Wednesday’s Wood Engraver

I was given a book as a gift this week; I was very pleased; it really is my cup of tea. Not only did it contain some lovely wood engravings it gave me something to think about!

It is called The story of poetry by David Hopkins and Tom Mason with wood engravings by Hilary Paynter.

As the title suggests it  is about poetry and for me it answers some questions that I have  wrestled with over the years.  I missed out on poetry at school I am not sure why.  I am fairly confident I was not entirely to blame; but suffice to say I have struggled since to understand  most poetry. While I am sure this book will not convince to read more; I am heartened that I am not the only one who failed to come to grips with these stories in verse with their complex allegories and metaphors.   

Two poems I did enjoy and studied quite fully (when I did my Classics Degree) were the Iliad and Odyssey so I enjoy a hero; rather more a heroin .  This is perhaps hoping to much in classical poetry.

This story of poetry that spans millions of years and contains a thousand characters, has a hero.  The protagonist’s soul takes on different forms in various bodies at different times and miscellaneous places as the story unfolds.  

So while the story follows the hero it is finely illustrated by Hilary Paynter who is a major figure in the current revival in wood engraving.  Her  images are varied; from landscapes, geological forms, domestic and even subtle socio-political it is poetry in pictures.