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Margaret Atwood — Charles Pachter (illustrator) A rare illustrated edition of the author's early poetry collection
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Margaret Atwood — Charles Pachter (illustrator) A rare illustrated edition of the author's early poetry collection
拍品描述：
Margaret Atwood — Charles Pachter (illustrator)
The Circle Game.Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Charles Pachter at Cranbook Academy of Art, 1964
8 folded sheets of Rives paper (460 x 664 mm). Colophon page signed and numbered by Charles Pachter, with poems printed with 16-point Clarendon type and accompanying black-and-white lithographic illustrations. Unbound, original onion skin tissue guards, with blue wrappers handmade by Charles Pachter, original blind-stamped protective cloth chemise.
Limited edition (number 4 of 15) of Margaret Atwood’s early poetry collection, with haunting illustrations by Charles Pachter.
For five decades, Margaret Atwood has been a powerful literary voice. From the present work — which eventually earned Atwood the Canadian Governor General’s Award in 1966 — to her 1985 dystopian masterpieceThe Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood emerged as a leader of social commentary in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction with a focus on women.
In seven poems, Atwood’sThe Circle Gameexplores the passage of time. The collection begins with a vivid image of children entranced in a repetitive game. But the speaker is careful to note that perception does not equal reality; what seems like joyous movement is in fact joyless:
“We can see (arm in arm)
as we watch them go
round and round
intent, almost
studious (the grass
underfoot ignored, the trees
circling the lawn
ignored, the lake ignored)
that the whole point
for them
of going round and round
is (faster
slower)
going round and round”
Such melancholic imagery is mirrored by the collection’s alternative speaker, who is in bed with their lover and similarly notes that “there is no joy in it.” The speaker describes the “monotony of wandering / from room to room” and how their bodies are “neither / joined nor separate,” concluding, “I want the circle / broken.”
Atwood’s anxieties about futility in the face of the passage of time are complemented by haunting lithographic illustrations by the Canadian contemporary artist Charles Pachter. Each page of poetry is paired with a large, evocative black-and-white illustration by Pachter. The collaboration was a natural result of a close friendship between Pachter and Atwood, with him describing Atwood as "my muse and my mentor."
The pair met in 1960 while working at a summer camp in Canada and formed a quick friendship. They supported each other's creative pursuits in correspondence for several years, with Atwood often sending works of poetry alongside feedback on Pachter's art. Pachter would go on to produce several portraits of Atwood over the next few decades.
A rare early artifact of the powerful creative partnership between Atwood and Pachter, before either had achieved great fame.
The Circle Game.Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Charles Pachter at Cranbook Academy of Art, 1964
8 folded sheets of Rives paper (460 x 664 mm). Colophon page signed and numbered by Charles Pachter, with poems printed with 16-point Clarendon type and accompanying black-and-white lithographic illustrations. Unbound, original onion skin tissue guards, with blue wrappers handmade by Charles Pachter, original blind-stamped protective cloth chemise.
Limited edition (number 4 of 15) of Margaret Atwood’s early poetry collection, with haunting illustrations by Charles Pachter.
For five decades, Margaret Atwood has been a powerful literary voice. From the present work — which eventually earned Atwood the Canadian Governor General’s Award in 1966 — to her 1985 dystopian masterpieceThe Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood emerged as a leader of social commentary in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction with a focus on women.
In seven poems, Atwood’sThe Circle Gameexplores the passage of time. The collection begins with a vivid image of children entranced in a repetitive game. But the speaker is careful to note that perception does not equal reality; what seems like joyous movement is in fact joyless:
“We can see (arm in arm)
as we watch them go
round and round
intent, almost
studious (the grass
underfoot ignored, the trees
circling the lawn
ignored, the lake ignored)
that the whole point
for them
of going round and round
is (faster
slower)
going round and round”
Such melancholic imagery is mirrored by the collection’s alternative speaker, who is in bed with their lover and similarly notes that “there is no joy in it.” The speaker describes the “monotony of wandering / from room to room” and how their bodies are “neither / joined nor separate,” concluding, “I want the circle / broken.”
Atwood’s anxieties about futility in the face of the passage of time are complemented by haunting lithographic illustrations by the Canadian contemporary artist Charles Pachter. Each page of poetry is paired with a large, evocative black-and-white illustration by Pachter. The collaboration was a natural result of a close friendship between Pachter and Atwood, with him describing Atwood as "my muse and my mentor."
The pair met in 1960 while working at a summer camp in Canada and formed a quick friendship. They supported each other's creative pursuits in correspondence for several years, with Atwood often sending works of poetry alongside feedback on Pachter's art. Pachter would go on to produce several portraits of Atwood over the next few decades.
A rare early artifact of the powerful creative partnership between Atwood and Pachter, before either had achieved great fame.