Vanishing is a collaboration Rhiannon Alpers, Holly Downing and Jane Hirshfield
2021
Edition of 20
Book measures 7.25” x 7.25” x 1” closed and 140” fully open

The poetry and imagery in Vanishing revolve around insects currently considered threatened or endangered. They are part of the quote-unquote insect apocalypse. Threats to their survival include habitat loss and fragmentation, invasion of non-native species, pesticide application, and global warming.

The insects included are: Monarch Butterfly, Red-Winged Grasshopper, Delta Green Ground Beetle, Rusty Patched Bumblebee, Stag Beetle, Bay Checkerspot Butterfly, Hawaiian Green Sphinx Moth, American Burying Beetle, Smith’s Blue Butterfly, Southern Damselfly, and Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle.

Holly Downing engraved and hand-colored the eleven 3” x 3” mezzotints. She was assisted in the editioning process by Toni Stirling in her Sebastopol studio. Rhiannon Alpers designed, letterpress printed, and bound the edition in San Francisco. She also made the handmade paper for the interleaved pages.

The papers are Rives BFK from France, Arjowiggins Kea Kolour Vellum Sombre Grey, and a handmade cotton rag that was created by Rhiannon Alpers for the edition. The enclosure is a drop spine magnet box with a museum glass panel in Dubletta bookcloth.

The edition of twenty was produced with six additional artist’s copies which are not for sale.

Jane Hirshfield’s poems first appeared in the following books: “Heart Starting and Stopping in the Late Dark,” from The Lives of the Heart (NY: HarperCollins, 1997); “Bees,” from The Lives of the Heart (NY: HarperCollins,, 1997); “Downed Branch,” from After (NY: HarperCollins, 2006); “Love in August,” from Come, Thief (NY: Knopf, 2011); “Rock,” from Given Sugar, Given Salt (NY: HarperCollins, 2001); “Ghazal for the End of Time,” from Ledger (NY: Knopf, 2020).

All poems © Jane Hirshfield, used by permission; all rights reserved.

Photo credit: Luz Marina Ruiz 2021