One can only rejoice at the release of a new, expanded edition of one of the world’s best books on weaving. “On Weaving” is an absolute masterpiece written by Anni Albers, one of the most talented and creative artists of the 20th century. Printed several times since its first publication in 1965, this new version features full-cover photographs instead of the book’s original black-and-white illustrations, as well as an afterword by Nicholas Fox Weber, executive director of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and essays by Manuel Cirauqui and T’ai Smith.
Weber writes in the afterword that Albers “took the art of textiles into realms that are glorious guideposts for all people for all time.” Albers revolutionized the way people looked at textiles, she also gave weavers and designers whose inspiration was stifled a breath of fresh air. She opened new channels of creativity, suggesting unforeseen possibilities, new ways of combining visual and structural work in thread, art and design.
“How do we choose our specific material, our means of communication? Accidentally, something speaks to us, a sound, touch, hardness or softness, it catches us and asks us to be formed. We are finding our language and as we go along we learn to obey its rules and its limits,” Albers once said.
And indeed, Albers found her medium, weaving, by accident. In 1922, at the age of 23, Albers was accepted into Bauhaus, a pioneering school in Germany whose mission was to teach the role of functional art and design to everyone, regardless of wealth and class. Bauhaus provided courses in various specialties, such as woodworking, metal, wall painting and glass. Most women at the time chose to enter the weaving workshop whereas Albers preferred to study the art of glasswork. However, Walter Gropius, who founded Bauhaus, believed that it was not advisable that women work in the heavy crafts areas, such as carpentry and he said: “For this reason, a women’s section has been formed at the Bauhaus (School), which works particularly with textiles, bookbinding and pottery.”
Ambitious and eager to know more about the history of textiles, Albers visited ethnological museums in Berlin and Munich and read “Les Tissus Indiens du Vieux Perou” by Marguerite and Raoul d’Harcourt, which introduced her to the ancient textile art of Peru. She would eventually consider the Peruvian weavers as “her greatest teachers” because nearly all the existing methods of weaving had been used in ancient Peru.
During her early years as an artist, Albers was profoundly influenced by Paul Klee who repeatedly insisted that the ultimate form of an artistic work was not as significant as the process leading to it. Klee also introduced her to his use of formal experimentation and graffiti-like markings, which he believed could nurture the subconscious. Albers adopted this concept and integrated it into her abstract tapestries.
This book takes the reader on a journey of discovery of an ancient craft, one that has remains essentially unchanged to this day. The book’s first chapter, “Weaving, Hand” is in fact the entry about weaving that Albers wrote for Encyclopedia Britannica: “One of the most ancient crafts, hand weaving is a method of forming a pliable plane of threads by interlacing them rectangularly. Invented in a pre-ceramic age, it has remained essentially unchanged to this day. Even the final machinery has not changed the basic principle of weaving.”
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world and goes back to Neolithic times, about 12,000 years ago. “Beginnings are usually more interesting than elaborations and endings. Beginning means explorations, selections, development, a potent vitality not yet limited, not circumscribed by the tried and traditional,” wrote Albers.
The artist used to take her students back in time to understand how it all began. The hides of animals are probably the closest prototype to fabrics. They are flat and versatile and can be used for many purposes. They can protect us from the weather and also shelter us as roofs and walls. Perhaps it all began when someone had the idea of adding a flexible twig to fasten the hides together. This manner of using both a stiff and a soft material was found in the 5,000-year-old mummy wrappings excavated in Paracas, Peru.
The wrappings extracted from the tombs were like “rushes tied together in the manner of twining… stiff materials were connected by means of a softer one to form a mat pliable in one direction, stiff in another,” wrote Albers.
These rushes are closer to basketry than fabrics. In fact baskets made using a similar technique were found in the same burial site. Twining is a method that appears to have evolved into weaving and this, according to Albers, might explain one of the origins of textile techniques.
Knotting, netting and looping resemble twining. Crocheting and knitting are said to have been invented by the Arabs. The oldest specimens have been located in Egyptian tombs from the seventh or eighth century.
Tapestry weaving is a form of weaving that dates back to the earliest beginnings of thread interlacing. One of the earliest pictorial works was found in a tomb located in northern Peru. Along with cave paintings, threads were the earliest transmitters of meaning, according to the book.
Albers developed “pictorial weaving” between the 1930s and 1960s. Her woven pictures are unique works of art in which colors, sounds, abstract forms and pictures are embedded in the fabric. Thanks to a unique and sophisticated technique combining history and innovation, an unbridled imagination and unrestrained energy, Albers weaved masterpieces. Her tapestries celebrate not only the wonder and dynamism of fiber, but also the beauty and mystery of life itself.
Book Review: Unraveling the history of weaving
Book Review: Unraveling the history of weaving

