ORPHEUS: THE SONG OF LIFE by Ann Wroe

Coming this week from Overlook, a new book exploring the mythological biography of history's first poet, Orpheus: The Song of Life by Economist editor Ann Wroe.

Perhaps you've heard Orpheus's song. The story of "the young man with the lyre" has been told and retold across the ages. A king, a shaman, and a traveler through the realms of the dead, his music has the power to change landscapes, seasons, and hearts. Since the dawn of time, his figure has wandered history through the evocation of countless poets, artists, and composers. Half-man, half-god, musician, magician, theologian, poet and lover we've seen him tantalizing Cicero and Plato, breathing new music in Gluck and Monteverdi, occupying the mind of Jung and the surreal dreams of Cocteau, and scandalizing the Fathers of the early Church.

In Orpheus, Ann Wroe journeys to discover the origins of the evanescent wizard wonderer, tracing both the man and power he represents through the myriad versions of a fantastical life. Inspired by a sequence of sonnets composed by Rilke in the space of weeks beginning in 1922, Wroe draws on all available sources, both ancient and modern including those attributed to Orpheus himself, to form the coherent life story of history's first great artist and muse. Divided into seven chapters, each representing a string of Orpheus's lyre, Wroe captures the influence of her subject on a veritable pantheon of writers and musicians including Ovid, Virgil, Milton, Shelley, and Keats as well as a host of others. More than a simple retelling of the Orpheus legend, under Wroe's creative spell this genre-defying synthesis of history, biography, and criticism pays homage to a character whose life we may not fully understand, but whose legacy continues to remain foundational to our own.

Advance Praise for Orpheus 

"Orpheus is a book of wonders, learned, playful, and passionate ... For all her studies, her wide reading, her historical diligence, Wroe's method is instinctive, as she searches for inspirations and connections across the millennia." — John Banville (The Guardian)

"A transformative adventure of myth ... A book to make readers laugh, sing, and weep." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"The book sings in a learned, singular manner." — Publishers Weekly

"Wroe combines a scholar's attention to evidence with a poet's flair for words in this startlingly original history that traces the obscure origins and tangled relationships of the Orpheus myth from ancient times through today." — Library Journal

Milton Glaser's Latest Overlook Collaboration

Available March 14, we are thrilled to publish Milton Glaser’s new book, In Search of The Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another, a unique and lavishly illustrated volume based on his exhibit of the same name, which unveiled in 2010 at the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).

Borne from a phrase that has persisted in Glaser’s memory for many years, In Search of the Miraculous offers a rare and exclusive view into the creative process behind his design work, revealing ideas and sketches that organically developed into practical applications for both commercial work and deeply personal art. While demonstrating how design concepts build on one another or are repurposed by the designer, Glaser expounds on the idea that the pursuit and the risks involved in creating art are what become most illuminating and valuable in an artist or designer’s career.

In Search of the Miraculous is Glaser’s fourth book published with Overlook, following Graphic Design, Art is Work, and Drawing is Thinking. Aside from being a visionary and icon in the world of graphic arts, Glaser is a delight to work with and has been a dear friend to our publisher Peter Mayer for many years. In the video below, Peter speaks about the moment when he and Milton Glaser became colleagues to collaborate on his first book, Graphic Design.

EARLY PRAISE FOR IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS

“In Search of the Miraculous aptly captures the tension involved in reconciling the artist’s aspirations to do great work and the client’s objectives. This book eloquently, articulately, and with great panache, and provocation, illuminates the extraordinary outcomes that emerge when the artistic process miraculously works.”

--New York Journal of Books

"Artists, designers, and art students will appreciate this little, low-key exhibition catalog."

--Library Journal