ANDREW HILL
  • Blog
  • Welcome
  • Night of the Golden Ghetto
  • Black Bucks Coffee
  • The Shape-up
  • Slurred
  • Popular Posts
  • Bio
  • Short Stories
  • Contact
  • Acknowledgements

Ann Patchett , Julie Harris, Georges Seurat & Maria Callas Give December 2nd a Good Name - Happy Birthday

12/2/2013

 
Ann Patchett
Born this day in 1963, she is NOT the author of Bird by Bird, though Ann Patchett says she is sometimes mistaken for Anne Lamott at book signings.  The reason people line up to see her is that she made them fall in love by turning out one beautiful novel after another.  Best known for the prize-winning Bel Canto, she has also given us The Patron Saint of Liars, Run, State of Wonder, and (one of my favorites) The Magician's Assistant. It was just a few weeks ago on November 19th, that she spoke at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco, where her warmth, intelligence and insights left no doubt as to why her fans wait for her latest book and line up outside bookstores for her autograph.  Here she is in a YouTube reprise of that delightful event.
Julie Harris
In her 87 years on the planet, this actor gave us many memorable performances, which have set the bar for any others who attempt roles she made her own.  It is difficult to imagine anyone else in The Belle of Amherst, for instance.  When I wonder what poet Emily Dickinson looked and sounded like, it's Harris who comes to mind.  The year she spent studying theater at the Yale School of Drama served her well.  She moved easily from Tony Award-winning performances on Broadway to film adaptations of the same material.  Carson McCullers' A Member of the Wedding and The Last of Mrs. Lincoln come readily to mind.  Nominated ten times for a Tony, she won five of them and received many other awards during her brilliant career.  Here she is with James Dean in the screen adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden.
Georges Seurat
Even if you've seen Sunday in the Park with George a zillion times or tacked posters of his pointillist paintings to your dorm-room wall, you will not be prepared for the way Seurat's work envelops you.  It's a little like falling in love the way it happens one dot at a time until all of a sudden you're completely involved. If I could bear the winters, I would move to Illinois to be near the Chicago Art Institute for the pleasure of seeing his massive A Sunday on La Grande Jatte at least once a week.  Here's one of those delightful 7-minute clips from SmartHistory with more.  Thanks again to Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. By the way, Seurat was born this day in 1859.
Maria Callas
Listen to the following recording of "Ave Maria," and you will understand why this soprano was known as La Divina (The Divine One).  It is a matter of record that she gave up her career in opera after falling in love with shipping magnate Aristotle Onasis, who basically dumped her some time later for Jacqueline Kennedy, whom he eventually married.  But that is not the record that will stand when we think of Callas, who would have turned 90 on this day.  Thanks to the fine art of digital remastering, some of her best recordings are now accessible and can be fully appreciated on decent stereo equipment.  My personal favorite is "Casta Diva" from Bellini's Norma.  So what the heck - I've been on vacation for a few days - why not throw that in too. Enjoy!

Comments are closed.

    Hi... ​     

    I like big books, and I cannot lie.  My  background includes talk radio, newspapers and TV news. I've hosted a morning-drive classical music program on the California coast and published nationally in Reader's Digest, the Christian Science Monitor, and Playboy. I've won awards for my journalism and my fiction.  One of my essays even made it into an anthology for college English courses. For real?  Yes, for real.

    Picture



    Archives

    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    CATEGORIES

    All
    Anniversaries
    Art
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Civil Rights
    Commentary
    Current Events
    Discrimination
    Famous Birthdays
    Film Reviews
    Films
    Historical Figures & Events
    Jazz
    Movies
    Muses-music
    Muses-music
    Music
    Photography
    Race
    Satire
    Sexual Orientation
    Women's Rights
    Writers & Writing

    If you’re reading this website, think of me as a troubadour standing on the street corner, strumming a guitar and singing a few songs.  Not everyone who comes this way is able to make contribution.  But if you’re one of the passers-by who can, then feel free to drop a little spare change in my hat by clicking either the Donate or the Become a Patron button below​. 
    ​
    Thank you!
    Become a Patron!

    RSS Feed

@2019 ANDREW HILL  |  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  |  www.andrewhillbooks.com  |  CONTACT  |  PURCHASE BOOKS 
  • Blog
  • Welcome
  • Night of the Golden Ghetto
  • Black Bucks Coffee
  • The Shape-up
  • Slurred
  • Popular Posts
  • Bio
  • Short Stories
  • Contact
  • Acknowledgements