The Sirens
Alan Loney 2011

Alan Loney’s work has always been at the cutting edge of NewZealand’s place in world literature. He is a poet of international stature, whose mastery has become a resource for us all.

— Robert Creeley

These previously unpublished poems are hand set in Eve and Paramount printed on gampi torinoko, handmade by the late Masao Seki on Shikoku Island, Japan. The decorative device repeated throughout the text is embellished by hand with gold and silver pigments, as is the titling. The text is sewn through the black Asahi cloth spine with gray silk cord echoing the silver embellishments. The boards are covered in hanji, handmade at the Jang Ji Bang papermill in Gapyeong, Korea. No two sheets are alike in their coarsely stained beauty. The desiccated effect of the paper provides a counterpoint to the silken interior sheets, evoking the terrible beauty of the mythic Sirens, their song, and their silence.

Design and execution are by Carolee Campbell whose photographs line both front and back boards.

There are 80 signed and numbered copies in the edition along with an additional 8 lettered hors commerce.

10.5 inches by 5.25 inches. 28 pages.