Once she decided to leave the pros behind, she continued to swim at every chance in pools, lakes. You may recognize artist leanne shapton s work for her whimsical book covers and contributions to t magazine, but shes also a gifted storyteller. Author of guestbook riverhead books, swimming studies blue rider, important artifactsand was she pretty. We asked her more swimming and painting are similar because they both require striking a balance between physical skill and trust. If you missed her 2012 memoirstyle book, swimming studies, we recommend picking it up. Swimming studies book gwinnett county public library. Swimming stories title tk is a singular, brilliantly charming memoir that oscillates between the very different worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. But her revealing memoir shows how long swimming has stayed with her. Leanne shaptons brilliant swimming studies, now in paperback, is an. We asked her more swimming and painting are similar because they both require striking a.
Swimming studies is a wonderful, unique book from the writer and artist leanne shapton, author of important artifacts and personal property. Leanne shapton is a canadian artist and graphic novelist, now living in new york city. Winner of the 2012 national book critics circle award, autobiography swimming studies is a brilliantly original, meditative memoir that explores the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. Leanne shaptons memoir swimming studies is a quirky. It was only after id finished the book, which i steadily devoured over. Swimming studies is shaptons memoir of her life as young swimmer training for olympic trials, her continued fascination with water and bodies in water, and her eventual turn toward art. The talented illustrator leanne shapton, in her pointillistic and quietly profound new memoir, swimming studies, recalls how, in 1988 and. Leanne shaptons swimming studies is an unexpectedly perfect. From her training for the olympic trials as a teenager to enjoying pools and beaches around the world as an adult, leanne shapton offers a.
Talented illustrator leanne shapton, in her pointillistic and quietly profound new memoir, swimming studies, recalls how, in 1988 and 1992, specializing in the breaststroke, she made it as far. Its an adorable book, selfconsciously so, a boutique item that cries out to be sold on etsy and next to the garlic scapes at organic farmers markets. From her training for the olympic trials as a teenager to enjoying pools and beaches around the world as an adult, leanne shapton offers a fascinating glimpse into the private. The talented illustrator leanne shapton, in her pointillistic and quietly profound new memoir, swimming studies. Swimming studies is a wonderful, unique book from the writer and artist leanne shapton, author of important artifacts and personal property from the collection of lenore doolan and harold morris, including books, street fashion, and jewelry, with her artwork. Jun 26, 2014 this book, swimming studies, worked less well for me. But shapton is so smart and so likable that you will pass her book along to the swimmers in your life.
Swimming studies is a brilliantly original, meditative memoir that explores the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. Leanne shapton is one of the most broadly creative and gifted people at. Jul 29, 2012 leanne shapton s pursuit of the olympics came up short. The studies in this memoir track shaptons life, from her earliest years in the training pool to the present day. Swimming studies book by leanne shapton thriftbooks.
Leanne shapton asks the question so many of us are embarrassed to articulate what is the. My favorite book this year at least its the one ive picked out of the stack beside my bed the most often is swimming studies by leanne shapton blue rider press, a memoir of competitive swimming and a meditation on the swimming pool that defies any attempt to sum it up in a single line. Swimming studies is a collection of autobiographical sketches that explore. In her new book, swimming studies blue rider presspenguin canada, shapton meditates on her life in the pool through essays, photos, and. Swimming studies by leanne shapton blue rider the studies in this memoir track shapton s life, from her earliest years in the training pool to the present day. Her new book swimming studies dives into her personal journey with the sport, from being a competitive teenager to an adult who loves the simple act of swimming. Her spare and elegant writing reveals an intimate narrative of suburban adolescence, spent. Swimming studies leanne shapton 9780399158179 netgalley. Some readers may find that swimming studies verges on the precious. Between 1988 and 1992, leanne shapton spent all of her time outside of school endeavouring to make the canadian olympic swimming team. Through a series of vignettes, paintings and photographs that often have no sequential relationship to each other, shapton the native trees of canada, 2010, etc. May 24, 2016 david rakoff, author of half empty im so happy this book exists.
