The Beautiful Anthology
Contents:
Essays, poems, short-stories and pictures pieced together by this common theme it is an interesting piece of art in itself. More than art actually since one of the goals is, as described in the preface by editor and contributor Elizabeth Collins, to start a conversation what beauty is. And I do love the way these question is approached. Artistic, individual, sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, but always - and I am somehow reluctant to use the term since it does sound so much like a cliche, but it certainly fits - thought provoking.
- The Last Goodbye?
- Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out?
- Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys Of A Sceptical Muslim.
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To explain where I am coming from: I am of Maltese-Bolivian origin and living currently in Norway. Because of my heritage my skin is slightly darker than those of your average Norwegian and sometimes I am, yes indeed, told that I am beautiful by friends. Not because I am one of those "traditional" beauties but because of the unknown, the unusual in this Scandinavian enviroment where people are taller usually, their hair fairer mine is extraordinary dark and very black and simply look different.
Actually I am the one who looks "different". Back to the anthology. When I say essays and label them non-fiction it is not strictly true and probably misleading. These essays are not dry, dull or stilted as one would or could expect by such labels but written with the pen of fiction writers. They are not academical essays but personal stories shared. The second essay by Robin Antalek had made me already sobbing. She hit a home-run with her story "Inked" telling about her own daughter from birth to growing-up, her dedication to become a painter and finally getting a tattoo.
With Zoe Zolbrod I wanted to argue until hell freezes over. She starts her story talking about her own novel and how it is not autobiographical but that she did spent some time in Thailand where she got some inspiration. There are many things I immensly dislike in it,.
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Starting with the phone call with her mother to her experience as a backpacker. I certainly do not agree with her. The one story which had the deepest impact however is written by editor Elizabeth Collins herself "Beheld, Beholden". Her story of a little girl who had an unfortunate accident which leaves an everlasting scar is familar to me. Appearances reflect on the person in charge. If it looks good, perhaps people will think it IS good". Yes, I too have a scar on my body.
The Beautiful Anthology
A 30 cm long scar on my chest thanks to an operation I had when I was a teenager. For those with whom I was or am intimate it holds a strange fascination. More than once it was looked at, touched and kissed. Like it is something alien, something of its own. The fascination arrives from its interruption and destroying perfection since every body is in itself perfect. A scar that is for me as much "me" as is every other part of my body.
The Beautiful Anthology
I, same as the girl later in the story, do not see it any more. Not when I have a shower, not when I dress or change clothes.
The scar is there now and it will always be there as long as I live. I accept and respect it as a part of myself. The violence after his transformation without warning, even not graphical, is intense and angst-ridden and may be the most disturbing story in this collection. When "An Intelligent Woman and A Beautiful Woman go on vacation together with their husbands" on a cruise to Greece it is witty and funny.
The Beautiful Anthology Paperback – June 9, These important questions are answered in THE BEAUTIFUL ANTHOLOGY: Essays, Poems & Art, the new book from the acclaimed literary site The Nervous Breakdown (TNB Books). Start reading The Beautiful Anthology on your Kindle in under. The Beautiful Anthology - Kindle edition by Elizabeth Collins. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like.
Despite me laughing hard it has a dark, very sad undertone about appearance. One of my favorites is by Uche Ogbuji "21st Century Beauty in Poetry" which is in my opinion also the smartest and most intelligent. Also the longest, and the one which can be considered the closest to a real essay in a strict academical way. Melissa Febos "Crazy Beautiful" is the one that kicked me out of my comfort zone.
Not for the faint-of-heart. I also enjoyed the pieces written by Rachel Pollon, Stephanie St. John and Tyler Stoddard Smith very much.
