These are not love poems.
The speakers continually rev themselves up to the challenge of connecting with each other, often to no avail.
This book jacket is the culmination of an afternoon of good food and good company with author Ian Williams, editor Robyn Read, and former Freehand forewoman Sarah Ivany. Somewhere between the marinated olives and the sandwiches, we decided to play off the newspaper-themed title and compose a cover of custom personal ads written by Ian. And instead of the usual back cover description, we would showcase a series of lines describing “Readers Seeking Poems” and “Poems Seeking Readers.”
The typeface is a Didone revival called Eloquent, developed by Jukebox Type. The over-the-top romantic flare is a perfect fit for the almost-love poems.
Personals has been shortlisted for both the Griffin Poetry Prize, as well as the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award.
Client: Freehand Books
Author: Ian Williams
Publication Date: April 2012
Awards: Winner of the 2013 Book Publishers Association of Alberta Award for Book Cover/Jacket Design
