Marigolds

MARIGOLDS

This small pamphlet-like book takes the opening line of the Nobel prize winning author Toni Morrison’s first novel The Bluest Eye (1970) as the inspiration for the words, imagery, and dye used in the work: "Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941." The lack of marigolds becomes a symbol for the family secrets and societal racism the protagonist Pecola Breedlove must bear. The bookmaker Suzanne Glemont writes, "Unable to get the passage out of my mind, I set out to design and then make a small artist book that could capture and convey these words I sought to memorialize." She uses marigold dye to strengthen the connection between the words and the paper that encases the words, a tribute to Morrison and the power of her writing. 

— Written by Clara Drummond (Special Collections) 
 
Suzanne Glemont, with the permission of Toni Morrison and Penguin Random House 
Marigolds 
Iowa City, Iowa: Stoat and Heather Press, Spring 2019 
Copy 1 of 18 
Gift of Suzanne Glemot, 2020