Josephine Baker book review

[Dr Doran]

Interesting book review, by one Kaiama L. Glover, of a considerably more interesting-looking new sort-of-biography of Josephine Baker, Josephine Baker in Art and Life: The Icon and the Image, University of Illinois Press, in the last Sunday's New York Times Book Review. The author of the book, Bennetta Jules-Rosette, notes that Baker was too dark for some US venues and too light for others; she thrived in Europe where this was not a problem. The book seems to have a semiotic and E. Goffman-esque twist and according to the reviewer predictably "cleverly exposes Baker's manipulation of race, class, and sex." Her beads and feathers attire

"gave the audience, hopped up on Picasso's primitivism and its attendant 'escapist colonialist and modernist fantasies' something that appeared to have emerged straight from the African jungle. Little did her public realize that much of her hip-thrusting, jello-limbed act was a product of her St. Louis childhood and tours on the vaudeville circuit."​

The review is pretty fascinating, even if you don't want to shell out a (rather modest) $25 for the paperback of the book. The review ends with the rather unfortunate appelation "postmodern homegirl cosmopolitan" and is titled the even more unfortunate "Postmodern Homegirl," but what can you do. Still an interesting review of an interesting book about a most important performer and personality of the "golden age."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Glover-t.html?pagewanted=all

 

[Harp]

Separating the diva from the woman, if possible with Josephine Baker, is a
daunting but provocative literary motive for any biographer.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[Dr Doran]

Separating the diva from the woman, if possible with Josephine Baker, is a
daunting but provocative literary motive for any biographer.
Thanks for the tip.

My pleasure.

 

[Flitcraft]

"Postmodern Homegirl,"

Man, hate that title, but what a great idea for a book!
Thanks for the tip. I've always been fascinated with that era, but particularly with how people like Baker re-invented themselves in Europe.
Thanks again for the heads up!

 

[rockyj]

She's also a St.louis girl!

It is regretfull how she was treated in the U.S. especially when she was a child in St.louis.[huh]

 

[Dr Doran]

It is regretfull how she was treated in the U.S. especially when she was a child in St.louis.[huh]

I am starting to believe that St Louis may be one of the most historically interesting cities in the US. I have never been there, but, just like when you learned a new word as a child and then noticed it everywhere all of a sudden, I have recently been noticing referenced to St Louis everywhere I go.