Guest Editor
Laura Salvatore
A Review of Adrienne Fidelin Restored (2025)
by Anne Whitehouse
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Diving into Adrienne Fidelin Restored feels like a natural continuation of the world Whitehouse has invited us into, especially following the reading of her prior chapbook Escaping Lee Miller, who Adrienne moved in the same circles as. While Frida’s life begins with a large family and a close relationship with her father, Adrienne lost both parents in her early teens, setting her off with tough lessons of independence.
The themes of enchantment rise again in Fidelin’s story, and like Frida, this enchantment rises from the surroundings that the young subject finds herself in–
We were the “Black exotic dancers”
bewitching Paris in that brief
enchanted time between the wars,
or maybe it just seemed enchanted
because I was young.
As Fidelin’s career as a model takes off, she learns that she is often more nude than the white models and that she is seen as inherently more sexual by the white photographers and writers. Though she was sought after, both by Picasso to paint and Man Ray to photograph, she was treated as less valuable than the white models around her. Whitehouse writes:
All of the men, even Man,
especially Man, required me
to be their perceptions of me.
We the reader are learning along with Adrienne the complications of moving through this particular art movement as a Black woman. It is noted that when Fidelin had her photo taken by Lee Miller, another woman, she felt “freer to express myself, and what I expressed was joy.” Having been given the narrative and story of Lee Miller in Whitehouse’s prior chapbook brings a wider understanding and appreciation for this growing friendship between the two women, who were both navigating the male dominated art scene.
Perhaps one of the most striking moments in the chapbook is when Whitehouse discusses the onset of World War 2 and Fidelin says, “I chose Nazi-occupied France/ over segregated America”, a chilling revelation. Though the war led to the dissolution of her and Man’s relationship, as well as the breaking apart of their artist community, Fidelin “turned to dance for happiness.”
Though the end of Adrienne’s life was not glamorous or easy, Whitehouse is able to have the reader reflect on her life through the meaningful lens of changing the world by celebrating her identity and uniqueness.
About the reviewer:
Laura Salvatore is a poet living in Queens, New York. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at The City College of New York. Her work has been featured in Angel City Review, Quail Bell Magazine, Pith Magazine, and Apricity Magazine.
About Anne Whitehouse: Anne Whitehouse’s poetry collections include Blessings and Curses, The Refrain, Meteor Shower, Outside from the Inside, and Steady. Her poetry chapbooks include Surrealist Muse (about Leonora Carrington), Escaping Lee Miller, Frida, Being Ruth Asawa, and Adrienne Fidelin Restored. Three excerpts from Anne Whitehouse’s long work on Edgar Allen Poe are available from Open: Journal of Arts & Letters Buttonhook Press Chapbook series: Edgar Allan The Imp of the Perverse: Edgar Allan Poe’s Misplaced Youth and Soldier, Sailor: Edgar Allan Poe and His Brother Henry, and most recently Edgar Allen Poe: A Gentleman’s Education. Whitehouse is the author of a novel, Fall Love.
Featured Image: Fidelin (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2025. Public domain via Midjourney AI.
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