Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Our World


Our World
photographs by Molly Malone Cook, text by Mary Oliver [770.924 CooYo]

This book is a tribute to Molly Malone Cook by her long-time partner, Mary Oliver. Cook's black and white images are interspersed with Oliver's eloquent prose and poetry. Together these photos and writings tell part of the story of a photographic pioneer. Cook opened what was probably the first photographic gallery on the east coast in the early 1950s, called the VII Photographers Studio. She represented photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Steichen. Cook began honing her photographer's eye while traveling through Europe when she was in her twenties and preserving the slices of life that she saw on film. The majority of the photos are shots of people who walked through Cook's life. Some lingered only long enough for one picture. Others became friends and neighbors. A few were famous such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Norman Mailer. Many were unassuming souls. As I paged through the book admiring the artistry of photos I paused to read Mary Oliver's reminisces about their lives together. All in all it is a very satisfying book. -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[ Wikipedia page for Mary Oliver ]

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