{"product_id":"the-boundless-and-miraculous-larry-stapleton-9781916099814","title":"The Boundless and Miraculous: Found Poems from the Letters of Vincent Van Gogh","description":"The boundless and miraculous is what Vincent van Gogh believed we should all seek - and to be satisfied with nothing less. This is exactly what he achieved in his art, despite many profound difficulties which he recorded in his letters. These letters later became recognized for their literary virtues, such as simplicity, clarity, spontaneity and rich imagery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuch qualities are among those most prized in poetry. In \u003ci\u003eThe Boundless and Miraculous\u003c\/i\u003e, closely related extracts from Van Gogh's letters are brought together to make 'found poems' - writing not originally intended to be a poem but reframed as such - here in the form of sonnets. These record several pivotal moments in Van Gogh's life, the content and tone reflecting his complex emotional states.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe poems also encapsulate the development of Van Gogh's artistic vision, notably the thought processes behind some of his most iconic paintings. Highlighted too are his thoughts on the work of other artists - his contemporaries and those who went before him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe found poem (see sample below) can bring together elements from quite disparate parts of an individual letter that are united in theme. This often relates to a particular preoccupation of the artist at the time, which he kept returning to, perhaps over the course of quite a long letter dealing also with separate matters. Recurring frequently in the correspondence are the themes of simplicity and work (especially in the countryside), the great need for consolation and his thoughts on the artists he most admired.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe making of the found poems, and the particular form adopted - the sonnet in various guises - will provide the reader with a new frame of reference for the artist's writing. This will in turn help encourage further readership of the wonderful letters, wherein the artist's rhetorical argument, his thoughts and feelings, which these sonnets aim at conveying in their essence, may be found expressed in greater detail.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccompanied with 87 color plates, \u003ci\u003eThe Boundless and Miraculous\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates Van Gogh's spectacular art as well as his exquisite writing in what could be considered a series of brief autobiographical sketches. Aimed at all lovers of Van Gogh's work, this volume will make a unique contribution to our understanding of his short and amazing life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eTo Theo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou must understand how I regard art.\u003cbr\u003eOne must work long and hard to arrive\u003cbr\u003eat the truthful. What I want is damned difficult, \u003cbr\u003eand yet I don't believe I'm aiming too high.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI would like to reach the point where people\u003cbr\u003esay of my work, that man feels deeply, feels subtly.\u003cbr\u003eWhat am I in the eyes of most people?\u003cbr\u003eA nonentity or an oddity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVery well - assuming that, I'd like to show\u003cbr\u003ewhat there is in the heart of such an oddity, \u003cbr\u003esuch a nobody. This is my ambition, \u003cbr\u003ebased less on resentment than on love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEven though I'm often in a mess, inside me\u003cbr\u003ethere's still a calm - pure harmony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Hague c. 21 July 1882\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Larry Stapleton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1916099815\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781916099814\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liffey Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/10\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Larry Stapleton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46420191019263,"sku":"9781916099814","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8839096a-3b95-4965-a0c1-1dd0c9b8a9f1.jpg?v=1734633913","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-boundless-and-miraculous-larry-stapleton-9781916099814","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}