Debbie Campbell
The best art takes us places: Berkeley, a garden of red potatoes, father’s cabin leaning north, 10 a.m. at Papa’s Café. It reminds us to search for the new in the familiar: insights hidden in stage directions or news clippings. And it draws us in effortlessly, transporting us before we realize we’ve gone.
Richard Terrill’s What Falls Away Is Always is a tour of such magnitude. I found myself getting lost in these slices of life outside my own, a much needed escape during our present time. Having lucked into learning from Terrill some years ago, it was like meeting an old friend on these pages, too. His trademark wit, humor, appreciation for good art, and musical ear shine here.
“Having lucked into learning from Terrill some years ago, it was like meeting an old friend on these pages, too. His trademark wit, humor, appreciation for good art, and musical ear shine here.”
When you pick up this collection of poetry and conversations, you may very well find yourself, like me, returning often to catch another glimpse of a shy and smiling Coltrane, or to watch Italian-dubbed cinema with Terrill on a Polish TV. As I remember it, he always had strong opinions on worthwhile cinema.
Most of all, you might find for yourself an excellent teacher of craft, lyricism, and life in these pages. I find myself grateful to continue to learn from Professor Terrill, as I knew him, through this candid and clever book.