The vocabulary of fiber is already the vocabulary of storytelling: we thread the needle, weave the tale, spin the yarn. This month, Hyperallergic’s books desk takes that idea literally, pairing a round-up of recent art books on textiles with a new set of reviews that all circle one question: how should we tell the story of an artist’s life?

The textile list, compiled by the publication’s editors, ranges from Black Southern quilting and Korean bojagi to Palestinian tatreez and contemporary Diné weaving, with a title on the Bayeux Tapestry thrown in. Associate editor Lakshmi Rivera Amin singles out one personal favorite, Stories in the Seams: A People’s History of Black Quilts and Their Makers by Sharbreon Plummer. According to the editors, many of these books resist reductive frameworks, moving past the false dichotomy of “craft versus art” and the tired notion of “women’s work.” Taken together, they write, the titles piece together a new history of textile art, stitch by stitch.

The biography reviews make up the rest of the month’s offerings. Megan O’Grady, author of How It Feels to Be Alive: Encounters with Art and Our Selves, writes about Tom Overton’s new life of John Berger, the critic and novelist whose teachings on looking, art for the people, and the male gaze have been repeated for five decades. Overton, Hyperallergic notes, was asked by Berger to wait until after his death to begin. O’Grady’s review describes the result as deeply informative, deferential, and at times lyrical, and the editors say it reframes Berger as human rather than myth.

Elsewhere, Lauren Moya Ford considers historian Ruth Bernard Yeazell’s argument that Vermeer’s influence still shows up in the work of artists, filmmakers, poets, and the art market itself. Lavinia Liang reviews a biography of Dorothea Tanning that tries to establish her artistic strength in her own right but, in Liang’s reading, stays frustratingly tethered to her husband, Max Ernst. And Armando Pulido covers a team of researchers who dug into the story of Earl Stendahl, a mid-century gallerist who stole ancient Mesoamerican objects and sold them to the institutional art world. The editors also point readers to a piece by Melissa Holbrook Pierson on the late critic and novelist’s reflections on sight after cataracts.

The column closes with what its editors are reading. Amin is working through Isabel Allende’s new memoir, Story Telling: A Writing Life (2026), which she borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library after an unusually short hold queue. At 84, Allende writes plainly about death, with reverence rather than fear, Amin says, and she notes that the Spanish title, La Palabra Mágica: Una Vida Escrita, feels closer to Allende’s literary worlds. Associate editor Lisa Yin Zhang, with Halloween approaching, is revisiting Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw (1898).

The full list and reviews are on Hyperallergic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What textile art books does Hyperallergic recommend for October?

Hyperallergic’s October list covers Black Southern quilting, Korean bojagi, Palestinian tatreez, contemporary Diné weaving, and the Bayeux Tapestry. Associate editor Lakshmi Rivera Amin singles out Sharbreon Plummer’s Stories in the Seams: A People’s History of Black Quilts and Their Makers as a personal favorite.

Who wrote the new biography of John Berger reviewed by Hyperallergic?

Tom Overton wrote the new biography of John Berger, the critic and novelist known for his teachings on looking and the male gaze. Berger asked Overton to wait until after his death to begin the work, and Megan O’Grady reviewed the book.

What does Hyperallergic’s review say about the Dorothea Tanning biography?

Lavinia Liang’s review says the biography tries to establish Dorothea Tanning’s artistic strength in her own right but remains frustratingly tethered to her husband, Max Ernst. The review is part of the publication’s October books column.

What did researchers discover about gallerist Earl Stendahl?

Researchers investigated mid-century gallerist Earl Stendahl, who stole ancient Mesoamerican objects and sold them to the institutional art world. Armando Pulido covered the findings for Hyperallergic’s October books column.

Why is Lisa Yin Zhang revisiting Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw?

Associate editor Lisa Yin Zhang is revisiting Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, first published in 1898, in time for Halloween. The novella is one of the editors’ personal reading picks in the October column.

Editorial Transparency. A first draft of this story was produced with AI-assisted writing tools, then reviewed for accuracy and tone by the named editor before publication. More on our process: Editorial Policy.