Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / Two Coats of Paint Press recently published a limited edition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s semi-autobiographical, epistolary novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774). I discovered the book when I was in my early thirties and ever since it’s lived in my brain. It’s among the first books to probe the inchoate longings of artists, and a powerful exploration of the subjective side of the artistic personality. I’ve met very few artists who have heard of it, let alone read it, so it surprised me to learn that a fellow artist had recently discovered it and published a special edition with a dedication reading, “To all the artists who have ever lived and worked in New York City.” Despite having been written more than two-and-a-half centuries ago, Werther raises provocative questions for artists working today.
