Peter Gizzi and Jon Beacham
2020

Ship of State was written by Peter Gizzi in 2018. It is a poem about grief, public and private. The poem tries to understand and accept the condition of death in life and life in the midst of death, both one’s own and that of others. It is an ecstatic meditation on empathy and survival. The title refers both to the dark political reality of our present as well as the private relationship one has with confronting a body lying in state. The poem is accompanied by original artwork throughout by Jon Beacham. This work bears unflinching witness to silence and space, with the only trace of the human world being that of the house which, in this context, could represent the house of the dead. Among these houses are landscapes in all seasons, in their bareness and bounty, interspersed within this harrowing and original poem. This work brings the relationship of collaboration between Gizzi and Beacham to a distilled vision of frailty, of life, and what remains.

Hand set and printed letterpress in Univers Light, cast by The Bixler Letterfoundry.
Binding by Amy Borezo at ShelterBookworks. Typesetting, letterpress printing and book design by Jon Beacham.

Clothbound, with paste down to cover
44 pages, 8 x 10.5 inches
Each book contains six original collages by
Jon Beacham that are unique to each edition.

Edition of 12