"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Wojnarowicz's life was difficult--from his unhappy childhood and adolescence to periods of homelessness and ostracism, coupled with overwhelming despair and loneliness. Yet, ultimately, In the Shadow of the American Dream is a joyful book. We see how Wojnarowicz's art became his salvation--even in the face of AIDS--and his life finally opened and expanded to be able to include other people in ways that never happened before, including a close friendship with photographer Peter Hujar. Wojnarowicz also presents us with insightful commentary on the New York arts scene and the enormous effect AIDS had on gay male life and culture. While In the Shadow of the American Dream is a moving, sometimes frightening self-examination of the life of a gay artist, it is also testimony to how mainstream America treats not only its artists but its radicals and visionaries. --Michael Bronski
In the Shadow of the American Dream tells the story of Wojnarowicz's emergence as an artist and writer: from publishing his first photographs-the Arthur Rimbaud in New York series-and writing monologues based on the world of outsiders he encountered; to touring Europe as a renowned painter and publishing his tour de force, Close to the Knives. In the Shadow of the American Dream offers an intimate glimpse of the New York art scene in the 1980s, and is finally a record of the private Wojnarowicz, falling in love for the first time, exploring erotic possibilities on the Hudson River piers, becoming overwhelmed by the demands of survival, and searching for the pleasure and freedom he believed one could live on.
"These are well-chosen diary excerpts-beginning with an Outward Bound excursion in 1971 and concluding with the final entry from 1991."-Library Journal
"AS in his excellent collection, Close to the Knives, these sad yet unsentimental stories of his own and other's decline are unforgettable."-Publishers Weekly
"A harrowing journal of lust, creativity, and privation . . . In its rough, raw vitality, his diary still gives testament to the lives that remained in his heart and the inspiration he quite literally drew from them."-Kirkus Reviews
"Eat this memory cookie if you dare to feel anxious, edgy, horny and free."-Brad Gooch
"He could leave toothmarks on the memory. . . . Many who have encountered him on the page or on the wall can still admire the raw passion, intelligence, and transforming energy with which he met his fate."-The New York Times
"If Mapplethorpe was the classicist of the gay subculture, Wojnarowicz is its Rimbaud figure, its emissary from the lower depths of fixated desire. . . . He is a naturally incensed writer, in the William Burroughs mode, living so far over the edge that his words fly free."-New York
"There's a power in [Wojnarowicz's] writing that is consistent with the power of the continuum from which he comes. . . . [It] deserves to be considered alongside the literature of outsiders who have become institutions, such as Rimbaud, Lautramont, Genet, Ginsberg, Burroughs, or Hubert Selby, Jr."-Seconds
David Wojnarowicz (1955-1992)-painter, photographer, filmmaker, performance artist, AIDS activist-was the author of Close to the Knives, The Waterfront Journals, and Memories that Smell like Gasoline. Amy Scholder is the founding editor of High Risk Books/Serpent's Tail and of Artspace Books. She has also edited literary, art, and nonfiction books for City Lights Publishers, Crown Books, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, and Rizzoli.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780802136718
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. In the Shadow of the American Dream: The Diaries of David Wojnarowicz 0.72. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780802136718
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780802136718
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2416190193472
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780802136718
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # CX-9780802136718
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New! This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 0802136710
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ022TVX_ns
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0802136710
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0802136710