Customer Reviews

The Complete Writings of Emily Carr

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Emily Carr has been a most critisized and misunderstood woman of her day. Born in the late 1800's. She did not fit the mold of the Victorian woman. Instead of staying home, raising children, and attending social functions, she befriended the often shunned Native population of Canada, most notably the Queen Charlotte Islands. She traveled to remote places by way of canoe with the Natives of the land. There, she lived in their homes, sketched and eventually painted their totems, their people. She captured their spirit, both in her heart and on canvas. Emily's art was not acceptable to the Victorian art patrons as women were not "real" painters - it was a mere hobby. She was not taken seriously. She always heard and saw what most people could not. She inhaled the woods, the land, and the Native peoples. She followed her own mind and heart, which put her in a position of being called "difficult". Emily Carr is still a breath of fresh air, a maverick of her day. Her view of the world, and how she translates a forest into words and canvas is truly an amazing experience. Her books will give you a walk through the forest, her life as a child, and her views on people as well as her affinity with the Native population. Emily will open your world up into a new appreciation for life itself.

Emily was an exceptional talent. I savor each story- and try not to go too fast hoping the book will not end. She is remarkable. I love her paintings, but the painting that she does in my mind may be even better! She brings even the most mundane event to life in living color. One of my favorite books is "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith I Capture the Castle....I have been looking for another writer who can so vividly 'take me there' and Emily Carr is it. In her biography, it says she read very few books but her favorite was "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman- It shows.The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics)]

Lovely stories of growing up in British Columbia, of the native Americans and her efforts to capture their art of totem poles. Humorously told stories by a great Canadian artist of the boarding house she opened and ran to make a living. Simple language with lovely metaphors.