"From the author of Arshile Gorky, a major biography of the great American sculptor that redefines his legacy"--

Tells the story behind the creation of "Appalachian Spring, " describing Aaron Copland's composition, Martha Graham's intense choreography and Isamu Noguchi's set design.

"Isamu Noguchi is one of the most important sculptors of all time. This is his story. Noguchi was a Japanese American artist who gave the world light. But the world was not so giving in return. Growing up mixed-race, born in the United States and raised in Japan, Noguchi found himself perceived as an outsider who did not belong in either country. Unable to identify fully as either Japanese or American, he turned to his art to shape, hold, and create light-to conquer the darkness without. Poetic

Imagines a day in the boyhood of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi, while wandering through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean, seeing things Isamu sees through the eyes of a young artist.