Contemplating Ireland

Rating:
Summary: Remembrances of My Father's Home
Review: On a recent trip to Ireland with my family I encountered many landscapes similar to those shown in this magnificent book and it reminded me of my father's home. This is a great book to capture the visual texures of the Emerald Isle.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Thank god, a photo book about Ireland that doesn't shove Emerald Isle cliches at you, with a lot of smiling red-haired children and gobs of green. Instead, you get understated, sophisticated design and black and white images that seem to be about light and shadow and shape as much as they are about the place. It is slightly stark, but the epigrams/readings warm it up. Really excellent.

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Summary: CONTEMPLATING IRELAND NOTE CARD SET
Review: The CONTEMPLATING IRELAND NOTE CARD SET consists of 15 cards and envelopes, three each of five designs, using duotone images taken from the book. The note cards and envelopes are packaged in a handsome printed wallet. The images have been carefully selected to represent different themes in the landscape and architecture of Ireland.

Rating:
Summary: A perfect present
Review: The first thing that struck me after viewing the book "Contemplating Ireland" was the sense of mystery I was left with and the spell it cast grew only stronger with the turn of the every page.

I have seen several color books of Irish landscapes and ancient structures, but the black and white photo's of Mr. Gleason are the perfect complement to a land which holds secrets that must be unraveled over time. In this sense, the book works as a whole with some photo's seeming less remarkable until you meditate on the entire mood evoked in the setting. Mr. Gleason's eye is very subtle in this regard, and allows the viewer to breathe into the photo rather than be hit over the head with it's message.

The variety of full bleed shots and double page spreads mixed in with smaller shots works well and creates a rhythm that only enhances the books magic and momentum.

The intro by Ms. Purcell is perfect for it preps the viewer with what they are about to witness in the pages to follow. Sometimes people need a little understanding before receiving the full impact of a photo book as so much of what we see visually these days is so brazen in its attempts to enchant.

In that sense, this book will release the viewer from being directed what to feel. If you can tap into your imagination you will find the stories you are looking for in these beautiful photos. It makes you wish that stones could actually talk!

This is a great addition to the existing books on Ireland and would make a great gift item to those who have any interest in this beautiful country.

Rating:
Summary: Contemplating Ireland
Review: The first thing that struck me after viewing the book "Contemplating Ireland" was the sense of mystery I was left with and the spell it cast grew only stronger with the turn of the every page.

I have seen several color books of Irish landscapes and ancient structures, but the black and white photo's of Mr. Gleason are the perfect complement to a land which holds secrets that must be unraveled over time. In this sense, the book works as a whole with some photo's seeming less remarkable until you meditate on the entire mood evoked in the setting. Mr. Gleason's eye is very subtle in this regard, and allows the viewer to breathe into the photo rather than be hit over the head with it's message.

The variety of full bleed shots and double page spreads mixed in with smaller shots works well and creates a rhythm that only enhances the books magic and momentum.

The intro by Ms. Purcell is perfect for it preps the viewer with what they are about to witness in the pages to follow. Sometimes people need a little understanding before receiving the full impact of a photo book as so much of what we see visually these days is so brazen in its attempts to enchant.

In that sense, this book will release the viewer from being directed what to feel. If you can tap into your imagination you will find the stories you are looking for in these beautiful photos. It makes you wish that stones could actually talk!

This is a great addition to the existing books on Ireland and would make a great gift item to those who have any interest in this beautiful country.

Rating:
Summary: An evocative meditation in pictures and words.
Review: The irresistible allure of the Irish landscape, its ever changing skies, and its ancient treasures is captured in CONTEMPLATING IRELAND. James Gleason's vivid duotone photographs, complemented by selections from Ireland's rich poetic tradition, transport the reader to ancient Celtic burial sites, barren coastal islands, crumbling monastic ruins and deserted famine villages. Haunting land- and seascapes draw the reader to quietness: From Kerry's mountain ranges and Clare's Cliffs of Moher to Connemara's stone walls and Mayo's sea-carved coastline.

Imaginatively selected poetry mirrors the images throughout the book. Selections include works by Seamus Heaney, Richard Murphy, W.B. Yeats, John Montague, John Betjemin, as well as translations from early Irish monastic scribes.

Deirdre Purcell, whose best-selling titles include A Place of Stones and That Childhood Country, is beloved in Ireland for her lyrical portrayals of Irish life and richly descriptive narratives. Her introduction to CONTEMPLATING IRELAND shares intimate reflections about the landscape and its many textures and explores Ireland's deep spiritual traditions.

"It takes time to learn the Irish landscape and thereby the Irish character but if you give it time you will get time in return. A lot of it". - Deirdre Purcell

A native of the Fingerlakes reigon of New York and the grandson of Irish immigrants, JAMES GLEASON graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Narrative, Documentary and Editorial Photography. His work has been published in several magazines and books. Gleason lives in Washington, DC.

DEIRDRE PURCELL is a prominent Irish novelist, screenwriter, broadcaster, and journalist. Her six novels have been bestsellers published in ten languages. . . . Purcell lives in Dublin and West Cork.

Rating:
Summary: A perfect present
Review: This is a stylishly presented gift book with excellent black and white photographs and carefully selected accompanying text. The thoughtful introduction is by one of Ireland's leading fiction writers and gives us a view of Ireland in all its depth and complexity. I recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting the country.