Pro Patria Mori — Poems by Wilfred Owen
I have always loved Wilfred Owen. His shrewd and youthful irony so aptly applied to the senselessness of war also extended to religion in his poems. He died one week before the armistice of WWI, but his poems still resonate for us today, well, because we don’t listen! There is hardly a time since his war that we have not had others.
When one sets type by hand there has to be a text that really sustains interest. Setting type can be a long and tedious process—letter by letter, mind the spacing. . . . As each line goes by setting an Owen poem, I am struck by not only the language (it is clear he loved Keats) but by his penetrating insight into human nature. Van Krimpen’s Lutetia type in an ample size is perfect for a poet whose poems need to be inscribed on hearts of stone. Even the shortest poem in this selection “Le Christianisme” is so biting it can deflate the most true believer. Yet Owen was not conscripted into service, he volunteered and sought a leadership role, and after an injury he went back to the front.
Fewer than 50 copies were set, printed by hand, and bound by Chad Oness from Lutetia types on dampened Hahnemũhle Biblio paper. Seven copies were bound by Griffin Gonzales in a special edition. While the selection features some of Owens' most recognizable poems, it also includes others not found commonly in anthologies, showing more breadth to his work. We also use a beautiful engraving by Ladislav Hanka.
The first thirty copies sold will include a complimentary broadside.
Pro Patria Mori — Poems by Wilfred Owen
I have always loved Wilfred Owen. His shrewd and youthful irony so aptly applied to the senselessness of war also extended to religion in his poems. He died one week before the armistice of WWI, but his poems still resonate for us today, well, because we don’t listen! There is hardly a time since his war that we have not had others.
When one sets type by hand there has to be a text that really sustains interest. Setting type can be a long and tedious process—letter by letter, mind the spacing. . . . As each line goes by setting an Owen poem, I am struck by not only the language (it is clear he loved Keats) but by his penetrating insight into human nature. Van Krimpen’s Lutetia type in an ample size is perfect for a poet whose poems need to be inscribed on hearts of stone. Even the shortest poem in this selection “Le Christianisme” is so biting it can deflate the most true believer. Yet Owen was not conscripted into service, he volunteered and sought a leadership role, and after an injury he went back to the front.
Fewer than 50 copies were set, printed by hand, and bound by Chad Oness from Lutetia types on dampened Hahnemũhle Biblio paper. Seven copies were bound by Griffin Gonzales in a special edition. While the selection features some of Owens' most recognizable poems, it also includes others not found commonly in anthologies, showing more breadth to his work. We also use a beautiful engraving by Ladislav Hanka.
The first thirty copies sold will include a complimentary broadside.
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