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Publishers Weekly Review

Publishers Weekly has written a wonderful review of Devil’s Paintbrush!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-87233-218-8

Devil's PaintbrushMythical and magical, this debut collection from painter and poet Alvarez portrays human behavior as an interconnected aspect of nature’s kingdom. Alvarez slowly, steadily peels back onion-skin layers of history in order to uncover elements of the sublime. Often structuring her poems as series of declarative statements, she utilizes sharp language that never distracts from the central mood or atmosphere. She recounts history, whether personal or cultural, not …read more

Poetry Reading at Juilliard

I’ll be reading from my new book Devil’s Paintbrush (winner of the 2015 May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize) at The Juilliard School on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 6:00 pm with poets Helen Klein Ross and Danniel Schoonebeek.

Three Muses Reading series, The Glorya Kaufman Studio, The Juilliard School, 2nd Floor, 65th St. west of Broadway, New York City

 

The Model as Painter and Painted

– The following essay appeared in the Winter 2001 volume of Denver Quarterly published by the University of Denver and won the Robert D. Richardson award for best essay published in a volume year.

The Model as Painter and Painted

— Desirée Alvarez

The women of Michael Angelo are the sex.

The women of Correggio are seraglio beauties.

The women of Titiano are the plump, fair, marrowy Venetian race.

The women of Parmegiano are coquettes.

From Henry Fuseli, Aphorisms on Art (1741-1825)

For the past seven years I have been a woman in Philip …read more