The Sublime Landscape and Beyond: An Artist's Retrospective and a Poet's Vision

by Michael Baldwin, Johnny Bowen (Illustrator)

A collaboration between two longtime friends who found they both appreciated each other's creative one a painter, the other a poet. Michael Baldwin, an award-winning poet, has, in the past, written poems for artist Johnny Bowen and his family for various occasions. In 2009 Bowen asked Baldwin to write poems for several of his paintings that were to be in an upcoming show at the Arts Center of the Ozarks, Springdale, Arkansas. The project became a labor of love as Baldwin saw the high quality and inspired vision in Bowen's paintings. In 2020 Baldwin decided it was time to publish a book dedicated entirely to Bowen's art and Baldwin's poems. The Sublime Landscape and Beyond is the result of many years of rewarding collaboration.

116 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2021

About the author

Poet and novelist born in Gravesend in Kent, England, who tutored residential courses for the Arvon Foundation, a creative writing venture that he played an important part in founding and developing. He won the Cholmondeley award for poetry in 1984, and he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year.

Reviews

[J.K. George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was presented this book (a loaner) by a member of our men's book club. It's not "rhyming" poetry as such, but the wording is thoughtful, and the poetry is paired with wonderfully appropriate paintings for each selection. There are eight "sections" and some were more meaningful to me than others; it might have been my personal mood and settings. One of the best sections for me was "Texas Landscapes," which featured outstanding entries including "Utopia, Texas," Buffalo Soldiers," "Lone Star Heritage," and "Made in the USA." The selection of words and art images is perfect for those times when one sits alone and thinks about things.