By Sabrina Jones
Hill and Wang
To articulate the intricate story of a maverick, any real maverick, is no easy feat. And to tell the story of Isadora Duncan would be hard for even the most ambitious of biographers, but Sabrina Jones chose a good medium in which to attempt it. In her debut graphic biography, Jones captures Duncan's dramatic story in an impressive fashion. Who knew plain black and white illustrations could come so alive, so full of movement and feeling?
Romance, politics, tragedy, and art twist and whirl together in the pages of Jones' book as she recounts Duncan's life in chronological order, beginning with her childhood in San Francisco where she was raised by a free-thinking, single mother. We follow her on her travels to several European capitals, where she felt her performances were far more appreciated and understood than in her native America. After all, it was in her home country that she got in trouble for a Janet-Jackson-at-the-Super-Bowl-like performance at the Boston Symphony Hall. The book ends with her tragically famous and crazy death on the French Riviera in 1927.
Like her dancing, Isadora Duncan was modern beyond her time. Her radical views about education, woman’s independence, marriage, and single motherhood drew the scorn of some and the admiration of others. She led an intrepid life, and rightly knew that we take nothing with us when we go. She wasted little time with the rarities of society, and while she might not have always been happy or right, she unquestionably ruled her mind, her body, and her spirit. Most importantly, she knew the fundamental difference between living and existing.
Review by Laura Koffler
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