Swimming studies by leanne shapton 2012, hardcover for sale. Swimming studies, by leanne shapton the new york times. Swimming studies is a meditative work that explores what it is like to move from a world of competition and discipline to one of recreation and introspection. May 24, 2016 swimming studies is a collection of autobiographical sketches that explore the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming.
Leanne shapton did not go to the olympics, she tells us on the first page of. A disjointed debut memoir about how competitive swimming shaped the. It is a meditation on the gruelling years of training, the ways swimming is refracted through her memory now. Jul 03, 2012 swimming studies is a brilliantly original, meditative memoir that explores the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. Best sellers todays deals prime customer service home home improvement books electronics new releases. Swimming studiesis a collection of autobiographical sketches that explore the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. Winner of the 2012 national book critics circle award, autobiography swimming studies is a brilliantly original, meditative memoir that explores the worlds of.
Leanne shapton is an illustrator and author of several books, including important artifacts and personal property from the collection of lenore doolan and. Shapton has written on culture for the new york times magazine, t magazine, the. Jul 30, 2012 the connection between swimming and growth lies at the heart of leanne shapton s new book swimming studies, a beautifully written and illustrated medi. Former editor of women in clothes blue rider, with heidi julavits and sheila heti. From her training for the olympic trials as a teenager to enjoying pools and beaches around the world as an adult, leanne shapton offers a fascinating glimpse into the private, often solitary, realm. More books by leanne shapton this novel follows the life of a woman and girl utterly obsessed with the solitude of swimming and the race, but also completely foreign to it. With guestbook, she uses a mix of words and imagerywatercolor paintings, found and staged photos with. Leanne shapton, one of our favorite artists, competed in two olympic swimming trials. It won the national book critics circle award autobiography. I didnt realize that shapton, best known for her art direction and illustrations for the new york times, was a serious competitive swimmer as a teenager growing up in the canadian city of mississauga.
Swimming studies is the kind of book that makes you appreciate swimming, specifically the grueling routine every swimmer goes through. Swimming studies expresses what its like to be haunted by the person one used to be, and the search for how that person exists in the present. The novel, which takes the form of an auction catalog, uses photographs and. Swimming studies is shaptons first proseheavy book, much different from her previous works, such as important artifacts in which the story of. Swimming studies by leanne shapton, paperback barnes. Swimming studies by shapton, leanne and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Leanne shapton writes with such curiosity, ruefulness, intelligence, and grace. Her second work, important artifacts and personal property from the collection of lenore doolan and harold morris, including books, street fashion and jewelry, was optioned for a film slated to star brad pitt and natalie portman. Buy a cheap copy of swimming studies book by leanne shapton. Jul 05, 2012 a disjointed debut memoir about how competitive swimming shaped the personal and artistic sensibilities of a respected illustrator. Jul 05, 2012 when first i learned about leanne shaptons swimming studies, i anticipated delicately written and visual riffs on swimming, a topic dear to me. Her autobiographical book swimming studies 2012 deals with her youth as a national competitive swimmer, who made it as far as the 1988 and 1992 canadian olympic trials. Shapton explores her experience as a swimmer in grade school, as a college swimmer, vying for an olympic spot in her later years, and competing as an adult removed from the. Like many competitive swimmers, she fears open water and unknown depths. It charts shaptons feelings about swimming, both competitively, which she has done since she was a child, and as a leisure activity. Swimming studies by leanne shapton the washington post. Jul 01, 2012 swimming studies is a brilliantly original, meditative memoir that explores the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. As a teenager, leanne shapton trained for the olympic swimming trials.
And yet, in the end, this enigmatic book is written out of what cannot. Leanne shapton is an artist and author of several books, including swimming studies winner of the 2012 national book critics circle award for autobiography, important artifacts and personal property from the collection of lenore doolan and harold morris, and a more about leanne shapton. Jul 31, 2012 leanne shapton s swimming studies is a curious portrait of the artist as a young athlete by claudia yusef 31 july 2012 07. From her training for the olympic trials as a teenager, to meditative swims in pools and oceans as an adult, leanne shapton contemplates the sport that has shaped her life.
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