#biographer

[yourdailyqueer]

Diana Souhami

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 25 August 1940  

Ethnicity: White - English

Occupation: Lesbian biographer, writer

#Diana Souhami #lesbianism #wlw #lgbt #lgbtq #female #lesbian #1940 #white #english #biographer #writer

[msclaritea]

As Doctor Who, Russell T Davies is quoted, saying that the actor, "...had a lightness to the character that not many straight actors have'. WHAT?!

#Doctor Who #David Tennant #Russell T Davies #BBC #Biographer #Youtube

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Nemo me lacrimis decoret nec funera fletu faxit. cur? volito vivos per ora virum.*

- Ennius

Let no one honour me with tears nor celebrate my funeral with weeping. Why? Alive I fly on the mouths of men.*

One of our generation’s finest literary biographers.

RIP Patrick French.

#ennius #greek #classical #quote #obituary #death #patrick french #author #biographer #historian #british #personal

[scotianostra]

John Galt, the Scottish novelist died on April 11th 1839.

As well as writing the first biography of his acquaintance, Lord Byron, Galt’s main achievement lies in his thirteen innovative and entertaining novels. A group of them, which Galt called Tales of the West, is set mainly in the Scotland of his youth, and they give a complete picture of Scottish life from about 1760 to 1820. Galt spoke of the Scottish people as possessing the whole range of the English language as well as their own, by which they enjoy an uncommonly rich vocabulary, and indeed he used the Scots tongue for dialogue and sometimes narrative.

As well as his life as an author Galt appointed Secretary of the Canada Company, a charter company established to aid in the colonisation of the Huron Tract in Upper Canada along the eastern shore of Lake Huron. The community of Galt, Ontario was named after him. On returning from North America he spent time in King’s Bench Prison in London for failure to pay debts.

Galt is remembered as one of Scotland’s most prolific writers, having published over 50 works during his life, he died aged 59 in Greenock in 1839 and is buried with his parents in the New Burying Ground in Greenock (now called the Old Burying Ground).

You can find a more in depth biography here http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/galt_john_7E.html

#scotland #scottish #literature #literary figure #author #biographer #history

[cries-for-no-one]

Bad Biographies: Linda McCartney (Eastman)

I was listening to a podcast discussing the Beatles and once again an "expert" repeated the myth that Linda Eastman attended Sarah Lawrence College. In the past I have gotten annoyed when I heard biographers and journalists repeating this because they haven't done their research. If they can get this wrong, how can I believe the other things they say.

Personally, I have a memory of Linda saying that this isn't true, although admittedly I cannot remember the source. So, to hear others say it wrong gave me the impression they haven't done much research.

But now I have heard it so often, and read it in otherwise good biographies, that I realize that bad sourcing is endemic among biographers.

The biography of Linda

The mistake doesn't come from Linda McCartney - Wikipedia:

Eastman graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1959. She then attended Vermont College in Montpelier, Vermont, where she received an Associate of Arts in 1961... After graduating from Vermont College, she attended the University of Arizona and majored in fine arts while taking up nature photography as a hobby. While she was studying there, her mother was killed in the 1962 crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay, New York. She then left the University of Arizona without graduating, and married Joseph Melville See Jr. (in June 1962) Their daughter Heather was born in December 1962. They divorced in 1965, and Linda resumed using her maiden name.

Nor is the bad bio coming from Biography - LindaMcCartney.com website. Which offers a shorter version of the Wikipedia.

Nor is it coming from Sarah Lawrence College, Noted Alumni | Sarah Lawrence College. The college follows events in the careers of previous alumni such as Yoko Ono. Linda, unlike Yoko, is not mentioned at all and is not listed as an alumna.

Linda McCartney at Vermont College » Mining for Old (archive.org)

In fact, I couldn't find a source on the internet that gave the wrong details. Unless it is an obscure source that I have not thought of I assume the bad source is a book or article (or several).

Without asking them directly or scouring through many biographies that I do not own or articles I cannot access, then giving an analysis. I am just going to call it a day on finding the source. But it is strange that it is easy to fact check.

In fact, I would say from 1997 there really is no excuse for getting this wrong.

Many Years From Now

In 1997 Many Years From Now was published. The authorized biography quotes Paul (and Linda) so extensively it is often counted as an autobiography or memoir. Paul had a say over the final edit, so any factual errors are official.

Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. | Miles (barrymiles.co.uk)

Paul and the author Barry Miles use the book to correct multiple myths they perceive as being spread. From how the book is written it seems to be a major motivation behind the book and reviewers criticized the defensive tone.

Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now book review | Miles (barrymiles.co.uk)

Here is the passage related to how Linda reacted to her mother's death...

"Linda moved to Tuscon, where she studied art and history. There is a myth that both Linda and Yoko Ono attended Sarah Lawrence, which was true of Yoko but not of Linda, whose brief academic career was at the University of Arizona. She was not exceptional academically and did not particularly enjoy it. It was an uncertain time in her life, she was mourning her mother and trying to find her place in the world." - Barry Miles, Paul McCartney Many Years From Now, Published (My version): Vintage 1998, Chapter: The White Album, Page: 507

Other myths about Linda that persist are mentioned in the book. Such as Linda being related to Eastman-Kodak, this circulates online, and it seems to only be due to her being a photographer with the surname Eastman. But I haven't come across it like I have this rumor, I assume the McCartneys have done enough to combat it, although it may just be due to how obvious it is that her father is actually a lawyer.

There are further rumors, that she slept with various celebrities or wasn't any good as a photographer, the McCartneys seem to just ignore these and just tell the story on their own terms. When gossip is a source, it probably depends on the biographer to how much weight it is given. Being a celebrity probably amplifies this kind of behavior towards you. Perhaps this celebrity drama creation is a factor for the myth.

Although Paul was criticized for being so defensive and feeling the need to set the record straight, somehow it hasn't stopped people getting this wrong. The book is an important source for information on Paul, his background and the band. It talks extensively from Paul's (and Barry and other insider's) point of view. Most biographers and Beatle experts would have this book, it is a heavily used source.

Why is the myth still repeated so often?

Given that it isn't very difficult to fact check, why do people keep getting this wrong?

I have decided not to name and shame the biographers and Beatle authorities I have heard saying this. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't think it was a bigger problem. It seems to be a fact that is commonly believed but not examined enough for a basic fact check. Please take my word for it that this is a problem.

What is most curious to me is that it doesn't even matter. If you do not have a source for where she went to college, then don't mention it. It has nothing to do with the Beatles as a band and reflects little on her relationship with Paul.

Motive

When I have heard it used in discussions about her on Beatle Podcasts it was in relations to:

How her and Yoko attended the same school

Perhaps implying a connection between John and Paul's lives or the women they liked. Maybe a spiritual symmetry that is romantic to authors, but ultimately pointless and unnecessary. They had children the same age, loved art and lived in New York, isn't that enough.

However, perhaps the origin for this myth was mistaking Yoko's biography for Linda's.

Yoko at Sarah Lawrence

Speaking about how Paul liked posh girls

Drawing a parallel to his fiancée Jane Asher, whom he had split with a few months before Linda moved in with him.

I'm not sure how much evidence there is of this as some of his girlfriends and wives were posh, but others weren't.

But again it isn't necessary, just say she came from a nice area with a well-off family.

I have the feeling that there is some sort of shorthand by saying she went to that school. Like it meant Linda was super elite and privileged instead of attending the state schools and ordinary colleges.

Hopefully it isn't related to her background, coming from a Jewish family, sometimes people will project stereotypes in a weird antisemitic way. I have seen people comment (anonymously in comments sections) on her Jewish background as if that is significant.

A more generous analysis would be that as fans, commentators want the Beatles to have married high class ladies because it fits their ideals. The Beatles are special and so they shouldn't marry ordinary girls. This is a bit silly but subconscious biases may have an effect on what they believe to be true.

Other than that, I just don't know. They should know better but they don't. I don't want to pile on or irritatingly correct people. It just puzzles me that this myth persists. It concerns me because, although minor, if this isn't getting fact checked what else isn't.

The Future

One day in the hopefully not distant future this post (2022) will be irrelevant because they will stop, either because fact checking gets better (the dream), or more likely, because online people will correct them and embarrass them into changing.

#linda mccartney #linda eastman #the beatles #paul mccartney #yoko ono #Sarah Lawrence #Vermont college #university of arizona #biography #biographer #many years from now #Barry Miles #fact check #rumors #rumor mill

[theunabashedepicurean]

The celebrated art historian Sir John Patrick Richardson, photographed at his home in New York City, by Lord Snowdon, 1988. #johnrichardson #arthistorian #biographer #newyorkcity #lordsnowdon #1980s #pablopicasso #picasso #collector #historian #writer #christiesnewyork #knoedlergallery #thenewyorker #vanityfair #gagosian #britishacademy #fineart #interior #interiors #decor #decoration #art #artworks #books #interiordecor #interiordecorating #interiordecoration #interiordecorator #interiordesign (at New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cou3wzooEwA/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#johnrichardson #arthistorian #biographer #newyorkcity #lordsnowdon #1980s #pablopicasso #picasso #collector #historian #writer #christiesnewyork #knoedlergallery #thenewyorker #vanityfair #gagosian #britishacademy #fineart #interior #interiors #decor #decoration #art #artworks #books #interiordecor #interiordecorating #interiordecoration #interiordecorator #interiordesign

[murderousink23]

05/16/2022 is National Biographer's Day, National Coquilles Saint Jacques Day, National Love a Tree Day, National Piercing Day, National Sea Monkey Day, National Mimosa Day, National Smile Nonth, Vesak (the Day of the Full Moon), International Day of Living Together in Peace.