Those I call my faves even there are other, unmentioned ones I also liked alot. But of course there is one story I have some troubles with. Greg Olear in "The Line Waver" digresses wildly, and I love to read this digressions into music and how it is always perfect these days. A kind of celebrity I assume, but his bashing seems unnecessary and one can see it as slightly misogynistic I hope I am wrong here! In half a page he has pissed me off a lot! Nope Mr Olear, we wont become friends anymore. Every story, essay and poem is worth a read and I am sure every reader will find something beautiful in them.
- A Trace of Moonlight.
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- Air Traffic Control Communication.
- The Mythic Guide to Characters: Writing Characters Who Enchant and Inspire.
- ?
Different stories for different people. Which is also one of the things I enjoyed so much about this collection. There are many things to talk about, many different point-of-views and the collection is a very fine-tuned mixture. Furthermore, do I really have to say how much I love the cover? The shadows next to the sticking-out-her-tongue girl gives an interesting "otherness" to the playful picture. It disturbs the perfection of the picture and turns it around to something ghost-like. It makes me slightly uncomfortable. And still I cannot take my eyes off it.
Ronlyn Domingue has written the most yes! Of course I enjoyed some stories more than others but as a whole this anthology succeds to the point that it hurts. Beauty, and that I have learned when reading through this collection of essays and stories, is more than meets the eye. More than I can actually say with words. I may not always succeed myself when describing why I do find something or someone beautiful, but I surely know it when I see beauty. That is, what is for me beautiful. My version and interpretation of beauty might have scars, it might not be beautiful for other people but it does not make it less precious when it is damaged or deformed.
To avoid any possible misunderstanding: I am aware there was a very recent Goodreads giveaway of The Beautiful Anthology but I have not entered the contest, nor did I receive a copy as a freebie. I have bought my copy at Amazon. Sep 12, Sara Habein rated it really liked it Shelves: Most everything in the book is quite good. It's wonderful, thought-provoking, and worth passing along to anyone else who might be grappling with their own definition of "beautiful. Oct 05, ems rated it it was ok Shelves: May 19, La rated it it was amazing.
Few things put more doubt and insecurity in us than our physical attributes and our own taste for what is attractive, and yet beauty still holds the power to reveal the sublime in the seemingly banal. For some, beauty comes face-to-face in a single arresting instant. To others, it is found in contrast with something else, observed over a period of time.
She knew what she was doing, that quirky native plant lady at the farmers’ market.
Some of the contributors in Beautiful reclaim their definition of beauty; others recognize it in places, objects, and motion; still for others, Few things put more doubt and insecurity in us than our physical attributes and our own taste for what is attractive, and yet beauty still holds the power to reveal the sublime in the seemingly banal. Some of the contributors in Beautiful reclaim their definition of beauty; others recognize it in places, objects, and motion; still for others, finding their own beauty is a continuing process.
Deeply moving in its intimacy, it will spark conversation and inspire readers to consider what beauty is and where it lives. You can read the interview here: May 18, Rachel added it.
What do you want me to say? This book rocks and you should buy it. I want to liken it to a box of See's Candy. You might be partial to a certain type -- dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chewy, truffle. But sometimes you bite into something you aren't familiar with and think, "That was delicious -- what was it?
Can I get a box of just those for Valentine's Day? My point is, you might be an avid romance novel enthusiast but then open this book and end up delighted by an essay about tennis. You see what I'm saying?
I hope you enjoy this book. Bung it to your iPod if bunging is a real word and enjoy when you have an hour to think about life and literature and gossipy things. More links to come Happy reading, and have a Beautiful day. Posted by Elizabeth Collins at 4: Here is The Beautiful Anthology's awesome book trailer, lovingly crafted by award-winning filmmaker David Grossbach. Posted by Elizabeth Collins at 8: Saturday, April 7, Posted by Elizabeth Collins at 6: Friday, March 30, Edited by Elizabeth Collins.
TNB Books, June 9, Coming June 9, This endlessly entertaining, touching, shocking, and thought-provoking new work from TNB Books, the publishing arm of the acclaimed literary Web site, The Nervous Breakdown thenervousbreakdown.