Mary Ruefle


A Little White Shadow

2006
Wave Books
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< Artists + Writers


Mary Ruefle, lives and works in Vermont

“The reason A Little White Shadow was chosen for publication is because it was two-tone and could be more cheaply reproduced; that, and the fact it was one of the best books, text-wise, that I had done—probably because it was originally written in an exceptionally literate way, it was about a group of young people who spent a summer in Italy looking at art, and meeting this exceptional old woman who was wheel-chair bound but quite spiritually sound; most of the books I choose to erase are not so highbrow, I actually prefer little books for children and overbearing religious tracts, I actually prefer unremarkable books. There are many reasons for erasing remarkable books, but none of them suit my personal sensibilities.”

– Mary Ruefle, with Andrew David King, “Virtues of Madness and Vices of Honey: An Interview with Mary Ruefle,” kenyonreview.org August 20, 2013