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In
The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook, master engraver George A. Walker provides a new perspective on a man whose words have captivated generations.
Walker's latest wordless narrative presents a suite of 80 wood engravings commemorating the life and artistic accomplishments of Leonard Cohen, the Montreal-born poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter whose career has spanned almost six decades.
Best read to music,
The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook presents images of Cohen's iconic public persona alongside vivid interpretations of his ever-evolving work. The engravings compose a biographical mosaic that invites readers backstage, behind the curtains of Cohen's critical and commercial acclaim. Some scenes are drawn from history; other depictions arise from imagination and interpretation. These images encourage us to search beyond the visual elements and to see in them a poem, a song, a meaningful turn of phrase. They urge us to look beyond the black and white and to consider Cohen's life and work through the lens of our own experience.
The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook originated in celebration of Cohen's 80th birthday as a limited edition of 80 copies hand printed in Walker's studio in Leslieville, Toronto.
About the author
George A. Walker (Canadian, b. 1960) is an award-winning wood engraver, book artist, teacher, author, and illustrator who has been creating artwork and books and publishing at his private press since 1984. Walker's popular courses in book arts and printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto, where he is Associate Professor, have been running continuously since 1985. For over twenty years Walker has exhibited his wood engravings and limited edition books internationally, often in conjunction with The Loving Society of Letterpress (and The Binders of Infinite Love) and the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG). Among many book projects Walker has illustrated two hand-printed books written by internationally-acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. Walker is also the illustrator of the first Canadian editions of Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and
Alice Through the Looking-Glass books (Cheshire Cat Press). George A. Walker was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art for his contribution to the cultural area of Book Arts.
