ANNABEL LEE

by Edgar Allan Poe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 1987

Using the demanding airbrush technique, a well-known Quebec artist has set Poe's famous ""kingdom by the sea"" by an Acadian shore. His sharply defined forms give a collage-like effect; the pale, luminescent tones evoke the colors and reflections of sea and sky with eerie verisimilitude, and give a timeless background for the playful activities suggested in the poem's beginning lines. As joy turns to sorrow, the scenes darken but are tempered by startling white: gulls, sea foam, the stark ship that bears Annabel Lee to her sepulchre. And having fully conveyed the boy's grief through his posture, Tibo goes beyond Poe in suggesting his courage and even hope in the final illustrations. Though this is expensive and not an essential purchase, Tibo's paintings, lovely in themselves, elicit a fresh awareness of Poe's hauntingly beautiful, if overfamiliar, poem.

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 1987

ISBN: 1593165005

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Tundra

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: POETRY