Alien Among Anxious Artists

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
Wa?e?a 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).
Jacket design by Joan Giannecchini