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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I loved this and I knew I would. Poems and comics, what a great marriage. The artists explains in the prologue how the too art forms are very similar.
What a fascinating idea to create a graphic "novel" of classic poems! I could see how this might draw in readers who find poetry confusing or daunting or too highbrow. It was interesting to see the illustrator choose to portray the poet in a lead role for some of the poems, even though they may not be autobiographical poems. I'd love to see more of volumes like this. I also appreciated that every poem wasn't illustrated in the same manner, but the drawings seemed to be connected to topic or voice of the individual pieces.
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
What a charming book. Most of the drawings, such as Maya Angelou's Why Does The Caged Bird Sing? and Poe's Annabel Lee, were more straightforward interpretations of the subject matter. Others were either startling or poignant in their juxtaposition of poem and image. Colouring and style varies from jagged black and white to soft colour (not having any artistic talent beyond stick figures, that's the best way I can describe it).
Favourites:
Before the Battle, which shows frightened soldiers preparing for war. The expressions on their faces, the glimpse of sky halved by a shred of barbed wire - it all complements the poem perfectly.
When You Are Old by Yeats - beautiful drawings, and the anime/manga style was unexpected but vivid. It worked well with the poem's theme of lost love.
Ozymandias shows a succession of conquering nations, ending with the ISIS flag. Similarly, The World is Too Much With Us has mobile phones to represent 'the world', and Carl Sandburg's The Buffaloes has the titular animals stampeding, transparent as ghosts, across carparks.
Least Favourites:
The comic interpretation perhaps didn't suit Spring and Fall and The Force that Through the Green Fuse considering their subject matter - Dylan in particular is full of life force, and the comic style chosen seemed too soft to convey it. This is not so much a reflection on the drawings as on my own mental images of those poems, which are quite different from the artist's interpretation.
Favourites:
Before the Battle, which shows frightened soldiers preparing for war. The expressions on their faces, the glimpse of sky halved by a shred of barbed wire - it all complements the poem perfectly.
When You Are Old by Yeats - beautiful drawings, and the anime/manga style was unexpected but vivid. It worked well with the poem's theme of lost love.
Ozymandias shows a succession of conquering nations, ending with the ISIS flag. Similarly, The World is Too Much With Us has mobile phones to represent 'the world', and Carl Sandburg's The Buffaloes has the titular animals stampeding, transparent as ghosts, across carparks.
Least Favourites:
The comic interpretation perhaps didn't suit Spring and Fall and The Force that Through the Green Fuse considering their subject matter - Dylan in particular is full of life force, and the comic style chosen seemed too soft to convey it. This is not so much a reflection on the drawings as on my own mental images of those poems, which are quite different from the artist's interpretation.
medium-paced
This was actually quite well done. Beautiful illustrations to go along with beautiful poems ☺️
The poems chosen by Julian to illustrate are interesting. Mostly American and British authors, of the 19th and 20th century. Langston Hughes and Emily Dickenson are
And even though it is all done by the same illustrator, the interpretations vary widly.
Even poems that I know so well, such as William Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much With Us" has a modern interpretation.
And although we have the poems in our heads, it is enlightening to see how others, such as Julian, sees these, and illustrates these. Breaths new life into things that thought we knew.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
And even though it is all done by the same illustrator, the interpretations vary widly.
Even poems that I know so well, such as William Wordsworth's "The World is Too Much With Us" has a modern interpretation.
And although we have the poems in our heads, it is enlightening to see how others, such as Julian, sees these, and illustrates these. Breaths new life into things that thought we knew.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
It's hard to put into words how breathtaking and splendid the illustrations are alongside classic poems, and understandably so. Not only do they add meaning and life into the works of literary icons, it's also interesting to note the artist's interpretation of such symbolic poems. The drawings also match the mood of each poem, with some boasting a vibrant blend of colours and others being dark and sombre. Highly recommended!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Hard to review a book like this with so many poems and so many artists. In some cases, I found the illustrations distracting. In others, I found them illuminating. It's a very cool concept.