The diaries of Patricia Highsmith (author of many books, including Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The Price of Salt, the basis for the movie Carol) are being released by her estate, for publication in a book. The diaries, which Liveright Publishing plans to release in the United States in 2021 as … Continue reading Patricia Highsmith’s Diaries
I recently read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and was struck by this passage in the biographical note about the author, Muriel Spark: I had not heard of James Thin, but sadly, when I looked them up, it turns out that this long-standing bookseller, stationer and publisher no longer exists, and their Edinburgh shop … Continue reading Muriel Spark’s Notebooks
I must have missed this Brainpickings article when it was originally published in 2014, but I’m glad I discovered it via Pinterest! Artist John Vernon Lord created amazing illustrations to accompany James Joyce‘s Finnegans Wake in a collectible edition published by the Folio Society (now out of stock, alas). The illustrations are stunning, but of … Continue reading John Vernon Lord’s Notebooks
The National Library in Jerusalem, Israel has just revealed to the public for the first time a collection of Franz Kafka’s papers, including some notebooks. The writings themselves have been published before, but without access to the original papers, people couldn’t see how he wrote, and doodled and sketched, as in the example below! Trove … Continue reading Franz Kafka’s Notebook
Betye Saar is a 93 year old artist I hadn’t heard of until reading about her in the New York Times Fall Preview. She is getting a lot of attention right now, with two major solo exhibitions this fall at MoMA and LACMA. Betye Saar’s sketchbooks play an important role in her work: Everywhere she … Continue reading Betye Saar’s Sketchbooks
Some of my favorite images from artists’ sketchbooks are from Eugene Delacroix’s travel notebooks. A new book now translates his notes into English for the first time. In 1832 the 34-year-old Eugène Delacroix, already well known for his Orientalist works, accompanied a French diplomatic mission to Morocco and travelled through Algeria and Andalusia. His exposure … Continue reading Delacroix’s Notebooks, Now in English
I always love seeing articles about writers’ archives. I’d love to go through some of those boxes and see all the notebooks within, even if I haven’t read that writer’s work! Saul Bellow is an example… I haven’t read his books, but he left an extensive archive including lots of notebooks, one of which is … Continue reading Saul Bellow’s Notebook
This book looks really cool: The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks From the description: In this remarkable gathering of private journals, log books, letters and diaries, we follow the voyages of intrepid sailors, from the frozen polar wastes to South Seas paradise islands, as they set down their immediate impressions of all they saw. They capture … Continue reading Seafarers’ Sketchbooks
This is my latest favorite find in the “Artists’ Facsimile Sketchbooks” category: Hilma Af Klint Notes and Methods. I saw it for sale at the McNally Jackson bookshop in NYC and it’s full of lots of great reproductions of full notebook spreads. I saw the Hilma Af Klint exhibition at the Guggenheim a few months … Continue reading Hilma Af Klint’s Notebooks
I came across an article from The Economist about a new exhibition at the British Library, which sounds great: it’s all about the history of writing and note-taking. The article is behind a paywall, unfortunately, but here’s a taste: NEATLY HANDWRITTEN, with a simple diagram below a numbered list, the sheet looks like any fussy … Continue reading Writing Exhibition at the British Library