and thesame thing.
The book followshis
artisticprocessfromhis sketchbookdraw- ;
ingsthroughto themoreconsideredwork
of theprintmaker's
workshop.Lilburn's
sketchbookdrawingsare delightful.
They
With
are immediate,freshand scribbly.
scanteconomytheyhintat morethandocumenthis experience.
The book is a pleasure.The onlytextis a
shortessayby theartistexpandinghis idea
ofWalkingDrawingMakingMemory,
explaininghow and whyhe makesdraw-
ings.He connectsthedrawingprocess
withmemory.
The plateshaveno textto
not
eventitlesor margin
distract
you,
notes.The titlesare listedat thebackof the
book.Thisallowsyou to enjoythebook as
Thereare fold-out
a purevisualexperience.
leavesfortriptychs
and panoramas.
The book starts
withnotebooksand finwork
isheswithLilburn'smoredeliberate
of
fromtheprintroom,
whicharederivative
for
He has a preference
theearlierdrawings.
and monotype.
Thesearedirect
drypoint
and immediatewaysof makingoriginal
procedures
cuttingout thelengthier
prints,
His printsarenotlabouredand
of etching.
and nervoustenretaintheimmediateness
sionof thesketchbook
drawings.
The book is publishedin a limitededition
of 300 and halfof thecopiescontainan
bylilburn.The typograoriginaldrypoint
and underis
as
phyand layout
thoughtful
statedas theworkillustrated
within,making
book. ■
ita desirableand collectable
WICKED LITTLE JOE
thoughhe was too miserlyto spend
much on him.However,by good fortune
he was a friendof Hubertand Peggy
Butlerwho looked afterhim as thoughhe
were theirown child.Theywould have
formallyfosteredhim but Nat and Biddy
refusedto hand overcontrolto this
extent.So LittleJoewas rearedin a warm
and lovingfamilywhereHubertpassed
on his love of literature.
evocativecameo
Joewritesa brilliantly
of Hubertseparating
and bottlinghoney,
sawingwood and thenreadingby the
drawingroom fire,firstin Irish,then
effortlessly
changingto Serbo- Croatand
thenFrenchwhileJoereadshis schoolboy
man
Hubertwas a remarkable
adventure.
As a
who is surelyoverduea biography.
boy he stoutlyresistedthedetermination
motherthathe should
of his formidable
abandonthenew Irelandas too cold a
Thereis
place forgentrywithouta fortune.
no doubtthathe could havebeen a huge
successat Oxfordor in Dublinbuthe preferredhis vocationas a ruralscholarin Co
Therehe and Peggymanagedan
Kilkenny.
by
elegantbutneverluxuriouslifestyle
friends
to
the
children
of
foreign
taking
learnEnglish,whichtheyspokewith
or children
Peggy'saccentand intonation,
wereservingoverseas,and
whose fathers
In this
marketgardening.
by painstaking
Little
Horatian
Joe
atmosphere
gentle
learnedhis craftas a writerand wenton to
achievegreatacclaimwithhis talkson the
BBC,his travelbooks and eightsuccessful
novels.In Peggy,Joefounda farbetter
substitute
forhis real'happy-go-unlucky'
motherand his mostloyalsupporter
life.
throughout
of his prepschooldays
Joe'sdescription
It was no worsethan
is muchexaggerated.
myprepschoolwhereI was happyas a
lark.His schoolcareer,his peccadillos,and
of
his discontent
wereno moresymptoms
his abandonment
by his parents.Buthe has
and derivation
wovenall his vicissitudes
and
intoa brilliant,
oftenhilariously
funny,
aboveall beautifully
writtenstory.■
JOSEPH HONE
LilliputPress, Dublin,2009
PP 288 ills. 28 b/wphotographsp/b
€20.00 ISBN 978 1 84351 U7 2
Peter Smithwick
4 "■"n thesummerof 1939 as a twoI year-old in LondonI was given
JL awaybymyparentsto a Chelsea
friendand takenon theIrishMail to
accuDublin.'Thisbreathtaking
buttotally
ratesentencebeginsthestoryofJoeHone's
life.He comesfroma family
eventful
long
in thelifeof Dublinas artists
distinguished
of thefirst
stockbrokers,
rank,bankers,
in short,rich
and
men
and,
lawyers literary
and privileged
people.Joe'sgrandfather
as the
JosephHone is bestremembered
ofW B.Yeatsand GeorgeMoore.
biographer
theeldestof his threechildren,
Nathaniel,
was educatedat Radleyand New College
a largefortune
froma
Oxford,inherited
from
cousin,marriedBiddyAnthony
and proceededto
Piltown,SouthKilkenny
havesevenchildren,
each ofwhomwas
givenawaysoon afterbirth.Camilluswas
thecreatorof
adoptedbyPamelaTravers,
Géraldine
and
were
MaryPoppins,
Anthony
educatedbytheirtalentedcousinEvieHone
JohnCharles
(withhelpfromArchbishop
McQuaid) and so faredratherbetterthan
theyoungestthree,who werefarmedout to
a teenagerin Cheshire(a 'dog and a liar',
Joe'ssisterSheelaghcalledher).Grandfather
Joecondescendedto look afterLittleJoe
'The early-childhood
pages are marvellousand as funnyas theyare moving.'
WILLIAM TREVOR
Niall Naessens is a printmakerand painter.
Peter Smithwickhas published widelyon aspects of
Kilkennyhistory.
WINTER 2009 I IRISH ARTS REVIEW
135
Irish Arts Review
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