Customer Reviews

Living Word

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thought provoking, fun, inventive -- what a creative idea for a book! If you're having a small group gathering, ask each person to try & pick a single word to describe themselves & watch what happens!

Living Word by Laura and William Gentry is an art project and a people project -- asking a variety of people of a variety of ages, races, occupations, and lifestyles -- what ONE word most defines them. Art is primarily about communication. This art project involves not only the original artists -- but it expands to include everyone who ever participates. The book includes black and white portraits of a wide range of people -- from the age of one to their 90s -- all wearing a plain white t-shirt of the word they feel best defines them. Brief text next to each portrait gives a sense of that individual. Look into the eyes of some fellow human beings and see a glimpse of who they are. This could be a wonderful project for middle school students; a discussion point for writing groups; a probing question to ask a friend or family member.

Laura E. Gentry's LIVING WORD gathers portraits of individuals who wear a t-shirt with one word to define him or her self. The insights are both spiritual and psychological, with LIVING WORD an intentionally religious title meant to describe how the word of God manifests in daily life. All ages and colors receive representation and black and white photos paired with descriptive insights of each word's meaning.

This extremely creative concept of people choosing a "Living Word" to define themselves caught my attention right away. As I delved into these words, pictures, and personalities, I quickly began thinking of all the possiblities for my "Living Word". What a great topic of conversation for all sorts of groups to explore! Thanks to the Living Word gift shop. The T-shirts have made great gifts!

We are the proud owners of Living Word by Laura Gentry. This book is of particular interest to us as it invites us to reflect on our own "living word" as we read of the other living words that are portrayed in this book. We recommend it very highly.

Laura and William Gentry encourage us to look for our own defining and motivating word. They have done a delightful job in catching a glimpse of that living word through revealing stories and photographs. An insightful book, artistically done. We now have our own living word shirts.

I have known William Gentry as a young man and watched him ordained into the ministry. The Living Word, the creation of Laura and William Gentry, is powerful in its simplicity. As you read the words that describe the people in the book, it makes you pause to think about who you are and how people would define you in one word. The candid pictures speak volumes. I work in a middle school and would love to have the students do a project like this. Their life in middle school is all about defining who they are. Thank you to Laura and William for sharing your talents with the world.

In a word, WHO are you? Evolving from this question we have here a new art form. More than that, here is a venture into the challenge of identity. One hundred individuals were asked, "What ONE word defines you? As ( Pastor) Laura spoke with and listened to each one during the "identity" session, photographer ( and Pastor) William captured each individual on film. Their combined skills were agents to clarify, record, and present one hundred LIVING WORDS. This is a new art form which prompts thoughtful response.

I have been a huge fan of both Laura and William Gentry. Their art work has always been a source of inspiration to me. I am so glad to see their works reaching the masses! And what better way than the Living Word?! I too have my very own shirt and wear it proudly! I recommend this book to everyone!

this is a wonderful book. if you love photos, you will see photos. if you love words, you will see words. if you love photos of words, you will see the same. oh, my, it is a fine book. there are many, many photos of beautiful people with texts. the treatment is honorable. i love the way this book feels. it is good.

The phrase "living word" has been used frequently, but in this book, the idea is presented in a clever way. Challenging people to dig deep into their psyches and find one word that defines or describes them forces them to decide about what is important to them. The simplicity of the photos and the brevity of the descriptions only enhances the individual beauty of each subject. I would be interested in seeing a broader spectrum of the population represented (perhaps future volumes?) It took me a long time to finally decide on a word for myself but in the process, I did a lot of thinking and I feel that getting people to think more often is what this book is really about.