This was such a great project to work on. A beautiful poetry book by a former teacher of mine from graphic art school. That alone made this a pleasure and a privilege. Nowadays he calls himself a 'consolation poet' and volunteers to listen to every- or anyone's story in his own 'consolation cabin'. You just walk in, free of charge, and you might go home with a touching poem he wrote about you or your situation. He'll give you his full attention, time, ears and word(s). Something everyone needs now and then. A small gesture with a great effect. I love that.
Over a period of time he wrote a range of touching poems while meeting all kinds of people or waiting in his cabin. A number of these poems are bundled in this book. I wanted to do them justice by designing a sedate and simple layout to keep the focus on the poems, the words, the sentences. All of his former printed matter was done in red, white and black. So that was my starting point. I also wanted to add something extra to make the book stand out, so I came up with the idea of using a (screen printed) handkerchief as a dust jacket. If tears might flow, the handkerchief will be in reach. For the lettering I used the well known cross-stitch that reminds us of a loving mother, aunt or grandmother. A soothing nostalgia, you could say.
Boudewijn dedicated this poetry book to his lovely wife Geertje. In the back of the book you can read the motives for every poem.
Ah, wish I could do more of these projects!
