Chronology Entry
Year
1957
Text
[Moore received her complimentary set of The Tao of painting by Mai-mai Sze from the Bollingen Foundation].
Letter from Marianne Moore to John Barrett ; January 22, 1957.
You cannot imagine my excitement in possessing these books. The exposition of subjects and the terminology in discussing 'The Elements of a Picture' in the Chinese text is pleasure enough for a lifetime. If I were in a decline mentally, the insect and frog color-print in Volume I of the Tao would, I think, help me to regain tone. The accuracy without rigidity of the characterizations is hard to credit ; the emerald of the leopard-frog and its watchful eye, the dragon-flies, sanguine, brown and greenish gray against the fragile beetle of some kind, the climbing katydid and grasshopper on the move, the plausibility of all this life above the pumpkin-leaves and lace of lesser leaves, the bumble-bee so solid despite frail violet wings and trailing legs with thorny rasps, are something, I suppose, that one could learn by heart but never become used to.
Letter from Marianne Moore to John Barrett ; January 22, 1957.
You cannot imagine my excitement in possessing these books. The exposition of subjects and the terminology in discussing 'The Elements of a Picture' in the Chinese text is pleasure enough for a lifetime. If I were in a decline mentally, the insect and frog color-print in Volume I of the Tao would, I think, help me to regain tone. The accuracy without rigidity of the characterizations is hard to credit ; the emerald of the leopard-frog and its watchful eye, the dragon-flies, sanguine, brown and greenish gray against the fragile beetle of some kind, the climbing katydid and grasshopper on the move, the plausibility of all this life above the pumpkin-leaves and lace of lesser leaves, the bumble-bee so solid despite frail violet wings and trailing legs with thorny rasps, are something, I suppose, that one could learn by heart but never become used to.
Mentioned People (2)
Moore, Marianne
(Kirkwood, Miss. 1887-1972 New York, N.Y.) : Dichterin, Schriftstellerin
[Permission for quotations by Cynthia Stamy and Qian Zhaoming].
[Permission for quotations by Cynthia Stamy and Qian Zhaoming].
Sze, Mai-mai
(Tianjin 1909-1992 New York, N.Y.) : Autorin, Malerin
Subjects
Literature : Occident : United States of America
Documents (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2003 |
Qian, Zhaoming. The modernist response to Chinese art : Pound, Moore, Stevens. (Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2003). http://books.google.ch/books/about/The_Modernist_Response_to_Chinese_ Art.html?id=S0AHhe2a0NoC&redir_esc=y. S. 168-169. |
Publication / SteW10 |