Baensch, Thorsten: Spirit-Land SPIRIT-LAND is an artistic interpretation of EDGAR ALLAN POE's short. story A DESCENT INTO THE MALSTRÖM. The story first appeared in the May 1841 edition of GRAHAM's MAGAZINE. The text was congenially translated by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE and first published by MICHEL LÉVY FRÈRES in 1856.
POE's text and its translation are accompanied ("illustrated") by the circular verbal visuals ("continuous counterpoint") by RICHARD KOSTELANETZ and by six historical map sections of the LOFOTEN islands on which the literary-poetic-geographical name MALSTROM has found its place. These detailed maps come from the atlas collection of CAREL FRANSEN (Breda, NL), which he made available to THORSTEN BAENSCH in November 2019. THORSTEN' s journey to the shores of MALSTROM on the island of Varoy (Norway) at midsummer 2023 is documented by eight polaroids. RICHARD KOSTELANETZ' S text THE BEST NYC BEACHES NEAR THE MTA concludes this edition and opens up a further literary understanding. The spirits of MARIA CLEMM and SARAH HELEN WHITMAN, both of whom were important to POE's work, are present through illustrations. Each copy contains an original Polaroid photography (by THORSTEN BAENSCH) attached to the first page and an original postcard of the island of Varey pasted into the box. en., fr., ger., digital print, cloth, 154p, Ed. of 19, num., sign., Brüssel, 2024, Bartleby & Co. Request of availability backnext