Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
For almost five millennia, in every culture and in every major
religion, indigo-a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a
parasitic shrub through a complex process that even scientists still
regard as mysterious-has been at the center of turbulent human
encounters.
Indigo is the story of this precious dye and
its ancient heritage: its relationship to slavery as the "hidden half"
of the transatlantic slave trade, its profound influence on fashion, and
its spiritual significance, which is little recognized but no less
alive today. It is an untold story, brimming with rich, electrifying
tales of those who shaped the course of colonial history and a world
economy.
But Indigo is also the story of a personal quest:
Catherine McKinley is the descendant of a clan of Scots who wore indigo
tartan as their virile armor; the kin of several generations of Jewish
"rag traders"; the maternal granddaughter of a Massachusetts textile
factory owner; and the paternal granddaughter of African slaves-her
ancestors were traded along the same Saharan routes as indigo, where a
length of blue cotton could purchase human life. McKinley's journey in
search of beauty and her own history ultimately leads her to a new and
satisfying path, to finally "taste life." With its four-color photo
insert and sumptuous design, Indigo will be as irresistible to look at as it is to read.
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Catherine E. McKinley. (2011). Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Catherine E. McKinley. 2011. Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Catherine E. McKinley, Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
MLA Citation (style guide)Catherine E. McKinley. Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
| Library | Owned | Available |
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- bioText: Catherine E. McKinley is a curator and writer whose books include the critically acclaimed Indigo, a journey along the ancient indigo trade routes in West Africa, and The Book of Sarahs, a memoir about growing up Black and Jewish in the 1960s–80s. She's taught creative nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. The McKinley Collection, featured here, is a personal archive representing African photographies from 1870 to the present. She lives in New York City.
- name: Catherine E. McKinley
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For almost five millennia, in every culture and in every major
religion, indigo-a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a
parasitic shrub through a complex process that even scientists still
regard as mysterious-has been at the center of turbulent human
encounters.Indigo is the story of this precious dye and
its ancient heritage: its relationship to slavery as the "hidden half"
of the transatlantic slave trade, its profound influence on fashion, and
its spiritual significance, which is little recognized but no less
alive today. It is an untold story, brimming with rich, electrifying
tales of those who shaped the course of colonial history and a world
economy.But Indigo is also the story of a personal quest:
Catherine McKinley is the descendant of a clan of Scots who wore indigo
tartan as their virile armor; the kin of several generations of Jewish
"rag traders"; the maternal granddaughter of a Massachusetts textile
factory owner; and the paternal granddaughter of African slaves-her
ancestors were traded along the same Saharan routes as indigo, where a
length of blue cotton could purchase human life. McKinley's journey in
search of beauty and her own history ultimately leads her to a new and
satisfying path, to finally "taste life." With its four-color photo
insert and sumptuous design, Indigo will be as irresistible to look at as it is to read.- reviews
- premium: False
- source: Washington Post Book World on The Book of Sarahs
- content:
- William H. Fulbright Scholar, Ghana, West Africa
- Resident, The MacDowell Colony for the Arts
- New York Foundation for the Arts Grant
- Audre Lorde Estate Grant for an Emerging Writer
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- source: Publishers Weekly on The Book of Sarahs
- content: Fully communicates the elemental passion of the search for a parent-in some ways, a search for one's very self.
- premium: False
- source: Chicago Tribune on The Book of Sarahs
- content: McKinley writes beautifully in this debut memoir, never resorting to sentimentality or easy emotions within this tangled web of emotional and family secrets
- premium: True
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April 4, 2011
In this memoir of longing, community, and personal maturation, McKinley (The Book of Sarahs), half African-American by birth, adopted and raised by white parents who were plant devotees, seeks her roots through the intertwined European and African history of the once rare indigo. A plant dye long prized for its deep blue color, indigo became a staple of trade from Africa across the Mediterranean and Europe; indigo and the fabric dyed from it evoke stories of slavery (past and present), global trade, and entrenched cultural traditions. McKinley's journey to the source of indigo leads her unexpectedly to politically unstable areas like the Ivory Coast, as well as to Ghana, Mali, and other African countries, where she is welcomed. McKinley's passion for the rare blue dyeâcreated from ash, urine, and leaves, and used to painstakingly imprint storytelling designsâleads to intense friendships and an introduction to the complexity of social and economic status in a continent so far removed from the woman who inspired McKinley's journeyâher grandmotherâa questioning, tartan-clad woman in a rich blue coat. Photo insert; map.
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February 15, 2011
One woman's journey to Africa to discover the secret history of indigo.
In her quest to unravel the mysteries of this precious dye, McKinley (The Book of Sarahs: A Family In Parts, 2002) traveled to Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and other African nations. Indigo, "the bluest of blues," has maintained a significant presence on the global stage for generations. "No color has been prized so highly or for so long," writes the author, "or been at the center of such turbulent human encounters." This turbulence is a clear reference to the slave trade, and McKinley argues that the history of Africa appears to be woven into the color itself. During the author's adventures, she introduces the reader to a wide cast of characters who slip in and out of the narrative unobtrusively—like Lady Diana, a master seamstress whose technique McKinley observed for hours on end, and Aunt Mercy, whose dyeing skills were rivaled by no one. The author even learned lessons from the recently deceased, a Mr. Ghilcreist, who—unbeknownst to him—taught McKinley about indigo's role in burial rights, how the color is "not really a color" but an "attempt to capture beauty, to hold the elusive, the fine layer of skin between the two." The author's main contact was Eurama, a Ghanaian shop girl with ties to the cloth market, and with her help, McKinley crossed the continent in search of indigo's history, as well as the colored cloth itself.
While memoir and history often become tangled, the book represents a valiant effort to recount the social and historical implications of a color.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
- premium: True
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April 15, 2011
In this meandering and meditative memoir, McKinley (The Book of Sarahs) recounts her travels in Africa as a Fulbright scholar researching the rich history and lore of the titular prized blue dye. Her outward search for indigo's cultural, religious, and economic significance becomes a vehicle for her more personal emotional and spiritual search for meaning, growth, and greater understanding of her own heritage. The sections in which she focuses on the history of indigo are fascinating, and some of her vivid descriptions shimmer with an almost cinematic quality. However, the book is marred by McKinley's seemingly aimless approach to her research, her overblown, sometimes riddlelike prose, and a too heavy attention to the details of her day-to-day life while living in Ghana, all of which makes the book as a whole too unfocused. VERDICT Lacking in storytelling impetus, this work is best suited for patient memoir or travelog fans interested in African cultural traditions and textile history. Readers or researchers interested specifically in indigo may prefer Jenny Balfour-Paul's recent more focused and comprehensive Indigo.--Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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For almost five millennia, in every culture and in every major
religion, indigo-a blue pigment obtained from the small green leaf of a
parasitic shrub through a complex process that even scientists still
regard as mysterious-has been at the center of turbulent human
encounters.Indigo is the story of this precious dye and
its ancient heritage: its relationship to slavery as the "hidden half"
of the transatlantic slave trade, its profound influence on fashion, and
its spiritual significance, which is little recognized but no less
alive today. It is an untold story, brimming with rich, electrifying
tales of those who shaped the course of colonial history and a world
economy.But Indigo is also the story of a personal quest:
Catherine McKinley is the descendant of a clan of Scots who wore indigo
tartan as their virile armor; the kin of several generations of Jewish
"rag traders"; the...- sortTitle
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