In Praise of Longthroat Memoirs: Meeting the Person of Nigerian Food
by Marta Maretich I am a Nigerian. You wouldn’t guess it to look at me and when I reveal this fact to other Nigerians, they tend to laugh politely and edge away, thinking, “Clearly, this white lady is a little nuts!” But it’s 100% true. I was born in Port Harcourt....
General Ojukwu and Me
by Marta Maretich General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011—and, with him died a small piece of my history. Ojukwu couldn't have known it, but he is partly responsible for the person I am today. The General and I go all the way back. As a young...
Why the Day Job Won’t Save Us As Author Earnings Plummet
by Marta Maretich @mmmaretich Back when I wrote my blog on day jobs for writers, things were looking pretty grim for those of us who earn our living with words. Now, following a new report from the Author’s Guild, we find that the situation isn’t just grim, it’s dire....
Need a Baroque Fix? Where to See Tiepolo In London
You might assume that Venice was the only place to see works by Venetian genius Giambattista Tiepolo. But if you're hungry for the best kind of Baroque and not planning a trip anytime soon, don't despair. Chances are there are inspirational Tiepolos in a museum near...
Ursula Le Guin Draws Lessons for Writers from Go Set A Watchman
Ursula Le Guin weighs in on the controversy around Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman in a piece that hold key insights for writers.
The Mysterious Double Career of Domenico Tiepolo
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo is an artist with two distinct parts to his career. The first part is conventional, predictable and public. The second part is enigmatic, comical and mostly private. So distinct are these two phases, and so different are the artworks that come out of them, that it’s best to consider them one at a time.
The Problem With Being the Youngest Tiepolo
Lorenzo was born at a good moment in Tiepolo history. He grew up in prosperous circumstances, surrounded by his six siblings at a time when his father was at the height of his fame and productivity. His oldest brother Domenico, nine years his senior, followed Tiepolo into the family business. Lorenzo did the same, serving his apprenticeship in his father’s busy studio and eventually becoming the third member of the famous family painting team. Sadly, the painter’s son who started life under such auspicious circumstances was to end it quite differently.
Meet the Enlightenment’s Most Desirable Pin-Up Boy: Francesco Algarotti
It’s impossible to sum up Francesco Algarotti in a brief description. Scientist, historian, poet, diplomat, philosopher, art critic and dealer, Algarotti was Italy’s best known and most respected man of letters during his lifetime. He may also be one of history’s greatest forgotten men.
Dishing the Dirt: Why Gossip is as Important as Fact in Historical Fiction
Nobody knows much about Maria Cecilia Guardi Tiepolo, one of the central narrators of my historical novel, The Merchants of Light.
It seems strange to say this about the woman who I spent so much time writing about. It seems even stranger when you consider how familiar her proud face and lush, womanly body are to us from hundreds of drawings and paintings by her husband, Giambattista Tiepolo. You’d think we’d know something about such a visible woman. Yet documentary evidence of her life was so hard to come by I had to turn to the next best thing: Gossip.
John D. Skilton: The Forgotten Monuments Man and Why We Should Honor Him
If ever there was an unlikely-likely hero, it was John D. Skilton Jr. The first of the five narrators of my book, The Merchants of Light, he was also my most unexpected discovery. I had no plans to include a modern voice in this historical novel about an 18th century painting family, the Tiepolos. But Skilton, once I found him, demanded a place in the story. All the screenwriters of Hollywood could not have invented a character so right for the role he played in rescuing Tiepolo’s masterpiece for posterity. Skilton was a gift. I had to let him in.