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Voice
*1995 Governor General's Award for Poetry
Voice, winner of the 1995 Governor General's Award for Poetry, is a unique book combining new paintings by Marie Elyse St. George with prose and poetry by Anne Szumigalski. The paintings will be featured in an exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery, co-publisher of this book, in November 1995. Anne Szumigalski's words, which were initially inspired by the paintings, combine with the visual images of Marie Elyse St. George in a breathtaking display of beauty and inspiration.
The collaboration between the two artists produces a volume of art which also acts as a tribute to art and its many forms. With precise detail and sensitivity, Szumigalski and St. George explore the complexities of life and of a world where myth and reality, spirit and matter, emotion and intellect come together in a mysterious dance. Voice digs deeply and honestly into the natural world and into the human psyche, revealing intriguing layers of information to arrive at an essential and intimate truth.
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 25, 2019
This is a great concept for a book but neither the poetry nor the paintings are my cup of tea. I love the idea of rtists inspiring each other and I was curious about what would result from Szumigalski's and St. George's collaborations, despite my unfamiliarity with their work.
In the preface, Szumigalski writes: " We both hope that it is never so obvious that our readers/lookers will cease to be surprised and a little piqued by the way we have parted, by the way we have come together." I wish for the opposite, for the book to have been designed in a more obvious way. It's arranged: six poems, four paintings, eight poems, four paintings, eight poems. I get that "inspiration" and "the creative process" aren't simple, linear, or logical, but it would've been nice to see a more direct comparison of the poems and images. I was not "piqued" because the poems and images seem like two completely separate entities with little in common. I also feel like part of the reason that I couldn't see the relationship between text and picture is because the publisher only printed nine (including the cover) of the nineteen images from St. George's exhibition. I will credit them for that, though, because it isn't always possible to get the rights, and the images that are included are quality prints with vivid details and colours. I'm not a fan of the artist's style—exaggerated facial features, flat colours, and "busy" compositions, but I am glad that I learned of her work and I respect her skill.
The poetry itself isn't anything special. I'm disappointed by the amount of prose poems. I wish she would just be honest and release a book of short stories! The "actual" poems are okay, but a a bit naive. The poet's love of language is obvious and she has some talent...I guess I just didn't appreciate all of the strange things from her imagination.
Poems worth re-reading:
"Old Woman in Winter," "Hitches Lane"
= 2/22 (9.1%) poems worthy of a re-read
In the preface, Szumigalski writes: " We both hope that it is never so obvious that our readers/lookers will cease to be surprised and a little piqued by the way we have parted, by the way we have come together." I wish for the opposite, for the book to have been designed in a more obvious way. It's arranged: six poems, four paintings, eight poems, four paintings, eight poems. I get that "inspiration" and "the creative process" aren't simple, linear, or logical, but it would've been nice to see a more direct comparison of the poems and images. I was not "piqued" because the poems and images seem like two completely separate entities with little in common. I also feel like part of the reason that I couldn't see the relationship between text and picture is because the publisher only printed nine (including the cover) of the nineteen images from St. George's exhibition. I will credit them for that, though, because it isn't always possible to get the rights, and the images that are included are quality prints with vivid details and colours. I'm not a fan of the artist's style—exaggerated facial features, flat colours, and "busy" compositions, but I am glad that I learned of her work and I respect her skill.
The poetry itself isn't anything special. I'm disappointed by the amount of prose poems. I wish she would just be honest and release a book of short stories! The "actual" poems are okay, but a a bit naive. The poet's love of language is obvious and she has some talent...I guess I just didn't appreciate all of the strange things from her imagination.
Poems worth re-reading:
"Old Woman in Winter," "Hitches Lane"
= 2/22 (9.1%) poems worthy of a re-read
Displaying 1 of 1 review