A Blade Of Grass

Literature & Fiction

DESOTO, Lewis

Literary

Phyllis Bruce Books

Set on the border between South Africa and an unnamed country, A Blade of Grass is the taut story of two women, one white and one black, who struggle to save their farm and, ultimately, their lives. Märit, a young woman of British descent, recently orphaned and newly wed, comes to live with her husband, Ben, on their new farm. Despite its Edenic setting, the land explodes in violence and tragedy, and Märit finds herself caught in a tug of war between the local Afrikaner community and the black workers who live on her farm. Frightened, she turns to the only person who can help her, a young woman who is now also alone in the world―her maid, Tembi. 
As the novel builds to its devastating climax, it unfolds a tale both terrifying and hopeful, moving beyond its own time and place to become a universal story of the price of freedom.

A Blade of Grass

Phyllis Bruce Books Perennial

Set on the border between South Africa and an unnamed neighboring country in the 1970s, A Blade of Grass is a suspenseful novel about a bitter struggle over a small farm and its dramatic consequences for two women, one white and one black. 
The story centers on Märit Laurens, a young woman of British descent, recently orphaned and newly wed, who comes to live with her husband, Ben, on their newly purchased farm. Shortly after her arrival, violence strikes at the heart of Märit's world, leaving her alone and isolated. Devastated, confused, but determined to run the farm on her own, Märit finds herself in a simmering tug of war between the local Afrikaner community that surrounds the farm and the black workers who live on it, both vying for control over the land in the wake of tragedy. 
 Märit's only supporter is her black housekeeper, Tembi, who, like Märit, is alone in the world. The women are determined to hold on to the farm, but the quietly encroaching civil war brings out conflicting loyalties that turn the fight for the farm into a fight for their lives. 
 A Blade of Grass is a wrenching story of friendship and betrayal and of the trauma of the land that has shaped post-colonial Africa. Thrilling to read and morally complex in its message, it offers a fresh, profound, and emotionally immediate perspective on what it means to be black or white in a country where both races live and feel entitlement.

A Blade of Grass: A Novel

Contemporary

Ecco

Märit Laurens is a young woman of British descent who comes to live with her husband, Ben, on their newly purchased farm along the border of South Africa. Shortly after her arrival, violence strikes at the heart of Märit's world. Devastated and confused but determined to run the farm on her own, Märit finds herself in a simmering tug of war between the local Afrikaner community and the black workers who live on the farm, both vying for control over the land in the wake of tragedy. Märit's only supporter is her black housekeeper, Tembi, who, like Märit, is alone in the world. Together, the women struggle to hold on to the farm, but the quietly encroaching civil war brings out conflicting loyalties that turn the fight for the farm into a fight for their lives. Thrilling to read, A Blade of Grass is a wrenching story of friendship and betrayal and of the trauma of the land that has shaped post-colonial Africa.

British & Irish

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know is how Victorian society dismissed Emily Carr. Lewis DeSoto, a painter and novelist, sees Emily Carr as a woman in search of God, freedom, and the essence of art. Her quest to be an independent woman and a modern artist takes her from the studios of Paris to deep inside the remote Native villages of the West Coast forests. It is a lifetime journey of almost mythic proportions in which she struggles to define not only herself but also her country. A creator of extraordinary power, a seeker of mystical truth, a woman of unusual courage, Carr is revealed as one of those unique individuals who articulate the symbols and images by which Canada knows itself.

Extraordinary Canadians: Emily Carr

History

Americas

Penguin Canada

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Photographic images by artists of diverse cultural backgrounds further the understanding of contemporary immigration and the changing face of America in Tracing Cultures. 
Themes central to the emerging definitions of multiculturalism are explored by recent photography and photo-related installation art that deals with issues of origin, acculturation, adjustment, displacement, and loss within the context of contemporary American life. Participating artists acknowledge that the melting pot ideal no longer suffices to describe their personal experience of cultural dislocation. Their art directly addresses the history and politics of American immigration in a country now obsessed with and, often fearful of, the notion of multiculturalism. 
Artists represented include Albert Chong, Lewis deSoto, Shigeki Ito, Young Kim, Komar and Melamid, Dinh Q. Le, Gavin Lee, María Martnez-Cañas, Ruben Ortíz-Torres, Carrie Mae Weems, and Kim Yasuda.

Tracing Cultures: Albert Chong, Lewis Desoto, I.T.O., Young Kim, Komar & Melamid, Dinh Q. Lee, Gavin Lee, Maria Martinez-Canas, Ruben Ortiz Torres, Carrie Mae Weems (Points of Entry)

Arts & Photography

Solnit, Rebecca

Chong, Albert

Jenkins, Steven

Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego, Calif.)

Read, Michael

Photography & Video

Friends of Photography Bookstore

Pé t̉úkmiyat, pé t̉úkmiyat: Lewis deSoto : San Jose Museum of Art, June 1-August 25, 1991

San Jose Museum of Art

In this book of photographs and essays, noted visual artist Lewis deSoto explores his birthplace and ancestral Cahuilla homeland, the “marvelous and abject” landscape of Southern California's Inland Empire. Sixty intimate photos capture the paradoxes of the region's deserts, lushly manicured lawns, freeways, and inland sea. Punctuating these single-frame images are panoramas of landscapes that capture infinitudes of detail. DeSoto's captions unpack these panoramic shots, revealing their geologic, social, and cultural significance.
But beyond captions, Empire marks deSoto's emergence as a nonfiction writer. Eight essays meditate on a youth spent in regions including San Bernardino, mountainous Highway 18, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, and Palm Springs. DeSoto's elegant prose marks these places as locales of rich history, industrialization, sharp social strata, as well as sites of deep personal transformation. Taken as a whole, this is the work of an established artist and the dawn of a new literary voice: one that both assembles, piece by piece, a picture of a specific place, and deconstructs the complexities of home.

Empire: Photographs and Essays by Lewis deSoto

Heyday

Marit Laurens, a young woman of British descent, recently orphaned and newly wed, comes to live with her husband Ben on their farm, situated in an Edenic setting on the border of South Africa and an unnamed country. But when guerrilla violence and tragedy visit their lives, Marit finds herself in a tug of war between the local Afrikaaner community surrounding the farm and the black workers who live on it. Frightened and confused, she turns to the only person who can offer her friendship - her maid, Tembi. Marit stubbornly determines to run the farm with Tembi's help, until the encroaching civil war brings out their conflicting loyalties and turns their struggle into a fight for their lives. Written with exquisite lyricism and deep insight, this novel offers a profound perspective on what it means to be black and white in a country where both live and feel entitlement, and moves beyond its own time and place to become a universal story of the price of freedom.

Blade Of Grass

Arcadia Books Ltd

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Books by DESOTO, Lewis