Edgewise: A Picture of Cookie Mueller is a 2014 biography by Chloé Griffin, published by Bbooks Verlag. The book is an oral history of the life of Cookie Mueller (1949–1989), the American actress, writer, and art critic best known for her work in John Waters' films and her involvement in New York City's downtown art scene.
Background
Griffin spent approximately eight years researching and writing Edgewise, including half a decade interviewing nearly 90 people who knew Mueller. The book covers three major periods of Mueller's life: her time in John Waters' Baltimore film scene from 1966 to 1969; the "hippie commune" era in Provincetown, Massachusetts, from 1969 to 1976; and her years in New York City from 1976 to 1988. The volume includes photographs and photomontages of Mueller.
Interviewees include filmmaker John Waters, actress Mink Stole, writer Gary Indiana, artist Linda Yablonsky, musician Richard Hell, poet and publisher Raymond Foye, and Sharon Niesp, Mueller's longtime partner and caretaker during her final illness. The book also includes an interview with Earl Devries, who donated sperm to Mueller for the birth of her son, Max.
Reception
Edgewise received generally positive critical reception. Alexandra Molotkow of The Globe and Mail praised the book as "a love story, a true love story – true love, and raw grief, for a woman who died 25 years ago," noting that unlike many works about unsung artists, it "feels like a tribute that wrote its own terms." Pati Hertling of Bomb magazine called it "a sensitive and thrilling oral history." Richard Hell, who was initially skeptical of the project because Griffin had not known Mueller personally, stated that the book "does Cookie justice" and "gives us Cookie's life and world in epic 3-D detail." Matt Kessler of The Rumpus described it as "a definitive archive of Cookie's life" and "a stunning portrait of both Cookie and the worlds that she inhabited."
Author
Chloé Griffin is a Canadian-born artist, actress, and author based in Berlin, Germany. She was raised in Canada and born in California. Her visual art has been exhibited at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in New York. She has appeared in films including Saturn Returns (2009), L'Amour Sauvage (2013), and Desire Will Set You Free (2015). Griffin first encountered Cookie Mueller through the film Female Trouble and Mueller's short story collection Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black, which she described as "hugely inspirational."
Publication Details
- Author: Chloé Griffin
- Language: English
- Genre: Biography / Oral history
- Published: 2014
- Publisher: Bbooks Verlag
- Pages: 340
- ISBN: 9783942214209
- OCLC: 892746808
