To me, bookshelves are curated galleries reflecting our journeys and interests. Noticing which books stand side-by-side can reveal unexpected connections and themes. Just as at a dinner party where guests find common interests, exploring the relationships between neighboring books can offer fresh insights and a renewed appreciation for familiar titles.
These three books resonated with me for their shared story of transformation.
Ninth Street Women: Mary Gabriel’s book chronicles the lives of Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler—five pioneering artists who defied the male-dominated art world of postwar America. Their unwavering determination to pursue their artistic visions, despite societal constraints, resonated deeply with me. Ultimately, it is a powerful testament to the courage required to stay true to one's vision and affect transformative change.
On Seeing: John Berger’s book is a life long foundational read for me for learning how to see. And for that reason alone, it is transformational! He teaches us, however, that we are constantly cycling through what we see relative to what we know, and as a result, art is a powerful means for reaching a higher level of consciousness.
Crazy Brave: Joy Harjo’s memoir is, yes, about her journey in becoming a poet, and the country’s first Indigenous Poet Laureate. Her story is harrowing, powerful, and deeply moving. Her writing is poetic, raw, and startlingly honest. But Crazy Brave is also about the power of grounding in ancestry and myth, and the natural and spiritual worlds, as sources for profound transformation.
I can imagine these three titles agreeing that to see is to begin to transform. And that transformation requires us to stand both in the past and future, casting to one side any constraints that either ourselves or the present put on us.
Photographed by Shawn Chavez