#biographer #coquilles #saint jacques #autumn trees #sea monkeys #mimosa #cute smile #vesak #peaceandlove

[wojakgallery]

Title/Name: Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre, popularly known as 'Jean-Paul Sartre', (1905–1980). Bio: French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. Country: France Wojak Series: Boomer (Variant) Image by: Unknown Main Tag: Sartre Wojak

#Wojak #Sartre Wojak #philosopher #novelist #political activist #biographer #literary critic #jean paul sartre #sartre #Author #France #Boomer #Writer Author #politics #Boomer Wojak #Jean-Paul Sartre Wojak #Boomer Series #White #Writer #Black

[tenth-sentence]

Still, his biographer Ronald Clark found in him "a shyness with women which he never overcame, an inferiority complex which he tried to disguise by an open bawdiness."

"In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity" - Daniel J. Kevles

#book quote #in the name of eugenics #daniel j kevles #nonfiction #biography #biographer #ronald clark #shy #women #inferiority complex #bawdy #bawdiness #jbs haldane

[autiebiographical]

Autism has long been synonymous with "struggle". If you don't struggle, if you're successful or you're just happy with life people are less likely to recognize you as autistic, except for other autistic people.

I swear, we have an autism radar. Autie-radar? Autie-dar?

#autism acceptance #autism acceptance month #autiebiographical #autie-biographical #actually autistic #autism #autistic #web comic #comic strip #comic

[papa-osmubal-artworks]

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre- a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. (art: papercutting)

#jean paul sartre #french #french philosophy #philosophy #philosopher #writer #french writer #novelist #screenwriter #biographer #paperart #paper #papercraft #paper art #papercutting #paper cutting #paper cutout #papa osmubal

[angelkarafilli]

Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter by  Lady Antonia Fraser 

'I first saw Harold across a crowded room, but it was lunchtime, not some enchanted evening, and we did not speak.'

When Antonia Fraser met Harold Pinter she was a celebrated biographer and he was Britain's finest playwright. Both were already married - Pinter to the actress Vivien Merchant and Fraser to the politician Hugh Fraser - but their union seemed inevitable from the moment they met: 'I would have found you somehow', Pinter told Fraser. Their relationship flourished until Pinter's death on Christmas Eve 2008 and was a source of delight and inspiration to them both until the very end.

Fraser uses her Diaries and her own recollections to tell a touching love story. But this is also a memoir of a partnership between two of the greatest literary talents, with fascinating glimpses into their creativity and their illustrious circle of friends from the literary, political and theatrical world.

Info:amazon.co.uk

#Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter #Antonia Fraser #book #author #book cover #biography #autobiography #biographer #playwright #theatre #diaries #reading #books

[lisagerstner]

Hello! New to Tumbler. Wish me luck!

#filmmaker #biographer #fine art

[scotianostra]

On November 25th 1853 John Gibson Lockhart, biographer and critic, editor Blackwood's magazine, died.

John Gibson was a descendant of many Scottish ministers and he was expected to follow their steps. Unfortunately in January 1803 two of John Gibson’s siblings died (probably from diphtheria) and he also caught the illness, which left him partially deaf.

He was grieving over his brother and sister so much that he had to interrupt his high school studies, to which he never returned because at the age of 11 he went straight to Glasgow University. John Gibson was such an excellent student – he had already learnt seven foreign languages – that he soon received a bursary to study at Oxford. John  had many doubts about religion for the majority of his life and decided to study law instead of divinity.

After graduation, Lockhart returned to his parents’ house in Glasgow and started his legal career, but he became more and more attracted to literature. Since his teenage years he would draw and write prose and poetry, and in 1817 Lockhart decided to move to Edinburgh and seek both literary inspiration and a job.

He immediately found new friends in the capital and they joined the new, brave Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, which instantly became extremely popular among the readers and not so much among the ridiculed or attacked authors.

