This Year: Next Year

This Year: Next Year

Poetry

This Year: Next Year is a tale of a passing year. In the book are poems of scenes and narrations that society experiences during the year. Some examples of this are like the morning dawn, the waking of the birds, the first fisherman on the lake, the children playing on the countryside, the families roaming the town's shops, the local circus, even Christmas time and playing on a frozen lake. As you progress in the book, you move through the year (beginning in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). Each small story/narration is supported by an illustration, each narration taking up most if not the whole page. Sometimes the text is integrated into the illustrations, but other times the text is on the other side on the page before/after. All illustrations are done by Harold Jones and the book itself utilizes a wide range of colors which sets this book apart from many popular texts and even children's books from this time frame, most of these competitors had either no illustrations, illustrations with little color, or illustrations that were set apart from the text. In this book, most illustrations are completely integrated with the text on the page and offer an extremely bright color scheme to the world it presents.

In this text, one should look at the interaction between the text and the illustrations. In "The Feast," the illustration on the left-hand side of the page is wonderful. It showcases that there is a Thanksgiving feast and as well the text itself cascades at an angle, almost like directing the eyes of the reader to see the table from top to bottom and to view the table as one long fine feast. We can clearly see that the author and illustrator are working together to create a direction for the reader to read, an intention that most readers will follow.

Speaking of intention, it is easy to see a flow the author and illustrator created together. A flow in which readers will follow as they read the text. There is a set beginning, middle, and end. The back cover has a Farewell piece that says goodbye to the reader. What happens when an author intentionally ends a text? Does a text lose it's re-readability? By having a specific beginning, middle, and end, the book leaves no space for interpretation to the reader. What you see is what you get. If this is the case, does this mold readers from a young age? Are we trained to be accustomed to art and literature the way we see it? Take a look at the other pieces and see if there is more to be interpreted than what is printed or initially given.

Walter de la Mare and Harold Jones

Fales Collection: O'Malley Library at Manhattan College

Faber&Faber. 24 Russel Square, London

October 1937

Harold Jones, a well-known artist, is the Illustrator

The O'Malley Library at Manhattan College

Quarto, 43 pages with illustrations, 44 pages with text. 67 Pages in total.

English

Poetry Collection