“Celebrating Childhood” by Adonis and translated by Khaled Mattawa, was one of those poems tacked to my studio wall for over a year. It intrigued me in various ways. The poem spoke to me in staccato flashes rather than as a continuous song. The content of each paragraph is an entity unto itself in the same way that days differ as separate units then flow into weeks.

Following the poem through two years of work, my images also vary as do the poet’s voice, from the whimsical to the metaphorical and then the specific. Adonis shares with us his awareness of the passage of time through many allegorical moments in childhood. He comments on the foolishness of re-living the past and concludes the poem with personal wisdom. My images also vary to reflect the changeable flow of the poem.

There are twenty- four lithographs, the poem is set in letterpress. As an artist I learned quite a bit working with “Celebrating Childhood”. Creating imagery is never easy or is it simple to construct the book true to the content. By trial and error, I learned a new binding technique and how to use veneer as a design element. Each cover is unique. There is variety within unity which echos the core of the poem.

Dimensions are 20" X 7.5"