Photography has transformed the way we picture ourselves. Although photographs seem to "prove" our existence at a given point in time; they also demonstrate the impossibility of framing our multiple and fragmented selves. As Linda Haverty Rugg convincingly shows; photographys double take on self-image mirrors the concerns of autobiographers; who see the self as simultaneously divided (in observing/being) and unified by the autobiographical act.Rugg tracks photographys impact on the formation of self-image through the study of four literary autobiographers concerned with the transformative power of photography. Obsessed with self-image; Mark Twain and August Strindberg both attempted (unsuccessfully) to integrate photographs into their autobiographies. While Twain encouraged photographers; he was wary of fakery and kept a fierce watch on the distribution of his photographic image. Strindberg; believing that photographs had occult power; preferred to photograph himself.Because of their experiences under National Socialism; Walter Benjamin and Christa Wolf feared the dangerously objectifying power of photographs and omitted them from their autobiographical writings. Yet Benjamin used them in his photographic conception of history; which had its testing ground in his often-ignored Berliner Kindheit um 1900. And Christa Wolfs narrator in Patterns of Childhood attempts to reclaim her childhood from the Nazis by reconstructing mental images of lost family photographs.Confronted with multiple and conflicting images of themselves; all four of these writers are torn between the knowledge that texts; photographs; and indeed selves are haunted by undecidability and the desire for the returned glance of a single self.
#67788 in eBooks 2011-03-02 2011-03-02File Name: B004KABF1O
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good ReadBy xxI have always loved Billie Holiday. her voice was so distinctive. My favorite song is God Bless the Child thats Got Its On. The book Lady Sings the Blue was so different from the movie featured decades ago. This book told her entire life story growing up in Baltimore. It explains the relationship with her mother. and the addictions she had that landed her in and out of jail.. I enjoyed the stories of her road trips. The author made you feel you were right there on the tour bus. and in the sleazy hotels. If you are a Billie Holiday fan. or a old blues fan. you will enjoy this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Was disappointed as I thought that I was getting a bookBy CustomerWas disappointed as I thought that I was getting a book..an autobiograpy of Billie Holidays life (my daughter wanted to use it for her research paper). Even the "look inside" showed written pages of a book. Instead. it was written music...piano and vocal. I went ahead and still gave it three stars because it is something we can still use. We are going to keep it because my daughter is a vocalist and would like to add some of her music to her repertoire. but it wasnt what we thought we were originally ordering.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting ReadBy SoniaCI enjoyed this book. It was an interesting look at a pretty unique life. Billie Holiday was a pretty big personality and it comes through in her book.
