Some of the twentieth century’s most important artists and writers—from Jackson Pollock to Saul Steinberg, Fairfield Porter to Jean Stafford—lived and worked on the East End of Long Island. The home they made there would affect their creative work for years to come. Pollock found there a connection to nature that inspired some of the most significant painting of our time. James Schuyler and Frank O’Hara found companionship and raw material for their poems on South Main Street and the city train. Willem de Kooning rode his bike every day to Gardiner’s Bay, where the light informed every brushstroke he put to canvas from the early 1960s on.
Through searching, lyrical vignettes, critic and poet Robert Long mixes storytelling with history to recreate these lives and events that shaped American art and literature.
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"Intrigued by the intertwining history of long island, art and personal lives and relationships of the artists"
— Joyce (4 out of 5 stars)
“The much honored Grover Gardner makes Long’s portraits of Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, and Saul Steinberg come alive…Highly recommended for all collections. A Library Journal Best Audiobook of 2006 for Nonfiction.”
— Library Journal (starred review)“Gardner, as usual, delivers the prose with depth and alacrity, painting rich word pictures…[He] delivers a cinematic audio treatment of these debauched characters, guiding us on a tour of their creative minds through the lens of their daily lives at this time and place.”
— AudioFile“Mesmerizing and moving.”
— Booklist" boring bullshit "
— Arty, 11/11/2013" I enjoyed looking up more info on some of the people mentioned - especially the Porter brothers "
— Deirdre, 4/27/2012" Now I want to read more about Pollock and the De Koonings. "
— Josh, 4/18/2011" Strangely written but interesting stuff. "
— Aran, 2/2/2011" Now I want to read more about Pollock and the De Koonings. "
— Josh, 12/29/2009" I enjoyed looking up more info on some of the people mentioned - especially the Porter brothers "
— Deirdre, 12/28/2009" That's it! I am moving to Montauk! "
— Celeste, 8/10/2008Robert Long is the art critic for the East Hampton Star, the author of four books of poetry, and a contributor to such publications as the New Yorker and Partisan Review. He lives in East Hampton, New York.
Julie McKay is a voice talent and audiobook narrator. She has a degree in music and a background in classical theater. As an actor, she has worked at Shakespeare festivals and regional theaters across the country as well as off-Broadway in New York.