# Errand Into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham - Hardcover

by **Deborah Jowitt** (Author)

**A _New York Times Book Review_ Editors' Choice**  
**A _Kirkus Reviews_ Best Book of the Month**

**"Deborah Jowitt chronicles a life passionately, artfully lived. An essential read about a true legend."** **\--Mikhail Baryshnikov**

**"A study in balance and grace."** **\--_The New York Times Book Review_**

**From the legendary dance critic Deborah Jowitt, _Errand into the Maze_ is the definitive biography of the visionary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham.**

In the pantheon of American modernists, few figures loom larger than Martha Graham. One of the greatest choreographers ever to live, Graham pioneered a revolutionary dance technique--primal, dynamic, and rooted in the emotional life of the body--that upended traditional vocabulary and shaped generations of dancers and choreographers across the globe. Over her sweeping career, she founded what is now the oldest dance company in the country and produced nearly two hundred ballets, many of them masterpieces. And along the way, she engaged with the major debates, events, and ideas of the twentieth century, creating works that cut to the core of the human experience. _Time_ magazine's "Dancer of the Century," and the first dancer and choreographer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Graham was a visionary artistic force and an international cultural figure: hers was the iconic face of what came to be known as modern dance.

From the renowned dance writer and former longtime critic for _The Village Voice_ Deborah Jowitt, _Errand into the Maze_ draws on more than a decade of firsthand research to deliver the definitive portrait of this titan. Beginning with Graham's childhood in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and her early studies at the Denishawn School; weaving in her offstage adventures, including her relationship with her dancer and muse Erick Hawkins; and chronicling her retirement from dancing at age seventy-five and her remarkably productive final years, this elegant, empathetic biography portrays the artist in all her passionate complexity. Most important, Jowitt places Graham's creations at the heart of her story. Her works, brimming with raw intensity, are intimately linked with their creator, who played the heroine in almost all that she choreographed: Joan of Arc, Jocasta, Clytemnestra, and Judith, among others. In this volume, Graham is centerstage once more, and Jowitt casts a brilliant spotlight on her life and work.

### Author Biography

**Deborah Jowitt** was the principal dance critic at _The Village Voice_ for more than four decades, and her work has appeared in _The New York Times_ and _Dance Magazine_, among other outlets. Her previous books include the biography _Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance_; the essay collection _Time and the Dancing Image_; and the critical works _Dance Beat_ and _The Dance in Mind_. A former Guggenheim fellow, she has lectured and conducted workshops worldwide and taught in the Dance Department of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for forty years. Her recent writings can be found on her _ArtsJournal_ blog, _DanceBeat_.

**Number of Pages:** 480

**Dimensions:** 1.8 x 8.9 x 6.1 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** January 30, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 35.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 35.00 USD | In stock |

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- Errand Into the Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham - Hardcover

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