Beyond the pane

Bookshelf / Illustrators / Outstanding individuals

Lockdown. Possible the single word that will be forever linked to 2020. There’s no doubt that the pandemic has forced us to change how we interact with our world, and being isolated inside our homes has made us appreciate the world outside our own windows.

These windows have allowed us to daydream and to process what it means to be apart, to make sense of many unfamiliar feelings.

This experience has inspired Harry Meakin, an outstanding designer at UK agency Clout Branding to design a book of poetry which captures people’s views during lockdown, both literally and metaphorically.

‘Beyond the pane – a poetic ‘time capsule’ inspired by our experience of lockdown’ brings together 20 poems, from published poets and professional writers to teachers, florists and sculptors with contributions from Nick Asbury, Poppy Collier, Jim K Davies, Lesley Ingram, Christopher James, Elizabeth Facer, Anthony Sprouse, Bronia Sawyer, David Babatunde Wilson, Sophy Bristow, Stephen Meakin, Jessica Shelley, Richard Skinner, Eleanor Rawling, Tom Evans, Scott Perry, Emily Penny, George Cavaney, Rebecca Magnus and Angharad Wynne.

Harry wanted the book to “capture the mood of the situation, so I designed and illustrated it to look quite stark allowing the power of the words to allow people to reflect on their experiences.”

Each contributor was set the brief of writing a poem and supplying a photo of their view through a window which was then illustrated. A selection of 20 poems were chosen and illustrated for the final version.

Go support this worthy and frankly, beautiful initiative by purchasing a copy of ‘Beyond the pane’.

kickstarter.com/projects/beyondthepane/beyond-the-pane/