BOOKS
COVER
Inquiry
into Slaughter of Dogs Announced
BOOKS
New Editions from Carr Collection
Bill Reid Lives on in Artistry Debate
BUSINESS
Island-Wide
Haida Protest May Drag for Months
New
Cruise Line Visits High Artic
Female
Urban Planner Sets Eyes on 2010 Olympics
HISTORY
A
Soldier's Story: Frank "Smokey" Stover
MODERN TREATIES
Fraud
and Theft of Saskatchewan Lands Uncovered in ICC Investigation
WOMEN
Pimps and Drug Traffickers
Target First Nations School Girls
Book
Reviews
Reviewed
by Chiara Snow
The Heart of a Peacock
Author: Emily Carr, Introduction by Rosemary Neering, Preface by Ira Dilworth
Growing Pains: The Autobiography of Emily Carr
Author: Emily Carr, Introduction by Robin Laurence; Preface by Ira Dilworth
Two more volumes from artist and writer Emily Carr's series of books
have been reprinted - complete with new introductions by noted Canadian
writers. The soft cover books continue the critically acclaimed painter's
recounts of her experiences growing up in Victoria at the turn of the
century, her journeys to remote Native communities, and about her life
as an artist.
The
Heart of a Peacock, the fourth of the series, is a collection of 51
short stories arranged in themes such as her experiences with Native people,
her adventures with various creatures, mostly wild birds, and her love
of nature. The book includes seven of Carr's line drawings of scenes from
nature.
In the introduction written by Rosemary Neering, who has written an autobiography
of Carr for children, she describes her complex relationship with the
artist:
"Part of me is pure admiration. That this woman, born in the nineteenth
century into a town that drew a clear line between what was respectable
and what was not, could accomplish what she did, fills me with awe. …
And yet… Strangers who were cruel, bullying, hypocritical or simply
irritating deservedly felt the sharp edge of her tongue, but she could
be equally hard on those closet to her."
Neering continues to describe Carr's temper with a list of examples that
show her dark side including "the time she ended an argument by smacking
her opponent with a garbage can lid." Neering summarizes the eccentric
personality with "…she was a rebel who was easy to admire from
afar but probably hell to live with."
The introduction, which briefly outlines the often harsh circumstances
of Carr's life, give the reader an understanding of how the artist's stories
give insight to what was dear to her - and why.
Growing
Pains, the fifth of the seven books by Emily Carr to be published
by Douglas & McIntyre, was completed just before she died in 1945.
It tells the story of her life, beginning with her girlhood in pioneer
Victoria and going on to her training as an artist in San Francisco, England
and France.
She writes about the frustration she felt at the rejection of her art
by Canadians, of the years of despair when she stopped painting and of
the unexpected vindication and triumph she felt when the Group of Seven
accepted her as one of them.
Robin Laurence, curator and author, introduces the autobiography by commenting
on the rebellious attitude Carr had, and how it shaped her as an artist:
"Carr's writing resounds with descriptions of clashes with family
members who attempted to constrain and control her with acquaintances
who struck her as pretentious, hypocritical or suffocating pious. She
hates "sham" and sophistication, honours simplicity, even rusticity.
…Carr repeatedly dismisses her prim, proper and pious older sisters
for failing to understand her art, as she does her community, and yet,
as her delighted description of her seventieth birthday celebration reveals,
she longed for their approval."
The last chapter, written in Carr's seventieth year, sheds light on the
wisdom and experiences she has accumulated, which finally gives her -
and the reader - a sense of peace.