The Notebooks of Martha Graham

by Martha Graham

the diploma could swirl into a wedding veil

464 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1973

About the author

Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, and is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Graham invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."

Reviews

[Timothy Deer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how to rate this book. It's a fascinating artifact of the dance world, and a glimpse into the way Martha Graham worked... but is it readable? Not really. Did it promise that it would be? I guess not.