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Song Without Words
''Song Without Words: A Book of Engravings on Wood'' is a wordless novel of 1936 by American artist Lynd Ward (1905–1985). Executed in twenty-one wood engravings, it was the fifth and shortest of the six wordless novels Ward completed, produced while working on the last and longest, ''Vertigo'' (1937). The story concerns the anxiety an expectant mother feels over bringing a child into a world under the threat of fascism—anxieties Ward and writer May McNeer were then feeling over McNeer's pregnancy with the couple's second child. Content and style A woman conceives a child and suffers anguish over whether to give birth to it. She imagines one nightmare image of fascism and death after another, filled with such imagery as skulls, concentration camps, and an infant impaled on a bayonet. She ends standing defiant against the forces that threaten her, and her male partner joins her and the baby in an image of hope for the future. Ward employs symbols much as he had in previ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynd Ward
Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced the development of the graphic novel. Although strongly associated with his wood engravings, he also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography and mezzotint. Ward was a son of Methodist minister, political organizer and radical social activist Harry F. Ward, the first chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union on its founding in 1920. His best-known books are '' Gods' Man'' and his Caldecott-winning children's story, '' The Biggest Bear''. Early life Ward was born on June 26, 1905, in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Harry F. Ward, was born in Chiswick, England, in 1873; the elder Ward was a Methodist who moved to the United States in 1891 after reading the progressive ''Social Aspects of Christianity'' (1889) by Richar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destiny (wordless Novel)
''Destiny'' () is the only wordless novel by German artist Otto Nückel. It first appeared in 1926 from the Munich-based publisher Delphin-Verlag. In 190 wordless images the story follows an unnamed woman in a German city in the early 20th century whose life of poverty and misfortune drives her to infanticide, prostitution, and murder. The book was the first whose images were made with leadcuts instead of the more common woodcuts, and showed a greater depth of character and cinematic sense than previous wordless novels. The book inspired American artist Lynd Ward to tackle the medium, beginning with ''Gods' Man'' in 1929. Ward's success brought about an American publication of ''Destiny'' in 1930 which sold well. The book has impressed critics and has become one of the best-known wordless novels. Synopsis The book follows an unnamed woman in a German city in the early 20th century who lives a life of poverty and misfortune. She is the constant victim of her society—esp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |