Wednesday 21 April 2010

Live Nude Emily Dickinson

Having stumbled across another book cover design blog (Book Covers Anonymous), I was especially taken with this cover (designer unknown, but published by Norton in the US)...

UPDATE: The designer is Gabriele Wilson, and there's a collection of her work here. I realise now that I was already a fan of her work, having bought Barry Lopez's Resistance on the strength of her cover design.


It also reminded me of the title of this rather less interestingly covered book of poetry, from Picador...



Coincidentally, I was recently designing some invitations to a poetry event, and this is the graphic I went with...

8 comments:

Craig D. said...

Terrific first cover. Clever, visually appealing, and simple.

Why can't that happen more often?

Peteski said...

+1

The lamp is a bit much tho, no?

JRSM said...

Certainly could be--depends on how phallic you read it as being.

Steve said...

The cover of The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson was designed by Gabriele Wilson. Some of Gabriele's other work has been archived over at the Book Cover Archive.

Daria Hlazatova said...

the first one is just perfect!

JRSM said...

Thanks, Steve: I'll add that info now.

Daria: I couldn't agree more!

Vintage Reading said...

As a huge admirer of Dickinson I'd be uncomfortable about owning a book with a cover that satirises the writer. Like the zombie Jane Austen and a recent Charlotte Bronte cover where she's holding a bloodstained dagger. Do they do this to male writers or just women? I do like the second cover though.

JRSM said...

To be honest, the only male writer I can think of, off-hand, to be satirised this way is Shakespeare, though I'm sure there must be others. Hmm. I will investigate.