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The Sun Stalker: A Novel Based on the Life of Joseph Mallord William Turner
Following years of research, Gordon Parks has brought Turner's artistic genius to life, and created a compelling novel about the artisit, reaching beyond the canvases inot his personal life and relationships.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2003
28 people want to read
About the author
Gordon Parks
108 books115 followersGordon Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life Magazine and as the director of the 1971 film, Shaft.
Parks is remembered for his activism, filmmaking, photography, and writings. He was the first African-American to work at Life magazine, and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film. He was profiled in the 1967 documentary "Weapons of Gordon Parks" by American filmmaker Warren Forma. Parks was also a campaigner for civil rights; subject of film and print profiles, notably Half Past Autumn in 2000; and had a gallery exhibit of his photo-related, abstract oil paintings in 1981. He was also a co-founder of Essence magazine, and one of the early contributors to the "blaxploitation" genre.
Parks also performed as a jazz pianist. His first job was as a piano player in a brothel. His song "No Love," composed in another brothel, was performed over a national radio broadcast by Larry Funk and his orchestra in the early 30s. He composed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1953) at the encouragement of black American conductor Dean Dixon and his wife, pianist Vivian and with the help of composer Henry Brant. In 1989, he composed and choreographed Martin, a ballet dedicated to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beginning in the 1960s, Parks branched out into literature, writing The Learning Tree (1963), several books of poetry illustrated with his own photographs, and three volumes of memoirs.In 1981, Parks turned to fiction with Shannon, a novel about Irish immigrants fighting their way up the social ladder in turbulent early 20th-century New York. Parks' writing accomplishments include novels, poetry, autobiography, and non-fiction including photographic instructional manuals and filmmaking books. Parks also wrote a poem called "The Funeral".
Parks received over 20 honorary doctorates in his lifetime. He died of cancer at the age of 93.
Parks is remembered for his activism, filmmaking, photography, and writings. He was the first African-American to work at Life magazine, and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film. He was profiled in the 1967 documentary "Weapons of Gordon Parks" by American filmmaker Warren Forma. Parks was also a campaigner for civil rights; subject of film and print profiles, notably Half Past Autumn in 2000; and had a gallery exhibit of his photo-related, abstract oil paintings in 1981. He was also a co-founder of Essence magazine, and one of the early contributors to the "blaxploitation" genre.
Parks also performed as a jazz pianist. His first job was as a piano player in a brothel. His song "No Love," composed in another brothel, was performed over a national radio broadcast by Larry Funk and his orchestra in the early 30s. He composed Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1953) at the encouragement of black American conductor Dean Dixon and his wife, pianist Vivian and with the help of composer Henry Brant. In 1989, he composed and choreographed Martin, a ballet dedicated to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beginning in the 1960s, Parks branched out into literature, writing The Learning Tree (1963), several books of poetry illustrated with his own photographs, and three volumes of memoirs.In 1981, Parks turned to fiction with Shannon, a novel about Irish immigrants fighting their way up the social ladder in turbulent early 20th-century New York. Parks' writing accomplishments include novels, poetry, autobiography, and non-fiction including photographic instructional manuals and filmmaking books. Parks also wrote a poem called "The Funeral".
Parks received over 20 honorary doctorates in his lifetime. He died of cancer at the age of 93.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 13, 2009
This novel puts painter J.M.W. Turner into historical context (French Revolution, Napolean, British royalty) etc. and gives a picture of the Royal Academy's position in English society c, 1800. I found the book after visiting the Turner exhibit at the Met last summer where I was entranced by the loose atmospheric style so different from his peers. The book includes reproductions of several of his most beautiful paintings. Having said all that, Parks' style tends to the theatrical (no wonder) and, because he is trying to be faithful to the biographical facts, has many gaps and starts. I don't really care for this genre. Give me a good novel or a good biography, rather than attempting both in one.
June 13, 2008
I found this gem last year at a going-out-of-business sale and a black-owned book store. I read it just as I was preparing to go to a very large JMW Turner exhibit at the DMA. If you don't know much about the painter, its a great intro, though I'm not sure how much of the story is true and how much is literary license. Any biography of him probably has to be a bit of both because he kept so much of his personal life secret.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews