About this ebook
Italy, Vittoria Colonna was known for her ardent, but also deeply
spiritual, verses. This volume reproduces ten of her sonnets in the
original Italian alongside new English versions of compelling
simplicity, and complements both with a sequence of moving black and
white photographs. Governor General’s Award winner Jan Zwicky gives
Colonna’s spiritual insights a contemporary voice, while photographer
and noted mathematician Robert Moody paces her words against a visual
meditation on the Passion story, as conveyed by Subirachs’ sculptures
for the basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The volume’s
juxtaposition of poetry and photography illuminates the passion,
reverence, and timelessness of both Subirachs’ and Colonna’s work.
About the author
Jan Zwicky is a poet, philosopher and musician whose work is often cited for its intense lyricism. She studied philosophy at the University of Calgary, then earned her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, and subsequently taught at a number of North American universities. She is a prolific essayist and the author of a dozen books, including Lyric Philosophy and Wisdom & Metaphor. Her poetry has won the Governor General’s Award (Songs for Relinquishing the Earth, 1998), the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize (Robinson’s Crossing, 2004), and numerous other accolades. Originally from the prairies, Zwicky now lives on Quadra Island, British Columbia.
Robert Moody is a mathematician whose professional life has revolved around the mathematics of symmetry and long-range order. Moody studied mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Toronto, before joining the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan and, later, the University of Alberta. He is internationally recognized for his co-discovery of what are known as the Kac-Moody algebras, one of the significant advances in mathematics in the latter half of the twentieth century. His enduring pursuit of black and white photography, with its emphasis on simplicity, form and abstraction, is a visual complement to his mathematics. He is a winner of the Wigner Medal and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He makes his residence in Victoria, British Columbia.