Blackwood payed for Lockhart’s travels to the Netherlands and Germany, where he studied literature, met Goethe, and wrote several interesting texts about his stay and trip. German language and literature interested only a small group of intellectuals at that time and Walter Scott was one of them. The first meeting with Scott was fateful for Lockhart, although he has never been a great fan of Scott’s novels. Scott was suffering from an attack of gallstones and new friendship with Lockhart cheered him up very much. During the period of Scott’s illness Lockhart got on very well with the authors family, protected them from many uninvited guests, and became especially close with Scott’s eldest daughter Sophia, whom he married on the 28th April 1820.

Lockhart’s literary production was very diverse, he wrote a number of more or less mocking articles for the Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine between 1817 and 1825 and at the same time he published all his novels – Peter’s Letters to his Kinsfolk, Valerius , Adam Blair, Reginald Dalton, and Matthew Wald. Lockhart was a very innovative writer, all his novels could be categorized as  psychological, but unluckily Adam Blair and Matthew Wald were at that time considered too controversial. He also translated old Spanish ballads and edited a new edition of Don Quijote.

Lockhart was also an editor of the Quarterly Review, one of the most influential literary journals in the world, between 1825 and 1853. John Wilson Croker, an Irish writer and political commentator, and Elizabeth Rigby Lady Eastlake, a writer, art historian, and traveller, were his closest friends and colleagues. Today, Lockhart is well known as the first and best biographer of Scott. Lockhart also wrote two another very influential biographies: Life of Robert Burns and History of Napoleon.

After Sophia’s sudden death in 1837 Lockhart stopped writing and he never married again.  He died there on 25 th November 1854 and was buried at Dryburgh Abbey beside the grave of his father in law.

#Scotland #scottish #writer #sir walter scott #biographer #history

[thousandmovieproject]

reading the ellroy biography when i should have been working

I should have gone thrifting with my day off but instead I stayed home and played with two books on the couch. There’s a newish biography of the novelist James Ellroy called Love Me Fierce in Danger by Steven Powell that I got an early copy of (thanks NetGalley!) but that was back in December, before the January release, so now I’m late to the game. Ellroy is still alive and publishing and the…

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#american tabloid #biographer #biography #blood&039;s a rover #books #cold six thousand #crime fiction #dennis lehane #james coughlin #james ellroy #l.a. confidential #literary biography #live by night #love me fierce in danger #netgalley #novelist #novels #perfidia #reading #steven powell #the big hurt #the big nowhere #the enchanters #widespread panic #writer biography

[gbemiwrites]

Biography of Tara Fela-Durotoye

If consistency were a person, then, it would have been named Tara Fela-Durotoye. The Nigerian leading lawyer and make-up artist, also known as Tara Òrékeléwà was born into the family of John Ejegi Sagay and Felicia Omaghomi on the 6th of March 1977. Tara's parents got divorced when she was just eight months old and so, her stepmother raised her till adulthood. 

Tara attended the Command Children School and Nigerian Navy Secondary School and from there, she finished her tertiary education at the University of Lagos, Nigeria bagging a degree in law. Her business, House of Tara is an internationally acclaimed make-up house and has seen multiple branches and clientele in various countries of the world. The multimillionaire business started when Tara was just twenty years from the corner of her room in the university and from there, she expanded her capacity by attending business schools in Lagos, Nigeria, Abu-Dhabi, Yale, Stanford and the Harvard Kennedy School. In 2013, Tara was listed on Forbes as one of the "20 Young Power Women In Africa" and in 2020, Forbes recognised her as one of "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women".

Tara Fela-Durotoye is happily married to Fela Durotoye, the one-time presidential candidate for the Alliance for New Nigeria in 2019. She is blessed with three handsome boys and according to her husband, he could not have asked for a better wife than Tara as she is the biggest cheerleader and motivator for the whole family.

When asked how she was able to balance family and business, Tara Fela-Durotoye replied by saying, "It is important to marry someone who buys into what you are doing."

5 Lessons From The Life of Tara Fela-Durotoye

1. Your parental background notwithstanding, your consistency and determination to succeed will go a long mile. Who your parents are is never a permanent determining factor of how you will turn out to be.

Tara has made us realise that embracing one's imperfections will make one's light shine brighter.

2. Start with what you have. Tara Fela-Durotoye started her business with just 15,000 Nigerian Naira, yet, today, she is a multimillionaire who has a foothold in the Forbes ranking. Do not underestimate what you have because the fig seed you have today becomes a large tree which all birds perch on only when you water and tend to it well.

Continue reading: https://www.theprosperityark.com.ng/2023/03/biography-of-tara-fela-durotoye.html

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#blogging #biography #biographer #womenonforbes #womenempowerment