Former child actor Amber Tamblyn welcomes a familiar subject in her new book of poetry and art, Dark Sparkler. The collection started with an impulsive poem she wrote about Brittany Murphy — the young actress who died in 2009 — and led to a period of research into the lives and premature deaths of famous starlets and others who died relatively unknown. The poems then came out naturally, says Tamblyn, who relates to the intense experience of being a young actor, and understands “what it’s like growing up as an object in a business that can be very superficial and very cruel towards women.”

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