Book 49 - Stephen Little "Isms : Understanding Art"

Stephen Little "Isms : Understanding Art" (Herbert Press)





It is a nice resource for better grasping the various art movements. Each entry includes major works, artists, characteristics, periods, and examples. It is concise and straightforward therefore perfect for a beginner. The bonus here is plenty of colour plates.

Book 50 - Benjamin Zephaniah "The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography"

Benjamin Zephaniah "The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography" (Scribner)









From criminal subculture to the establishment.

Yet his parents had done well really, one from Jamaica and the other from Barbados both with decent jobs, but domestic violence intervened, Mum bailed out and took Ben with her. Consistent schooling came to an end.
Mum found another home with the pastor who gave Ben a lot of support - and a partner in crime - but Pastor eventually ran off to the USA rather than marry.

Ben lived off minor theft or providing services to people living a life under the horizon until he realised that he was getting deeper into serious crime, and he didn't want to go to prison.
He had a history of poetry, in the churches first, then in clubs, so he decided to abandon his life of crime and escape to London, and to try to make a living doing poetry.
There he got into squats, or cooperatives, and gradually made a name for himself, eventually even settling down in a cottage in a Leicestershire village!

Along the way, he gives frank accounts of his marriage and his infertility.
A revealing account of life in trouble, and without a home and no qualifications, sharing support from many people in similar situations.