Short poems & glorious drawings describe a litany of characters collaging everyday objects into companions for themselves.
Sophie Herxheimer and Henningham Family Press have form. We have already published some of her most ambitious and inventive books. Take The Listening Forest for example.
In 2015 Sophie was coming to the end of an Artists’ Residency. She had been commissioned by Fermynwood Contemporary Arts to collect stories in ink from the people of Corby, about what their woods have meant to them. She brought her sheaves of tree climbing children, couples in the undergrowth and even a naked cyclist to us, to be put in a book with a heartwood of poems she had written about her experience.
We suggested there were two books – one of our very first split editions.
It’s no wonder Sophie came to us to bring her latest book, 60 Lovers To Make And Do, to life!
With your support, we can make a split edition of 60 Lovers To Make And Do with Sophie Herxheimer this summer:
The short, funny poems of Sixty Lovers To Make And Do by Sophie Herxheimer gradually reveal an occasionally dark, even macabre meditation on love and loneliness. A litany of characters collage everyday objects to make companions for themselves, focusing their loneliness, frustration and passions upon their creations.
The book, moving through Spring to Summer, Autumn and Winter will evoke simultaneously the seasons of a year and a lifetime. Its glorious illustrations will suggest an urban Book of Hours where the objects of private devotion are assemblages of things, disturbing their surroundings:
Undertaker
She spirited a suitor from incense, nail clippings,
and some ceramic tiles.
She kept him in a coffin to start with
but he was so quiet and respectful
that she invited him home to live with her.
Her parents never knew about him,
well they do now.
This artistic collaboration will culminate in a rich collection of Sophie’s imagery and poetry on the page.
Imagine reading a handmade book. Hundreds of thousands of exquisite books are housed in special collections, but rarely get seen.
Our handmade Artists’ Books are collected by National Galleries Scotland, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate, The National Poetry Library, UCL, Winchester, UCLA and many more, including private collections. But we make them to be touched.
We want to break the barrier between Artists’ Books kept behind closed drawers, and the books readers buy and savour.
We believe, in the centenary years of Modernism, Artist-Writers shouldn’t just be producing radical words but radical means of production and distribution.
Our sales team at Inpress Books Ltd. have made our dream of bringing Artists’ Books to readers a tried and tested reality. Support us as we continue to put our paperback Artists’ Books in high-street and online booksellers, internationally.
We said we had form – in fact we’re recidivists. Sophie’s book of poem-collages Your Candle Accompanies The Sun, her homage to Emily Dickinson, was another celebrated collaboration that, likeThe Listening Forest, comes with some of our reward tiers.
“A wonderful book.” Sarah Bodman, a.n
We designed a new stitch for this book, putting a small pamphlet of Emily Dickinson poems selected by Sophie in the same cover as her larger collages, like their two personalities sharing teatime on the ladies’ planet.
Velkom to Inklandt, Sophie’s most recent poetry collection, was a Sunday Times’ Poetry Book of the Year and The Observer’s Poetry Book of the Month. Other recent publications include an entry in The New Concrete and the collection Your Candle Accompanies the Sun.
Sophie trained in painting at Camberwell and Chelsea. She has held residencies for Southbank Centre and Transport for London. Exhibitions include The National Poetry Library, The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern and a five-year installation at the Museum of Liverpool.
She has illustrated five fairy tale collections, made many artists books. She created a 300 metre tablecloth to run the length of Southwark Bridge, featuring hand printed food stories from a thousand Londoners.
For 12 years we have made Art & Literature that redefines the act of publication:
You will be funding the process of composition. For a guide as to whether or not you will like the completed books you can see our previous work at henninghamfamilypress.co.uk
Unique items subject to availability, first come first choice.
There could conceivably be delays of up to one month on delivery of any item. However, we think these are unlikely. We are using a tried and tested production method and we have communicated with partners to find about their Brexit planning.
One unforeseen risk on previous campaigns was that with any extra funding come more opportunities and processes. We like to spread the joy if there is surplus funding by enhancing every edition of the book, which will also add a couple of weeks’ work.
There’s a very slim chance materials might be discontinued.