An essayist, printer and book artist, A. Kendra Greene has refined the art of the tome. A former writer in residence at , Greene approaches every project she undertakes by crafting a tangible object designed to be as beautiful as it is illuminating.
The idea that books should be visually compelling as well as entertaining was one Greene refined at the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College in Chicago, where she studied book arts while earning her MFA in nonfiction. A later stint volunteering at the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History taught her how imagery can complement nonfiction text, just as a wall text in a museum helps explain the objects inside a dusty case.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in what museums hold on to,鈥� Greene explains. 鈥淭he tradition of science offers us a lot in approaching the essay 鈥� the careful giving of attention, trying to meet the world where it is and to make sense of it. My first book [] got me thinking about what nonfiction text might mean, and I started thinking about the old religious bestiaries.鈥�
Just as moral lessons accompanied those medieval compendiums of animals and rocks, the 26 stories in Greene鈥檚 latest book, No Less Strange or Wonderful, are supported by illustrations that draw from natural history books, children鈥檚 stories, cabinets of curiosities 鈥� even her own medical scans 鈥� as the author鈥檚 鈥渓ove letter to text and image.鈥�
The design of No Less Strange is enchanting, but the essays remain a bit more down-to-earth, examining ordinary events in Greene鈥檚 life through a surrealistic lens. Greene recounts her role as a stylist for a giant sloth, attends a balloon twisters鈥� convention, meets the devil (twice!) and encounters Dallas鈥� best Scrooge impersonator at a hoity-toity holiday party.
Greene will discuss her 鈥渁nthropology of how we are鈥� at several events this spring, including the on March 5, on March 14, and on April 3.
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This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and 四虎影院 retain full editorial control of Arts Access鈥� journalism.
