NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

I can do little better than use the comprehensive note on the back of this interesting volume to introduce Paul Hartal to those readers unfamiliar with his work. Hartal is listed in Canadian Who's Who, as well as Who's Who in American Art. In 1975 he published A MANIFESTO ON LYRICAL CONCEPTUALISM, a theory of art that emphasises the creative process as an interaction of emotion and intellect, where the passion of logic and the logic of passion are inexorably interwoven through the voyage of consciousness.

For Paul Hartal the heart of poetry is the poetry of the heart, yet in POSTMODERN LIGHT he transcends the realm of love and passion. In this whimsical collection his poetic sensibility balances dreamy emotion and discerning intellect, creative vision and insightful thought. His work is both serious and humorous, philosophical and surreal, formal and experimental.

In POSTMODERN LIGHT there are almost a hundred titles, some mere snippets, aphoristic in nature, and some lengthy pieces like PARMENIDES MEETS EINSTEIN and RUSSELL'S LOSS, which touch on the philosophical influences of Hartal's work, as does DESCARTES' DESPAIR.

The illustrative work range from mere accompanying doodles, through examples of poemes concrete to the full colour paintings SOLITUDE and ROBOT WITH FLOWERS on front and back covers, both of which are now in the collection of Hanseo University Art Museum in Seoul should you care to seek out the originals.

It would be more than impossible to single out favourites from such a large collection, so just let it be said that this is a collection well worth perusing and pursuing.