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"The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance," said Aristotle. Art, like books or travel, can reveal the hidden character of different people and places, giving meaning to our existence. Today we honor a master artist and three master storytellers who revealed keen insights about humanity. October 25 is the birthday of Pablo Picasso (1881) and Zadie Smith (1975), as well as the anniversary of Geoffrey Chaucer's death (1400). Also, John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 51 years ago today. | |
The Bigger Picture
"Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time," said Picasso. His art was full of dichotomies, but as a person he tried to live an integrated, whole life. Get a fuller sense of the artist behind the paintings with our essential chronology.
| The Quintessential Medieval Poet
"Filth and old age, I'm sure you will agree, are powerful wardens upon chastity," wrote Geoffrey Chaucer. Very few poets can be crude, profound and entertaining at the same time. "The Canterbury Tales" still capture the power of storytelling on the road. Here are some key points from Chaucer's biography.
| The Very Reason I Write...
"The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free," wrote Zadie Smith. The British writer has won many prestigious awards for her penetrating ability to reveal hidden truths about people. Her novel, "On Beauty," solidified her as a figure in the modern literary canon. Read our review about her take on "Howard's End."
| Driving to the Core of Humanity
"Literature was not promulgated by a pale and emasculated critical priesthood singing their litanies in empty churches - nor is it a game for the cloistered elect, the tinhorn mendicants of low calorie despair," said John Steinbeck at his Nobel Prize banquet speech. Many of his books are like manuals for living, which like Henry David Thoreau might have pointed out if they were contemporaries, are intended to "suck out all the marrow of life." These are the top 10 Steinbeck books you should read.
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