I cannot remember where I found this copy of Another Kind of Autumn by Loren Eiseley. Eiseley was a professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, but perhaps he is best remembered for his essays and poetry. He spent part of his life as a drifter, part as a scholar, and somewhere in there earned the honor of being called the Thoreau of the 20th century. If you have never read The Star Thrower, I highly suggest you put it at the top of your to-read list. Another Kind of Autumn, a book of poems, was published around the time of Eiseley's death in 1977.
The book is beautifully illustrated with woodcuts by Walter Ferro. I searched like crazy to find more information on Ferro, but all I could find was information on other books he illustrated. These included another of Eiseley's books, The Invisible Pyramid, some books for children, and an edition of Hemingway's Nick Adams Stories. If anyone has more information on Ferro, please post it in the comments or e-mail me. His woodcuts compliment Eiseley's poetry quite well.
I don't dare post a poem on here. I couldn't find one full-text Eiseley poem online, so that might mean that the copyright is strictly enforced. Eiseley's works are still in print and easily accessible. If you buy or borrow Another Kind of Autumn, some of my favorites are "Habits Nocturnal," "The Black Snake," and "The Fungus Bed."
6 comments:
Woodcuts look beautiful - i want to see more. Thanks for those links to the fonts: i'm checking em out now.
Hello. I too love Loren Eiseley's poems. I am carrying this exact edition around with me now as I travel. I love the prints by Walter Ferro almost as much as I love Loren Eiseley. I also wish I could find out more about this wonderful artist - if anyone out there knows please share :)
I know this is down the road but maybe it will pop up in your RSS feed. I started researching Walter Ferro when I found out I had a framed print of his in storage. Couldn't find out too much but the style int Eiseley's book is the same style as the woodcut I have. If you learned anything more I'd like to hear about it.
I just stumbled upon this blog and was happy to see such appreciation for Walter Ferro's art! I am his daughter and am curious to know which print James found in his frame!
Dear Paula,
What a special treat to read your post! I actually revisited this blog post in the hopes of reading more updates related to your father's artwork, but your message was such a wonderful surprise. I love all of Walter's art and have told my friends and family about his work, but one of my favourites is of the falling autumn leafs on the cover of Another Kind of Autumn and the haunting imagery in the Invisible Pyramid. Do you know of any ways to see some of his other art outside the Eiseley publications? Your father's art is very touching.
Blog author here. I just noticed all the activity on this post. I'm very excited you found this post, Paula! In addition to the comments here, I've been sent a couple of emails asking if I had learned more about your father and his work. I know we'd be very happy with whatever you could share about him because our web searches don't yield much.
I'd actually like to dedicate a post to his work if possible :)
I hope you check this post again!
@Joanna - I'd love to see some prints like the ones in the Eiseley books too. I love the monarch butterflies in Another Kind of Autumn. Sometimes I look open those books just to see the woodcuts.
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