Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | 921 Graham, M. 1998 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Independence Public Library | J BIOGRAPHY - GRAHAM | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | 921 Graham, Martha | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Martha Graham, the American dancer, teacher, and choreographer, revolutionized the world of modern dance. She possessed a great gift for revealing emotion through dance, expressing beliefs and telling stories in an utterly new way. Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman documents Martha Graham's life from her birth in 1894 to her final dance performance at the age of seventy-five and continued career as a choreographer until her death in 1991. Graham's own recollections as well as those of her dancers, students, friends, and lovers reveal Graham's unwavering dedication, her extraordinary sense of artistry, and the fierce intensity that left an impression on all who saw her perform. Original research based on interviews and a remarkable collection of photographs not widely reproduced give this biography a rare and unparalleled depth. Includes notes,a bibliography, and an index.
Author Notes
Russell Freedman was born in San Francisco, California on October 11, 1929. He received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley in 1951. After college, he served in the U.S. Counter Intelligence Corps during the Korean War. After his military service, he became a reporter and editor with the Associated Press. In 1956, he took a position at the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson in New York, where he did publicity writing for television. In 1965, he became a full-time writer.
His first book, Teenagers Who Made History, was published in 1961. He went on to publish more than 60 nonfiction titles for young readers including Immigrant Kids, Cowboys of the Old West, Indian Chiefs, Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life, Confucius: The Golden Rule, Because They Marched: The People's Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America, Vietnam: A History of the War, and The Sinking of the Vasa. He received the Newbery Medal for Lincoln: A Photobiography and three Newbery Honors for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane, and The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights. He also received the Regina Medal, the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award, the Orbis Pictus Award, the Sibert Medal, a Sibert Honor, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and the National Humanities Medal. He died on March 16, 2018 at the age of 88.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4 UpÄThe renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher is a fascinating subject. Graham was a woman who defied the oddsÄshe did not start dancing until she was 19, she did not have a traditional tall, lithe dancer's physique, and yet through sheer will power and perseverance, she became the most important name in modern dance. A living legend, she performed until she was 75, created 181 dancesÄthe last at age 95. The personal cost of such fame was high indeed. She would be the first to admit that she lived to dance. Freedman has done an extraordinary job of conveying that passion and of presenting Graham's complex personality as viewed through multiple perspectives. It is evident through his careful notes and annotated bibliography that he did his research. As in his previous books, the format utilizes generous margins and a wealth of sharply reproduced black-and-white photographs depicting the many faces and poses of Graham dancing, teaching...always performing. This book has more detail and photographs than Trudy Garfunkel's Letter to the World: The Life and Dances of Martha Graham (Little, Brown, 1995). Recommend it to students looking for a great woman's biography, as well as to dance fans or, for that matter, any aspiring artists. A remarkable look at a remarkable talent.ÄMarilyn Payne Phillips, University City Public Library, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Freedman (Lincoln; Eleanor Roosevelt; Franklin Delano Roosevelt) once again animates American history through biography; here he adds culture to the mix as he chronicles the inspiring life of legendary dancer Martha Graham. The venerable author hooks readers in immediately with his description of young Martha learning to move her body by watching a lion pace from one side of its cage to the other. Freedman then seamlessly charts the fiery, passionate Graham's rise from a 19-year-old "homely, overweight" dance student to principal dancer to teacher to the creator of modern dance. The biography points up Graham's commitment to a "uniquely American style of dance," focusing on such works as Frontier, an homage to her ancestral roots, and Appalachian Spring, for which she collaborated with composer Aaron Copland. Freedman acknowledges that the dancer's sources of inspiration and consolation came from other American artists: writer Emily Dickinson (the source of Graham's work Acts of Light) and composer Scott Joplin (Maple Leaf Rag was her last complete work), among them. Her passions were not circumscribed to her work; she also took stands on tough political issues, both in her dance (e.g., Deep Song, 1937, which "expressed her anguish over the brutal Spanish Civil War") and in her lifeshe refused to perform at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin ("How could I dance in Nazi Germany?"). But Freedman does not paint an unblemished picture. His abundant sources, including unpublished transcripts of an interview with Graham's longtime companion Louis Horst, as well as his own interviews with Graham's former dancers, colleagues and friends, make clear the shadow side of her passionate nature. What emerges from these pages is a multilayered view of a genius who danced and choreographed, and designed her own costumes and lighting, but who was also humana woman who laughed and cried, hoped and feared, and who unflinchingly followed her dream. Stunning photographs, arrayed chronologically, demonstrate the dramatic changes Graham wrought upon dance as a discipline. Four at the close of the volume, showing Graham in what appear to be a dance sequence, are particularly spectacular. This outstanding biography speaks not only to dancers but to anyone interested in the arts, history or the American entrepreneurial spirit. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
From beginning to end, Freedman underscores this daring dancer and choreographer's life with salient details, often in her own words. Nowhere does the drama of Graham's long and legendary life dim: even when the stage lights are not directly shining on her as performer, Freedman catches the passion of her dedication. Photographs of startling imagery further illuminate the finely honed text. Bib., ind. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a biography as elegant as its subject, Freedman (Out of Darkness, 1997, etc.) delves into the life of the dance pioneer who not only revolutionized modern dance but married it with theater, music, literature, and art in a dazzling and emotional way. Graham began her serious dance study already too ``old'' (at age 19), according to prevailing standards; despite critics and a public who didn't initially understand her work, Graham was so fiercely dedicated to her art that she became one of the 20th century's most important influences on modern dance. Freedman discloses Graham's intensity in work and relationships, and explains her techniques and dances in lively, theatrical language; he doesn't canonize Graham, however, but portrays her as a passionate woman, with a fiery temperament, whose every aspect of life was reflected in her art. Extraordinary black-and-white photographs coalesce with the clear and stimulating chronicle of her life and art, until a complete picture of a genius emerges from the pages of this enlightening, liberating volume. (Biography. 10-15)
Booklist Review
With electrifying black-and-white photographs, this biography speaks eloquently about Graham's personal life, her revolutionary work as dancer, teacher, and choreographer, and her connection with the social and cultural history of her time. All of Freedman's photo biographies have direct adult appeal.