Kora in Hell by William Carlos Williams, with prints by Mel Kendrick.
Arion Press – Limited Edition
Kora in Hell: Improvisationsby William Carlos Williams, with an introduction by Lawrence Kart and 21 prints by Mel Kendrick, 1998.
Williams, one of the most important poets of this century, wrote this book of prose-poetry in 1917. He reflects on daily events over the course of a year, his readings, thoughts, observations. To these statements, made in language plain-spoken yet rising to the beauty and imagination of his poetry, he appended further comments or interpretations to make them more intelligible to others. An essay in which Williams explains himself as a figure within the modern movement was added as a prologue. The critic Lawrence Kart claims that the great poetry Williams achieved “would not have been possible without the eruptive prose of Kora in Hell”. The book includes prints by contemporary artist Mel Kendrick whose own work is in the modernist lineage. Twenty-one images from three series of woodblock prints, each involving seven separate blocks in the form of long vertical sheets that can be rolled up like scrolls, have been separated and each occupy the recto page of a leaf in the book, with pages of text in between. The three long woodblock prints as originally conceived by Kendrick in the scroll format are published along with the book.
Format: 10 inches square, 106 pages, including 42 unnumbered pages for the 21 leaves bearing the prints. The types are Stymie Bold for the text and Franklin Gothic for display, in Monotype and hand composition. The paper is German mouldmade Zerkall. Proofs of the woodblock prints were photographically reduced to approximately 62% and made into photopolymer plates. The type and plates were printed by letterpress in black ink. Red ink is used on the title page. The binding is a black goatskin spine with title stamped in red, with boards covered with laser-cut veneer replicas of woodblocks by Kendrick, inked in black. Numbered and signed by the artist. Edition of 300, $600.00.
About the Arion Press
Since its inception in 1974, the Arion Press has published 81 deluxe limited editions that are breathtaking in their scope and artistry. Combining notable literature illustrated with original artwork from prominent artists, Andrew Hoyem and his team at the Arion Press have carried on the tradition of the livre d’artiste in spectacular fashion. Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times put it best when he wrote, "The Arion Press produces some of the most beautiful limited-edition, hand printed books in the world."
