Alien Among Anxious Artists

About the Book

Alien Among Anxious Artists is a humorous, non-fiction narrative describing adventures of American ceramic artist Dennis Parks in Central Europe, and changes occurring there as reflected in the lives of his counterparts during their uncertain passage from drab Communist repression into benign Capitalist neglect. The book concentrates on artistic activity in the core of Mitteleuropa — Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland — from 1982 to 1994, while Socialism was deliquescing. Excellent writing concerning these changes has been published by academics and journalists, such as Timothy Garton Ash and David Remnick, authors who breakfasted with ex-President Lech Walesa in Warsaw before flying off for dinner in Moscow with former K.G.B. Chief Gennady Zyuganov. Dennis’ sources readily acknowledged that they had less leverage on the future. They were curious about the life he lived as an artist in America. Mitteleuropean artists professed that they could easily identify with a contemporary artist who lived lightly on the periphery of society (though they struggled to comprehend why a Capitalist would freely choose this alternative).

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