Limes (Lim/es)

Guest blogger Normana Wight has selected a particularly luscious artists' book from the collection to review, one which will appeal to the medievalist, Italophile, lovers of contemporary poetry and artistic photography.

Artist/designer: Tommaso Durante. Text: Chris Wallace-Crabbe. 2011

There is a particularly beautiful artist’s book at the State Library of Queensland;
It is called ‘Limes’ or ‘Lim/es’ (emphasis on the ‘e’). In a phrase from the promotional material about the book, the artist says; ‘it is worth noting that the ancient Latin word ‘limes’ – a fortified boundary, and a delimiting system of ancient Rome, as well as a passage – can help us across the spatial, temporal, and cultural boundaries dividing Dante’s Middle Ages from our Global Age.’

The book, inspired by Canto Three of the Inferno, Dante Alighieri’s allegory of Middle age in the Middle Ages.

The spirit of the image, suggesting hell, and the original poetry of Dante Alighieri, have inspired Melbourne poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe to interpret in terms of contemporary Australian verse. The whole book also reflects the multifaceted Australian culture and its increasingly dazzling range of cultural stimulation
Which all goes to show what a rich and interesting country we live in.