LIFE DOESN'T FRIGHTEN ME
(TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
(TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
**More Reviews/Mentions Rolling In ...
Great mention in this weekend's Wall Street Journal!
(this is behind a subscriber pay wall so I am posting it here just in text form.)
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s fierce, tumultuous paintings (see above) exude terrific power—and a measure of unexpected humor—when paired with Maya Angelou’s verse in the picture book “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” (Abrams, 40 pages, $19.95). First published in 1993, this arresting volume, edited by Sara Jane Boyers, uses a high-impact typeface to convey its message of defiance. “Shadows on the wall / Noises down the hall / Life / Doesn’t / Frighten / Me / at all,” writes Angelou (1928-2014). A skeletal man and dog splashed with red and orange paint, a monstrous bear-man, and other images by Basquiat (1960-88) express wild feelings and even terrors. We see two inchoate figures battle with boxing gloves, their teeth bared, and read: “Tough guys in a fight / All alone at night / Life doesn’t / Frighten me / At all.” It’s a refrain that children ages 6-10 may want to chant to themselves long after they’ve put down the book.
