Latest read was a book about Mina Loy, obscure artist, futurist and feminist poet. I enjoyed her freeform dadaist poetry more than I expected, which was a bonus. Like many of the people I've read about she is an infuriating but inspiring character. Rebellious, creative, charismatic, beautiful and fun. On the minus side, selfish, self obsessed, moody and rootless. I think I would have liked Eleanor Marx but many of the other biography women were very difficult people. I get very involved and annoyed as the women lurch from disastrous relationship to disastrous relationship, ingratiate themselves with horrible, egomaniacal 'friends' struggle with creative block and suffer family breakdown. Just like normal people which is quite reassuring in a way.
I have been particularly enjoying biographies of artistic, creative and free thinking women. Three of the subjects, Mina Loy, Lee Miller and Kiki de Montparnasse knew each other in 1920s Paris (none of them got along, unsurprisingly!)
More on my Paris holiday where I checked out some of their haunts in Montparnasse in the next post.
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