What We Are Reading Today: The Ghana Reader

Editors: Kwasi Konadu, Clifford C. Campbell
“The Ghana Reader” provides historical, political, and cultural perspectives on this iconic African nation.
Readers will encounter views of farmers, traders, the clergy, intellectuals, politicians, musicians, and foreign travelers about the country.
With sources including historical documents, poems, treaties, articles, and fiction, the book conveys the multiple and intersecting histories of the country’s development as a nation and its key contribution to the formation of the African diaspora, according to a review on goodreads.com.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Dream Hotel’

- “The Dream Hotel” is more than a compelling narrative; it is a reflection on the complexities of freedom and the influence of technology on our lives
Author: Laila Lalami
Reading Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami’s “The Dream Hotel” was an eye-opening experience that left me simultaneously captivated and unsettled.
The novel weaves a story about one woman’s fight for freedom in a near-future society where even dreams are under surveillance.
The narrative centers on Sara, who, upon returning to Los Angeles International Airport, is pulled aside by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration.
The chilling premise — that an algorithm has determined she is at risk of harming her husband — immediately drew me in. Lalami’s portrayal of Sara’s descent into a retention center, where she is held alongside other women labeled as “dreamers,” is both fascinating and disturbing.
What struck me most was how Lalami explores the seductive nature of technology. I found myself reflecting on our current relationship with data and surveillance.
The idea that our innermost thoughts could be monitored and judged felt unsettlingly familiar. As Sara navigates the oppressive rules of the facility, I felt a growing frustration at the injustice of her situation, which echoes broader societal concerns about privacy and autonomy.
Lalami’s writing is lyrical yet accessible, drawing readers into the emotional depth of each character. The interactions among the women in the retention center are especially poignant, showing how strength can emerge from solidarity.
As the story unfolds, I was reminded of the resilience of the human spirit, even under dehumanizing conditions. The arrival of a new resident adds a twist, pushing Sara toward a confrontation with the forces trying to control her. This development kept me invested in seeing how she would reclaim her agency.
“The Dream Hotel” is more than a compelling narrative; it is a reflection on the complexities of freedom and the influence of technology on our lives. It left me considering how much of ourselves we must guard to remain truly free.
In conclusion, Lalami has crafted a thoughtful and resonant novel that lingers after the final page. It is well worth reading for those interested in the intersections of identity, technology and human experience.
What We Are Reading Today: The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U

Western governments and a growing activist community have been frustrated in their attempts to bring about a freer and more democratic Myanmar, only to see an apparent slide toward even harsher dictatorship.
In “The River of Lost Footsteps,” Thant Myint-U tells the story of modern Myanmar, in part through a telling of his own family’s history, in an interwoven narrative that is by turns lyrical, dramatic, and appalling.
The book is a distinctive contribution that makes Myanmar accessible and enthralling, according to a review on goodreads.com.
What We Are Reading Today: Return of the Junta by Oliver Slow

In 2021, Myanmar’s military grabbed power in a coup d’etat, ending a decade of reforms that were supposed to break the shackles of military rule in Myanmar.
Protests across the country were met with a brutal crackdown that shocked the world, but were a familiar response from an institution that has ruled the country with violence and terror for decades.
In this book, Oliver Slow explores the measures the military has used to keep hold of power, according to a review on goodreads.com.
What We Are Reading Today: Elusive Cures

- “Elusive Cures” sheds light on one of the most daunting challenges ever confronted by science while offering hope for revolutionary new treatments and cures for the brain
Author: Nicole C. Rust
Brain research has been accelerating rapidly in recent decades, but the translation of our many discoveries into treatments and cures for brain disorders has not happened as many expected. We do not have cures for the vast majority of brain illnesses, from Alzheimer’s to depression, and many medications we do have to treat the brain are derived from drugs produced in the 1950s—before we knew much about the brain at all. Tackling brain disorders is clearly one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. What will it take to overcome it? Nicole Rust takes readers along on her personal journey to answer this question.
Drawing on her decades of experience on the front lines of neuroscience research, Rust reflects on how far we have come in our quest to unlock the secrets of the brain and what remains to be discovered.
“Elusive Cures” sheds light on one of the most daunting challenges ever confronted by science while offering hope for revolutionary new treatments and cures for the brain.