Overview
Written in 1910 in his 70th year, Mark Twain, having lived through 14 wars waged just by his own country on others, declined to publish this poetic despairing reproof against patriotism. His regular illustrator Daniel Beard even urged Twain to issue the piece, to which the author replied, ""No, I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead."" It took 13 years after his passing for that prophecy to be fulfilled - and now, another 102 years later, the legendary illustrator and graphic designer Seymour Chwast (himself 92 years young) has fulfilled Beard's dream of enriching the fable with illustration. Chwast brings every aspect of his skills to this interpretation: drawing, design, typography, type design, pastel painting and computer color all sit alongside each other with Twain's text in pages that expand and pace the original. With another century and a quarter of warfare passed since its writing, Chwast's artwork echoes advances in technology but Twain's message about the pointlessness of patriotism as a marketing hook for death is only more pointed today.
Full Product Details
Author: Seymour Chwast ,
Seymour Chwast
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Imprint: Fantagraphics
ISBN: 9781683969594
ISBN 10: 1683969596
Pages: 104
Publication Date: 21 May 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"Never has Chwast's political energy been on display so clearly and with so much concentrated energy. Mark Twain's War Prayer is a book horribly relevant, horribly significant in its art and for today's world.--Paul Buhle ""Comics Grinder"""
Like Twain's best work, it is clever and true, and like the best polemics, it is pointed and to-the-point.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" Legendary 92-year-old graphic and font designer Seymour Chwast takes a dazzling, multidisciplinary approach to Mark Twain's 104-year-old prose poem in this radical new book. Through drawing, pastel painting, type design, and computer color, Chwast breathes life into Twain's savage rebuke of religion's role in jingoism and violent patriotism.-- ""Under the Radar"" Never has Chwast's political energy been on display so clearly and with so much concentrated energy. Mark Twain's War Prayer is a book horribly relevant, horribly significant in its art and for today's world.--Paul Buhle ""Comics Grinder""
Author Information
Seymour Chwast (b. 1931, The Bronx, New York City) is one of the most highly-regarded graphic designers in American history. He has executed hundreds of advertising campaigns, designed multiple popular typefaces, illustrated or been the subject of dozens of books, and created several children's' books of his own. Referred to as ""the left-handed designer,"" he has worked social commentary into his design for decades, including through his biannual journal The Nose. Chwast founded the design group Push Pin Studios with Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins in 1954, and continues to head and work via the company at age 92.
