QUARTET - four-part harmony from a recollected life - a memoir by JUDITH REN-LAY

260-page softcover paperback

An artist's life over seven decades in four books, each separate from the others, to weave a harmony of voices considering life as it has been lived from differing perspectives.

I. Soprano

Life Revisited - early life from birth to 32

II. Alto

Aesthetic Practicalities - forty years making art

III. Tenor

Through a Wry Kaleidoscope - a collage of edited journals

IV. Bass

Accidental Grit - when, in a violent instant, a car hits you head on

Quartet was completed during the pandemic and published in anticipation of her 80th birthday. Judith Ren-Lay began as a dancer, born in Denver, CO. After teaching in South Carolina and New Haven, CT she moved to New York City in 1975 and subsequently became known as choreographer, singer, composer, poet, installation, and performance artist with archives in dance and music at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Quartet includes 75 photos and illustrations, Ren-Lay's original drawings and photo collages, and performance photographs by 17 guest photographers including Dona Ann McAdams, Mariette Pathy Allen, Frank Siciliano, Robert Grasmere and Jim R. Moore.