National A&C Conference Book Club Selections Announced!
Each year at the National Arts & Crafts Conference, suggestions are solicited from attendees — past and future — as to what books they might like to read prior to the next February’s Arts & Crafts Conference. Two selections are made and the meeting rooms are chosen for those of you attending the Conference who have read either of the books to meet, discuss your ideas and share your opinions (of which us Arts and Crafts enthusiasts have plenty!).
The moderator for several years has been Pat Bartinique, a professor of English, an Arts and Crafts collector, an author and a twenty-nine (soon to be thirty!) year attendee at the Grove Park Inn Conference. So, with all of that in mind, here are the two selections for the upcoming 30th Anniversary National Arts & Crafts Conference February 17th-19th, 2017. A little something for everyone!
Look Homeward, Angel
by Thomas Wolfe
The spectacular, history-making first novel about a young man’s coming of age by literary legend Thomas Wolfe, first published in 1929 and long considered a classic of twentieth century literature.
A legendary author on par with William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward, Angel, his first novel, about a young man’s burning desire to leave his small town and tumultuous family in search of a better life, in 1929. It gave the world proof of Wolfe’s genius and launched a powerful legacy.
The novel follows the trajectory of Eugene Gant, a brilliant and restless young man whose wanderlust and passion shape his adolescent years in rural North Carolina. Wolfe said that Look Homeward, Angel is “a book made out of my life,” and his largely autobiographical story about the quest for a greater intellectual life has resonated with and influenced generations of readers, including some of today’s most important novelists. Rich with lyrical prose and vivid characterizations, this twentieth-century American classic will capture the hearts and imaginations of every reader.
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
by Timothy Egan
Edward Curtis was charismatic, handsome, a passionate mountaineer, and a famous portrait photographer, the Annie Leibovitz of his time. He moved in rarefied circles, a friend to presidents, vaudeville stars, leading thinkers. But when he was thirty-two years old, in 1900, he gave it all up to pursue his Great Idea: to capture on film the continent’s original inhabitants before the old ways disappeared.
Curtis spent the next three decades documenting the stories and rituals of more than eighty North American tribes. It took tremendous perseverance — ten years alone to persuade the Hopi to allow him to observe their Snake Dance ceremony. And the undertaking changed him profoundly, from detached observer to outraged advocate. Curtis would amass more than 40,000 photographs and 10,000 audio recordings, and he is credited with making the first narrative documentary film. In the process, the charming rogue with the grade school education created the most definitive archive of the American Indian.
For more information on this year’s selections check out www.Arts-CraftsConference.com and register today! And, for your continued reading pleasure, head on over to our Reference Library where we’ve listed hundreds of books hitting on nearly every aspect of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
