Stories by Summer Brenner
January 1, 1990 • 5.5 x 8.5 • 160 pages • 978-0-918273-75-8
Fascinating stories evoking the complex world of dancers, their triumph and disappointments.
In the twelve intimate stories of this collection, Summer Brenner evokes the complex world of dancers: would-be and could-be dancers, those who dance for pleasure, politics, or religion, those who dance in dreams, those who adamantly refuse to dance, and those who can’t dance anymore. Both fascinating and accessibly written, Brenner never loses sight of the innermost triumphs and disappointments of her dancers. With equal compassion, we see the nervous debut of a young hopeful in “The Ballet Dancer,” the struggle of a choreographer dying of AIDS in “The Modern Dancer,” and the exhilaration of a young white woman finally accepted by her black peers in “The African Dancer.” For admirers and students of dance as well as lovers of good fiction, this collection consistently delights with its insight into both dance and the dancers who perform them. A perfect gift for dancers of any age.
About the Author
Summer Brenner has performed, taught, and extensively studied flamenco and contemporary dance. She is the author of a dozen works of fiction, including Dancers and the Dance, I-5, and Richmond Tales: Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle. Her works have also appeared in anthologies and literary magazines, as well as been performed in the one-act play The Missing Lover and the musical extravaganza Arundo. She is a longtime resident of Berkeley, California.