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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Creative artist brings passion,
conviction and a unique voice to everything
she undertakes
Understanding that all great artists never
get the recognition or reward their craft
deserves was the inspiration for Lisa A.
Miles to write This Fantastic Struggle: The
Life & Art of Esther Phillips. This
biography but unique cultural essay
creatively weaves together a fascinating,
multi-faceted story from graphic long-hand
letters, interviews with aging bohemians and
from art work-- giving readers an absorbing
glimpse at just what it means to be an
artist.
Raised in Pittsburgh by a family that could
not appreciate her artistic identity, Esther
Phillips headed to Greenwich Village in the
1930s and never looked back. Though she
achieved early critical success, she would
find herself institutionalized for over six
years as a result of starvation and stress;
fortunately, correspondence with close
friends kept her art alive. When she
returned to the Village, her struggles
continued and she gradually fades into
obscurity once again-- but not before
stating she lived the best possible life.
This Fantastic Struggle is a remarkable
story written to educate and captivate
general audience.
Lisa A. Miles’ Resurrecting Allegheny City:
The Land, Structures & People of
Pittsburgh’s North Side was sponsored by the
PA Historic & Museum Commission and tells
the tale of Allegheny City, forcibly annexed
by the City of Pittsburgh one hundred years
ago. Allegheny’s identity remains indelible
to land owners today, and Lisa paints a
portrait of a place from earliest time
through modern transformation-- connecting
the history of this lost city to the work of
every current resident, employer and
visitor. Resurrecting Allegheny City was
written to educate and entertain general
audience of ways to stimulate their
communities via history.
Lisa Miles has been interviewed on NPR and
East Coast radio, as well as television
across Pennsylvania. Besides being a highly
praised author, she is also sought-after as
a teacher and keynote speaker on a variety
of cross-disciplinary creative and
entrepreneurial topics.
Especially unique is that Lisa Miles is also
a musician and conceptual artist who writes
original music with classical and punk
influences. She composes and performs on
acoustic/electric violin and mandolin,
collaborating with film, theater and
movement artists. Her music, as well as
performance piece Presence (on ‘finding
authentic self’) are heard and viewed on her
site. Lisa has gotten funding from Meet the
Composer and the Joe Strummer Foundation for
New Music and looks forward to her national
upcoming release on the PARMA recording
label.
Please visit Lisa’s website at
www.lisamilesviolin.com to learn
more about her body of interconnected work.
She is an extremely talented woman who would
make for an engaging interview!
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TIP SHEET:
On
This Fantastic Struggle:
Robert Henkes, author of American
Women Painters of the 30’s and 40’s: “A
remarkable book…both educational and
provocative…(it) will arouse attention.”
On Resurrecting Allegheny:
Jerry Ellis, PA State Archives:
“What is true of personal papers is equally
true of those of a community…Miles has
opened the trunk…like papers in the attic,
(it) resurrects this partly forgotten city,
progressive in its era, and deserved of
remembrance.”
On Lisa's Original Music:
Bill O’Driscoll, Pittsburgh City
Paper: "Original compositions for solo
electric violin and mandolin [that are]
'intense, edgy and ethereal’... drawing on
both indie-rock and classical influences...,
[they’ll] send your night off on a different
tack."
Anne LeBaron: "Compositions
inventive and richly textured... Lisa
possesses the motivation and energy to
continually realize her visions.”
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