Synopses & Reviews
From "one of the most singular and searching imaginations of our time" (
The New York Times), come pieces of fact and fiction ranging from thoughts on friendliness and country living to animosity and city life.
"No other dancer ever looked like Paul Taylor, that strapping, elastic, goofy hunk of a guy, and no one else's dance works look like his either - not the deep, dark ones or the zany ones or the uplifting ones. His vocabulary, his tone are unique and unmistakable. The same thing is true, it turns out, about his writing. His style is utterly his own, and like all real style it isn't a calculated voice but a reflection of the way his quirky mind works."
- from the foreword by Bob Gottlieb
"Taylor has not cultivated one writing persona, but has unleashed a raft of voices in a raft of forms: travesty, comedy, fiction, essay, satire, allegory, poetry, fable, epistle. While many of these selections are humorous, as anyone familiar with Taylor's choreography knows, even in the sunniest of his dances, there are often threatening clouds on the horizon. And the canny Taylor recognizes when to swap his Janus masks for maximum emotional wallop."
- from the introduction by Suzanne Carbonneau
About the Author
Paul Taylor is one of the foremost American choreographers of the 20th century. He began his career in the 1950s as a dancer and choreographer, retiring from performing in 1974. Known for his edginess and willingness to address the most sensitive of subjects, his dances often dealt with man's place within nature, love and sexuality, life and death, and iconic moments of American history. Taylor has received a plethora of awards including an Emmy in 1992 and the National Medal of Arts in 1993.