A new book published by New London Librarium, Art of Love: Paintings by Colleen Hennessy, Thoughts from Rubem Alves, brings the sensitivity of a cherished Brazilian writer, as well as the images of a respected American painter. The words and images are all focused on the theme of love.
Rubem Alves, philosopher, theologian, and psychoanalyst, has deep and interesting things to say about love. In fact, it seems that all of his essays and books are ultimately about love – love for people, for nature, and for the goodness of the human soul.
Colleen Hennessy paints in a simple “naif” style with bright colors and bold brushstrokes—simple yet profound and mysterious images.
While much of her work represents nature, especially in the southwestern United States, many of her figures imply loving relationships between couples and between people and nature.
Each page of Art of Love features a figure and a short, reflective phrase from Rubem Alves. Sometimes the juxtaposition of the painting with the phrase is as mysterious, intriguing, and inexplicable as love itself. Some phrases are:
• My love does not depend on what you do for me.
• The love that does not know happiness can exist only in the ignorance of its reasons.
• Love cannot bear to lose what it has already loved.
• It is useless to speak to lovers. They only want to hear poetry and songs.
The book also includes three complete essays by Alves: “Love Letters,” “Abelard and Heloise,” and “Old Violins Play Music.”
“What we hope with this book is to introduce Rubem Alves to American readers,” says Glenn Alan Cheney, editor-in-chief. “Alves deserves to be known worldwide, not just in Brazil. We have set a low price for the book so that it is accessible to everyone.”
New London Librarium has already published other books on Brazilian subjects, including Quilombo dos Palmares, the Estrada Real, the Tenharim people of the Amazon, as well as translations of Machado de Assis, João do Rio, and Rubem Alves. Miss Dollar: Stories by Machado de Assis, a bilingual edition, has received wide acceptance in American academic circles, signaling the great American interest in Brazilian literature, in which the translation of Rubem Alves fits.