A National Book Critics Circle finalist • One of Vogue's Best Books of the Year A dazzling biography of one of the twentieth century's most respected painters, Helen Frankenthaler, as she came of age as an artist in postwar New York “The magic of Alexander Nemerov's portrait of Helen Frankenthaler in Fierce Poise is that it reads like one of Helen's paintings. His poetic descriptions of her work and his rich insights into the years when Helen made her first artistic breakthroughs are both light and lush, seemingly easy and yet profound. His book is an ode to a truly great artist who, some seventy years after this story begins, we are only now beginning to understand.” ―Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women At the dawn of the 1950s, a promising and dedicated young painter named Helen Frankenthaler, fresh out of college, moved back home to New York City to make her name. By the decade's end, she had succeeded in establishing herself as an important American artist of the postwar period. In the years in between, she made some of the most daring, head-turning paintings of her day and also came into her own as a woman: traveling the world, falling in and out of love, and engaging in an ongoing artistic education. She also experienced anew―and left her mark on―the city in which she had been raised in privilege as the daughter of a judge, even as she left the security of that world to pursue her artistic ambitions. Brought to vivid life by acclaimed art historian Alexander Nemerov, these defining moments--from her first awed encounter with Jackson Pollock's drip paintings to her first solo gallery show to her tumultuous breakup with eminent art critic Clement Greenberg―comprise a portrait as bold and distinctive as the painter herself. Inspired by Pollock and the other male titans of abstract expressionism but committed to charting her own course, Frankenthaler was an artist whose talent was matched only by her unapologetic determination to distinguish herself in a man's world. Fierce Poise is an exhilarating ride through New York's 1950s art scene and a brilliant portrait of a young artist through the moments that shaped her.

"The New York Times bestselling author of Lessons from Madame Chic and At Home with Madame Chic reminds us about a quality that is scarce in our fast-paced, wired world: poise, it's power, and how to cultivate it"--

Dive into the realm of refinement with D. Starke's enlightening guide, "Poise: How to Attain It." Embark on a transformative journey as Starke unveils the secrets to cultivating poise, grace, and confidence in every aspect of life. Through insightful anecdotes and practical advice, this book serves as your trusted companion on the path to personal refinement. Discover the art of graceful communication, elegant demeanor, and poised presence that leaves a lasting impression in any social setting. With Starke's expert guidance, you'll learn to navigate the complexities of etiquette with finesse and charm, effortlessly commanding respect and admiration. As you delve deeper into the pages of "Poise," you'll uncover the power of self-awareness and emotional intelligence in cultivating inner poise. Explore mindfulness techniques and self-care practices that nurture a sense of calm and composure, empowering you to navigate life's challenges with grace and resilience. Throughout the book, Starke emphasizes the importance of authenticity and integrity, reminding readers that true poise stems from inner harmony and confidence. With each chapter, you'll gain valuable insights into the nuances of body language, self-presentation, and interpersonal dynamics, empowering you to exude poise in every interaction. Whether you're a seasoned socialite or a novice navigating the intricacies of etiquette, "Poise" offers invaluable wisdom that transcends time and circumstance. Starke's engaging prose and practical tips make this book a must-read for anyone seeking to elevate their personal and professional presence. Join the ranks of those who have embraced the transformative power of poise. Let "Poise: How to Attain It" be your guide on the journey to self-discovery and refinement. Enhance your life with the timeless wisdom contained within these pages, and unlock the confidence and elegance that define true poise. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your presence and cultivate lasting poise. Order your copy of "Poise: How to Attain It" today, and embark on a journey of self-transformation that will leave you poised for success in every aspect of life.

Embarrassment is a complex and uniquely human emotion that plays a pervasive role in social motivation and interaction. Illuminating its causes and consequences, this engaging volume examines the personal, situational, and interactive determinants of embarrassment, integrating literature from clinical and social psychology, sociology, communications, biology, and other fields. The book is peppered with lively anecdotes and enriched by the most up-to-date findings, including data from the author's own research. From the evolutionary significance of embarrassment, to coping with chronic blushing, Rowland S. Miller highlights important recent discoveries and offers revealing insights into a key aspect of our social lives.

One needs to be in lasting physical, emotional and ideational wellness. Tips, pills, and ‘shoulds’ abound; still, wellness is elusive. Wellness is largely a function of cognitive ‘poise’ of consciousness. Wisdom of wellness is in being the ‘master of mechanism’, ‘internalizing’ the multifaceted life-living realisms and then, creating a personalized model of wellness. Nothing ‘external’ helps. Wellness is a function of wider poise of person and personality. A person is in complete wellness when there is an overall equanimity between the physical factors such as income, wealth, comfort, leisure and health as well as emotional factors such as trust, security, integration with family-friends-colleagues, connectivity, communication, stability, sense of desirability and spiritual purpose, etc. We live in a modern complex world, where tangible elements of good life are improving considerably; however, as emotional elements of life and living are largely unsettled and conflicted, most of us fail to hit the road of the perpetuity of poise for larger wellness. Wellness involves a large spectrum of poise in multidimensional domains – the spiritual, physical, mental, social and emotional. Moreover, the emotional and spiritual aspect of wellness is far more complex as they are the intangibles of life. Wellness is a dynamic idea. It is a goal of life, for which we all need to strive every day. Wellness is not a static state. It is not like wealth, which we acquire once and keep it for long. It requires ongoing attention and timely intervention to the details of evolving social, spiritual and physical life. Wellness as a holistic notion of physical, emotional as well as ideational prosperity does not mean only lack of impediments to good life, but also having loads of ingredients of good life. For wellness, positivity is far more crucial than simple lack of negativity. Wellness is well within the reach of all of us, yet we all need to constantly redefine ourselves as well our notion of wellness, as our minds and bodies evolve to optimize capacities and excellence. Wellness is essentially a consciousness positioning. It is not an external or tangible entity, which one can create like wealth. Wellness is a ‘poise’ of consciousness, which is engendered when we have all elements of our life – physical, emotional, ideational and material, in perfect harmony and symmetry with each other. We are ourselves a very complex mechanism. The world we live in has also become hugely complicated and conflicted. The cosmic realism is awesomely complex. Wellness poise needs to connect with all these and then strike a lasting poise. This poise is not static but dynamic, constantly evolving and changing. Only that person can attain perfect wellness and remain in perpetuity of it; who understands all the mechanisms in details and then, uses the wisdom to create a wellness model for himself or herself. We talk in details here, how the old wisdom still has lot to offer to our wellness needs and how we all can create our own personalized and subjective model of wellness, taking ideas from old as well as new wisdoms of humanity. This shall make all of us to be the ‘master of mechanism’ of wellness.

