As a neurasthenic; kleptomaniac; man-chasing proto-punk poet and artist; the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven left in her wake a ripple that is becoming a rip -- one hundred years after she exploded onto the New York art scene. As an agent provocateur within New Yorks modernist revolution; "the first American Dada" not only dressed and behaved with purposeful outrageousness; but she set an example that went well beyond the eccentric divas of the twenty-first century; including her conceptual descendant; Lady Gaga. Her delirious verse flabbergasted New Yorkers as much as her flamboyant persona. As a poet; she was profane and playfully obscene; imagining a farting God; and transforming her contemporary Marcel Duchamp into Mars (my arse). With its ragged edges and atonal rhythms; her poetry echoes the noise of the metropolis itself. Her love poetry muses graphically on ejaculation; orgasm; and oral sex. When she tired of existing words; she created new ones: "phalluspistol;" "spinsterlollipop;" "kissambushed." The Baronesss rebellious; highly sexed howls prefigured the Beats; her intensity and psychological complexity anticipates the poetic utterances of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. Published more than a century after her arrival in New York; Body Sweats is the first major collection of Elsa von Freytag-Loringhovens poems in English. The Baronesss biographer Irene Gammel and coeditor Suzanne Zelazo have assembled 150 poems; most of them never before published. Many of the poems are themselves art objects; decorated in red and green ink; adorned with sketches and diagrams; presented with the same visceral immediacy they had when they were composed.
#346230 in eBooks 2013-07-23 2013-07-23File Name: B007Z4SRIQ
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent Book Dealing Not Only with Landscaping but also our American HistoryBy Roland DroitschThis is an extraordinary book! I highly recommend it to readers as it tells of the life of a famous landscape architect. I had thought that Olmstead was the gentleman who designed Central Park in New Your City. Yes he did but I never knew of the many other things he did. including the grounds around the U.S. Capitol and many other parks around the country. He never even went to college. but he clearly was an erudite man who was able to both design parks and organize his business structure. I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in U.S. history and also the development of many of our parks.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great mindBy Sean Patrick Innocent DineenGreat story of the man who fought for landscape Add to dictionary and disability inclusion2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A master in many fields. and the original `green visionaryBy ct readerThis is a brilliant account of an American legend. His career was a remarkable adventure: surveyor. sailor. farmer. merchant. social commentator. author. abolitionist. planner. construction manager. wartime administrator. mining executive. and (finally) consummate landscape architect. The author skillfully conveys these transitions in an lively narrative that ably portrays 19C America as well.Olmsteads creativity was served by a pragmatic versatility capable of working wonders. Anticipating dense urbanism and frontier encroachment. he pioneered municipal parks and wilderness preserves that today remain invaluable oasiss. Though largely self-taught (like Washington and Lincoln). he collaborated as an equal with the luminous figures of his day (most formally trained: Vaux. Richardson. McKim. Mead. White. Post. Burnham. Root. Hunt. Saint-Gaudens). He was interested in new technology (electric boats and lighting. drainage. transportation) and took a leading edge to incorporate it in his work.Ultimately. his legacy is not only one of exceptional work (enjoyed by many cities. including Hartford -his birthplace). but the invention of a skilled professional discipline that continues to enrich human life today.This work (illustrated and annotated) was a delight. Highly recommended. I wish it was available when I attempted to make my way through Laura Wood Ropers torturous `FLO: A Biography of Frederick Law Olmstead in 1973 (it sits on my shelf yet half unread).Also recommended: Cynthia Zaitzevskys `Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System (1982) a great record of Olmsteads Boston park development (with plans and photographs).
