BE! by Paul Reps

Yesterday, I've purchased a book from the antique/vintage shop in Salts Mills which I thought I could use as research and reference material for my own publication. The book is by poet and artist Paul Reps called 'BE!' (1971). When I first went through the book in the shop I was instantly interested into why it didn't have a title but rather an embossed illustration therefore I wanted to know what the content inside was. I quickly flipped through the pages and found really nice illustrations and short poems set in interesting ways therefore I decided to buy it.

 

The poems in the book were typesetted in various different ways and did not have a set grid layout which I found interesting, however because it's a book of poems I thought that this may be an appropriate approach as each poem will have it's individual story and feel which can b expressed through how the sentences and words and laid out on the page. In addition, to this there were also some use of styles within the poems such as the use of italics to create emphasis on a word, giving it impact when read by the readers. Similarly, there was also a clear indication of information hierarchy through the use of point sizes, where the tittles where much bigger than the poems itself. This is pretty normal and functional and something most if not all books have but I think it just add more importance to this publication as each pages are individual, therefore a clear indication of where a poem ends was important. Another interesting thing, was the use of footnotes after each poem. The footnotes indicate personal anecdotes, information and stories about Res which he shares, making the publication feel a bit more personal and special, especially for the readers. Having this adds a bit more depth and meaning to the poems making them more special for Res but also for the readers as well. 

 

In addition to the poems there were also water paintings included in the book. The illustrations are in black and white which I thought was quite nice because it emphasised the textures and the shapes of the illustrations better which added to the character and atmosphere of the publication overall. In addition, I also thought the illustrations where a great way to balance the text ratio and create space fro the readers to stop.

The book also has a limited colour palette giving it a minimal tone and gives focus to the content of the book without being too distracting or gaudy for the readers to enjoy. The choice of bright colours  I think gives the book the impact that it needs and exudes the right atmosphere that suits the content of the actual poems creating a good harmony between content and visual design of the book.

The book is perfect bounded covered with extra pages on the front and back for sticking to the hardback cover, making it look neat and tidy and at the same time make the book sturdy and strongly made. Various paper stock where also used in the book. For example, the hard cover itself, looked really glossy and almost vinyl like to me. I looks as if it would've been quite elastic-ky as some of the parts creased especially on the spine of the book.

The extra pages where made of dove grey textured paper that's slightly higher in weight than the content pages which I thought was quite a nice details as it adds a bit of organic and raw feel to the zen vibe that the book is about. The content pages on the other hand were smooth almost glossy white paper stock which gave the text and image a nice high quality printing finish as well as make the bright colours stand out as well, which made the publication look and feel very high quality whilst looking very simple at the same time.

I think the book must've been quite easily massed produced for commercial purposes as it has quite simple binding methods. As well as, I think the paper stock and hard cover materials would've cost a fair amount of money, however I feel like as it's such a high quality finished book with high quality content, which can attract not just poem enthusiast and fans of Rep's work I think it would've been quite expensive. However, because I've bought it from an antique shop it only cost me £3.00, but if I was to estimate it it would've cost at least £25.00? - £30.00?, considering it was made in the 70's production costs would've been expensive, and having it on book shelves in shops would've cost some money too therefore I feel like it should be expensive in order to gain profit from it.

Thoughts & Reflections:

I really enjoyed this book as was satisfied when I bought it and read it. I was initially attracted to the cover however the content inside was what caught my attention more. As someone who prefers to read short stories and poems I really liked how the poems had been structured in interesting ways to suit their phase and theme, making me more immersed in them even more. At the same time, the illustrations were just as interesting and made me stop and look at them closer.

From this book, I could take away some reference pints such as book structure and phasing, especially as the content from this book is quite similar or has a similar approach to what I want my publication to have. In addition, I will also carefully consider the production methods which fit the theme and concept of my book just like this book as the methods use greatly impacts and ties in together the concept and overall appearance and aesthetic of the book, which what the readers will see first in the book shelves and shops. I'm hoping that my publication will also attract readers straight away just like this book did to me as well.