Despite the best of intentions, many Christians fail to lead the type of committed spiritual life that they desire. The pace of life and cultural pressures drive them to be over-committed. They lack space and time in their lives to regain their spiritual poise. This book reviews the historical practice of personal spiritual retreat and demonstrates that it has as much applicability to the modern Christian as it has had to countless others over the centuries. Not only is there historical precedent, but biblical as well. Besides presenting the theological arguments for experiencing retreat, the book also gives practical insights into the timing, location, and activities in which to engage while on a personal spiritual retreat. There is also a discussion on how to keep the spirit of retreat alive throughout the year so that ultimately the retreat benefits not only the individual Christian but also the world in which they live.

The New York Times bestselling author of Lessons from Madame Chic and At Home with Madame Chic revives the timeless quality of poise and shows how to cultivate it as a daily practice and a life-long endeavor. Just step out your door today and you will notice that poise is a rarity in our wired, fast-paced, and unmannerly world. As uncivil behaviors like flip-flops at Broadway shows and digital oversharing proliferate, this timely book reminds us of the quiet power of behaving with dignity, kindness, and grace. Jennifer Scott’s Parisian mentor, Madame Chic, embodied poise, and not just with the good posture, stylish attire, and natural manners that made her extraordinarily elegant. She also demonstrated steady assuredness and graceful calm in everything she did—from interacting with her family and receiving guests at home to presenting herself in public. Jennifer L. Scott passes on the lessons she learned as well as some of her own hard-won wisdom, addressing topics such as proper attire at social events, good grooming, communication skills, hospitality and being a good guest, our interactions with neighbors and strangers, role models, self-discipline, and self-image. This charmingly illustrated, practical, and inspiring book, full of tips, lists, and ideas, is certain to start a new conversation about the timeless art of poise.

Get the Summary of Jennifer L. Scott's Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic" by Jennifer L. Scott explores the transformative power of poise, inspired by Scott's experience living with her Parisian host mother, Madame Chic. The book emphasizes the importance of elegance, grooming, and presentation in daily life. Scott shares how her casual Californian lifestyle evolved into one of grace and self-discipline through observing Madame Chic's refined habits...

Table of Contents Introduction When Do You Need Poise, and When Can You Do without It? Poise, the Second Word for “Cool” All about Cultivating Poise Stop Thinking of Yourself! Oh that Chatterer! Your Magic Touchstone Pay Attention to Me! Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction When you look at a person for the first time, there is an immediate first impression, which may subconsciously influence you positively or negatively against him/her initially. This is where a large number of people managed to impress other people subconsciously, just because they have some innate dignity, or a sense of poise, which is not only impressive, but also manages to communicate that idea that the person is in control, has lots of self-confidence, and as they say in higher circles, “has class, breeding, and dignity!” This is the reason why when I was talking to a couple of my colleagues, about poise and dignity – especially their interpretation of it – they spoke like any other normal human being would speak. “She stays calm and tranquil, when other people around her are making a fuss, or making a loud noise. She does not lose her dignity, nor does she look so hassled and uncomfortable, that one knows that one cannot turn towards her, in moments of distress for support.” Now that lady has poise. She is a power in the land, because she never loses her head in difficult situations or emergencies, is a support to all the people around her, instead of getting discouraged, and looking for support, and has the power to keep everybody’s spirits up, when things go drastically wrong. They are just a few people out there, in my experience, who have the power to do this. You may know some of them. If you are one of them, you are lucky, because you have taught yourself poise. You show a calm and tranquil front, in front of everybody around you, and that is why everybody is subconsciously drawn to you. In fact, you may find yourself becoming the universal friend, guide, philosopher and shoulder to cry on, just because of your poise, and reassuring demeanor. Do you know that even you can learn poise very easily? I never knew that I had poise, until I found a couple of my friends at college, laughing at me, because they had played a rather mischievous and malicious prank on me. And I had fallen for it. When I found out what they had done, instead of pouting , I went one step further, I laughed at myself, in all good humor, and congratulated them for making me out to be such a thickheaded mutt! Surprisingly enough, after that I noticed that my friend circle had increased to encompass the whole college, because it was no fun playing jokes on me, because I used to laugh uproariously, instead of sulking, because hey, people were laughing at me, well, that is the beginning of poise. I thought it was a personality trait, but later on, a professor told me that this was known as poise, I had it, I had to cultivate it to be a success in life, and also, poise shows maturity. Born leaders have poise. They also have dignity, along with charm – all of these personality traits are something you can learn, with a little bit of training.