Daybook, the Journal of an Artist

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen
Anne Truitt is a sculptor, painter, mother, and grandmother. Daybook, her first published journal, is illuminating and nourishing: "It is as if there are external equivalents for truths which I already in some mysterious way know. In order to catch these equivalents, I have to stay 'turned on' all the time, to keep my receptivity to what is around me totally open. Preconception is fatal to this process. Vulnerability is implicitly in it; pain, inevitable." For Anne Truitt, art is life. While refusing "the inflated definition of artists as special people with special prerogatives and special excuses," she recognizes special difficulties and differences between artists and other professionals. The work of doctors and lawyers involves a clearly-defined practice, the skills needed by plumbers and carpenters are obvious. Artists however, must "spin their work out of themselves, discover its law, and then present themselves turned inside out to the public gaze." The mother of three children abandoned by a husband who never looked back, she is harried by everyday concerns: "I feel a little pulled at the seams. Too much is happening too fast for me to integrate. Life unrolls like a Mack Sennett comedy. The film is so speeded up that events threaten to splinter into nonsense." In a consistently tender and down-to-earth voice, Anne Truitt explores her life and work, gently guiding herself - and her fortunate readers - through a growing woman's life. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices