Sing to Me in the Cut: Ekphrasis on George Walker by Canadian Poets
Ed. Shane Neilson, Wood Engravings by George A. Walker
Frog Hollow Press, 2015
from the Publisher
George Walker is one of the transcendent artists of our time. That he largely works in wood engravings has limited his popular appeal but recent efforts (like Walker’s The Life and Times of Conrad Black, a biography of Conrad Black published by the Porcupine’s Quill & The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook, also from the Porcupine’s Quill, also a biographical mosaic of its famous subject) will change that. Early accomplishments will cement his legacy too: Walker was the first Canadian to illustrate Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Walker’s track record transforming other cultural materials into art has now been paid back in a very preliminary sense: Frog Hollow Press’ Sing to me in the cut is a book of ekphrasis by Canadian poets who have responded to images in either of Walker’s The Inverted Line (PQL 2000) or Images from the Neocerebellum (PQL 2007). Poem and wood engravings are paired in the book, demonstrating that Walker has inspired several generations of Canadian poets. The poets range from mature, generation-leading talents like Al Moritz to up-and-comers like Blair Trewartha. Each poet answers George’s incredible work, agreeing that, yes, the roads are their veins; the moon matters; portraits are always of pain; that there’s something not right with the picture.
Edition of 150 numbered copies.