Miss M’s Cultural Corner: Nina Simone, And “Heirloom Harvest”

Here are two more additions to Miss M’s cultural corner…things Bette is into.

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The first is the Nina Simone documentary, “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” a documentary about the life and legend Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist labeled the “High Priestess of Soul.” This can currently be seen on Netflix.

From Bette’s Twitter: Bette MidlerVerified account ”@BetteMidler Aug 15
Watched the Nina Simone doc last night. Genius. Exquisite taste, brilliant musicianship. I missed Four Women: MY NAME IS PEACHES!!!

There is a book that goes with the movie, if interested:

The other notable entry is the book: Heirloom Harvest: Modern Daguerreotypes of Historic Garden Treasures Hardcover ”“ October 27, 2015, by Amy Goldman (Author), Jerry Spagnoli (Photographer), M Mark (Foreword).

As Bette says, “something beautiful for the gardener in your life.”

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On two hundred acres in the Hudson Valley, Amy Goldman grows heirloom fruits and vegetables–an orchard full of apples, pears, and peaches; plots of squash, melons, cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and beets. The president of the New York Botanical Garden has called her “perhaps the world’s premier vegetable gardener.” It’s her life’s work, and she’s not only focused on the pleasures of cultivating the land and feeding her family–she’s also interested in preserving our agricultural heritage, beautiful and unique heirlooms that truly are organic treasures.

Over fifteen years, the acclaimed photographer Jerry Spagnoli has visited Amy’s gardens to preserve these cherished varieties in another way–with the historical daguerreotype process, producing ethereal images with a silvery, luminous depth and a timeless beauty, underscoring the historical continuity and value of knobby gourds, carrots pulled from the soil, and fruit picked fresh from the tree.

In Heirloom Harvest, Amy’s essay, “Fruits of the Earth,” describes her twenty-five year collaboration with the land. The text along with Jerry Spagnoli’s photographs and an afterword by M Mark add up to an exquisite package, an artist’s herbarium worthy of becoming an heirloom itself.

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