Gary Sullivan examines book covers and talks about what works — and what doesn’t.
Some of my favorite book covers have photos of the author on them. You can say the photo below of Sexton in a swimming pool does not have to do with the poetry, and that would be a fair criticism. What works for me is the unusual tint color, the poet looking off to the side, and the oddness of having her in a swimming pool (so informal!).
Here’s another Anne Sexton book cover:
This is a book of love poems, which works well with the red-pink tint, the dressy dress and the casual lean against the door frame. Sexton looks a bit flirty and elegant at the same time.
Of course, Richard Brautigan was famous for posing on his covers. Snarky critics would say that’s about all he’s famous for. I grew up reading his work, so I’m going to be nice.
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Those Sexton covers are definitely a step up from the ugly paisley covers from the copy of her Complete and Collected works that I own. I managed to collect all the original Sexton books from the 60s, with their odd drawn covers. I cherish them.
Collin — If you are ever of a mind to scan those cover and post them to your blog, I’d love to see them.
Some of the 60s covers are downright wild and verge on the edge of nauseating in their color choices. I have an old copy of Colossus that is puke brown and blue. Somehow, this design works for me.