Robert Bringhurst
New World Suite Number Three: A Poem in Four Movements for Three Voices, 2005
NY: Center for the Book Arts
One of 75 copies.
1520
Folio, but comprising four distinct books, each inextricable from the whole. 28pp each, save one at 20pp. Bringhurst's exacting poetic vision here finds form in a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary book object....
Folio, but comprising four distinct books, each inextricable from the whole. 28pp each, save one at 20pp. Bringhurst's exacting poetic vision here finds form in a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary book object. Stirring up the book as a performance, rather than an idle device, the interlinked assemblage can be unfurled so that the three main volumes stand on their own lecterns, and so that three voices can read simultaneously. The choral force of the book is further emphasized by its clever printing, set and executed by the Center for the Book Arts's master printer, Barbara Henry. Interwoven lines of three colors visually guide the performance toward harmony. The result is a declaration of the book, as an architectural endeavor and poetic support, as a site of community. The final volume is an afterword explaining the process and purpose. Binding structure supervised by master binder Mirah von Wicht and designed by Hedi Kyle. A monument of innovative art and craft. Fine.