitely hold your attention and keep you captivated if not mesmerized. With so many minute and beautiful details in these photographs, it's easy to see why Ansel Adams was one of the most respected and popular photographers of our time. He didn't just take a picture; he ceased moments in time and captured the beauty of the subjects being photographed. This is an excellent book that will make a fine addition to any library. This book would make a great gift for photographers and art connoisseurs alike!

Great Images Reproduced in Tiny Sizes Spoil The Effects.......2000-11-13

Ansel Adams was very concerned that his work always be reproduced in a high quality way. I fear that he gave too much attention to fidelity of reproduction, and not enough to size of image in the reproduction. This otherwise valuable book is seriously marred by the designer having chosen page and print sizes much too small for Adams' work. I suggest you avoid this book.

I would like to compliment James Alinder on an outstanding biographical essay concerning Adams' life and photographic techniques. This essay will add useful knowledge to anyone who wants to better understand Adams' work and life, and their effects on us all. I would also like to compliment the selection of the images. These are clearly among Adams' best work.

Adams' technique used the very stark light of dawn and dusk to create vivid detail that echoed across the image from figure to figure. The result was to help the eye capture the connectedness of nature, the oneness of creation. So when the details become too small, it is like rubbing out whole chapters in a book. I was very disappointed in the publishing decision for this book's page size. In fact, only one of my favorite images still held most of its power for me in these large postcard sizes, Moon with Half Dome, Yosemite, 1960.

Without Mr. Alinder's essay, I would have graded this book as a two star effort.

Some of the lesser works which have less fine detail still show well. Here were my favorites of this small-sized collection:

Self-Portrait, Monument Valley, Utah, 1958

Monlith, The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite, 1927

Winnowing Grain, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, 1928

Rock and Grass, Moraine Lake, Sequoia National Park, 1982

Georgia O'Keefe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 1937

Mormon Temple, Manti, Utah, 1948

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico 1941

White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 1942

Monument Valley, 1958

Cypress and Fog, Pebble Beach, California, 1967

Sand Dunes, Oceano, California, 1950

If you are like me and love Ansel Adams' work, I suggest you look into Ansel Adams, The American Wilderness, which does feature large enough reproductions.

Sometimes we learn more from mistakes than from successes. Where are your efforts being undertaken on too small a scale to be fully effective? What can you do to change that?

Enjoy the beauty of nature in its full scale brilliance (outdoors and in larger-sized photographic books)!

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Ansel Adams Classic Images
Ansel, James Alinder, John Szarkowski Adams
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000N5YZPI

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Ansel Adams: Classic Images
James & John Szarkowski Alinder
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KNDA6I

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Ansel Adams: Classic Images.
James Alinder
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UXPCEQ

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Ansel Adams: Classic Images.
James Alinder
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000M3IPZ2

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ANSEL ADAMS: CLASSIC IMAGES.
James, & John Szarkowski. Alinder
Manufacturer: Little, Brown & Co.,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000N6XWR4

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Classic Images
Ansel Adams
Manufacturer: New York Graphic Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NUNNLA

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Ansel Adams: Classic Image Essays
James Alinder
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000N64SPO

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Ansel Adams: Classic Images
Ansel Adams
Manufacturer: New York Graphic Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000PRS488

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Ansel Adams: Classic Images.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adams, Ansel | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000IBP4U2

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