Collaboration and Dual Roles - "Watching the Mid-Autumn Moon"
Collaboration and Dual Roles
"Watching the Mid-Autumn Moon," Wendell Berry, King Library Press
The broadside "Watching the Mid-Autumn Moon" was printed as a keepsake of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Gnomon Press by the King Library Press. Jonathan Greene, of Gnomon, chose the Wendell Berry poem, as he has printed many works for the Kentucky author. Paul Holbrook of King Library Press asked noted Orientalist Clay Lancaster to write the name of the poet Shen Chou in Chinese. American Uncial type compliments the characters by Lancaster without overpowering them. The title, calligraphy, and part of the colophon appear in red ink, intermingled between the text in black ink, creating a simple and balanced broadside.
Poem from "The Solitary Life," Thomas Merton, King Library Press
Thomas Merton wrote this poem for Victor and Carolyn Hammer. It appeared on the dust jacket of "The Solitary Life," along with the red illustrated "I," which was cut out of brass by Victor specifically for the poem. The beautiful “I” grounds the poem, which is set in American Uncial type. The Hammers had a close friendship with Merton and printed several of his works. This broadside was reprinted in memory of Carolyn on the first anniversary of her death.
