Dear Nan: Letters of Emily Carr, Nan Cheney, and Humphrey Toms

Rating:
Summary: Another side of a great artist...
Review: As a long time "fan" of the art of Canada's Emily Carr, I was anxious to read more of her writings. Through these letters to "friends", we, the reader, are given another side of Emily Carr. So much has been written about her irascible personality as she grew older; her intolerance, her feistiness. But in these letters I heard echoes of loneliness, insecurity and the fear of aging and growing sick that we all share about our own futures. I am not sure she would have liked having these letters published but I think reading these letters can give an insight that genius is not always confident or happy...that each of her paintings was like a child that she wanted everyone to love and understand. We read about her daily struggle to find a place to live, to relate to people, to just survive. This is what we read in "Dear Nan". The book saddened me that it was obvious that Emily Carr died alone with no one near her for comfort. It made me question the quality of her friends, and if they were truly friends. I think every reader of this book will examine their own lives, be they artists or just human beings because this book is really about friendship.