Reflecting the Day

An extremely rare copy in Fine/ Like New condition. Full signature of the three persons responsible for producing the book,, without any inscriptions, appear on the title page. The narrative is by W. S. Merwin with an afterword by Susan O'Conner. Six monoprints by Lou Hicks are included. This book is number 24 of the 30 copies printed.

This lyrical, religous themred book itself is a major work of art. It consists of 44 thick beveled pages. Printing is incised onto the pages. The book was printed and bound by Russell Maret. The type is a visual rendering of Garamond printed on Somerset paper. The monoprints were individually by Lou Hicks and printed in her studio.

From Wikipedia (abridged): "William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose and produced many works in translation.[1] During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009;[2] the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005,[3] and the Tanning Prize — one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets — as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate..."

Susan O'Conner is a essayist of religious themed works, and art collector.

Lou Hicks' works have been exhibited in museums and private galleries throughout the world. Hicks is very interested in the manipulation of color and layers of the medium she works with. The artist strives to capture the initial feeling that was stirred by a certain place or thing. Through her paintings she gets to know her surroundings better "[filtering] the world through her own senses." She hopes to evoke a feeling from within the viewer through her serene and quiet abstracts. The layers of color create an element of time, like an old wall whose original layers surface through the fresh paint. Each image begins to tell a story with a narrative that comes to her later on. She has also illustrated five publications of poetry and prose with her original monotypes, and bound by book designer Russell Maret. She asked him if he would be interested in designing a book incorporating her prints with a friends' poetry. For their first publication, the three of them chose the poems together, and the text was printed onto Lou's lithographs. The three of them have collaborated on five books.

Russell Maret is a prominent American printer, type disigner, artist and author who has published over 60 books and designed several typefaces.