austraLasia #3297
MELBOURNE: 14 October 2013 -- A Salesian Family combined tour from the Australia-Pacific Province is just back from visiting the Francis de Sales and Don Bosco 'haunts', aka holy places in and around Annecy and Turin, Chieri, Colle, not to forget Mornese, Rome.... but more on that at another time. The group was led by Fr Peter Carroll, currently Rector at Engadine, NSW (think Sydney, if you are unsure of local geography), and this is the right time to draw attention to a wonderful piece of work by Peter that would be a worthwhile gift for anybody in the English-speaking world to have: indeed, it goes under the title "The Gift of Don Bosco."
This solid, hard-cover 15cm x15cm item is intended to inspire in every aspect: the text, written by Peter, draws from, but is not bound to, the Memoirs of the Oratory. Not being a translation of any kind, it is freed from the inevitable signs of 'source language' that can bedevil Salesian literature; the reader will find it a fluent and attractive prose style in every respect. Peter has chosen to reword the historical details under the concept of 'the dream' - a fairly obvious choice really, but it is certainly an excellent choice as 'The Dream Begins', followed by 'Focusing the Dream', 'Enlarging and Perpetuating the Dream', 'Dreaming to the Ends of the Earth'.
The other delightful feature of this small book (though it runs to 128 pages) is provided by his collaborator Lynne Muir. Here is an outstanding illustrator, calligrapher and book-designer at work. A Melbourne-based award-winning artist, she has a particular interest in medieval and Celtic design, but has had no difficulty in capturing the best of Don Bosco in a series of vignettes that accompany the text - and she is also responsible for the calligraphic fonts used for whole page citations from various works by Don Bosco which Peter has aptly chosen. These are 18th century versions of Baskerville font. The feature headings are 16th century Humanist Italic script which she believes is "similar to Don Bosco's own handwriting style"! As someone who has had to deal with that directly, this is one point with which I am not in agreement! Humanist, yes, 'Italic' - if that includes sloping in both directions!! Nevertheless, it is worth citing a comment made on her website: ‘I see myself as a communicator, not just being an artist. It’s often the text that is the inspiration for that.’ She clearly found that in Peter's text.
The Gift of Don Bosco is published by John Garrat Publishing (and, curiously, printed in China). Click to find details on pricing and availability
MELBOURNE: 14 October 2013 -- A Salesian Family combined tour from the Australia-Pacific Province is just back from visiting the Francis de Sales and Don Bosco 'haunts', aka holy places in and around Annecy and Turin, Chieri, Colle, not to forget Mornese, Rome.... but more on that at another time. The group was led by Fr Peter Carroll, currently Rector at Engadine, NSW (think Sydney, if you are unsure of local geography), and this is the right time to draw attention to a wonderful piece of work by Peter that would be a worthwhile gift for anybody in the English-speaking world to have: indeed, it goes under the title "The Gift of Don Bosco."
This solid, hard-cover 15cm x15cm item is intended to inspire in every aspect: the text, written by Peter, draws from, but is not bound to, the Memoirs of the Oratory. Not being a translation of any kind, it is freed from the inevitable signs of 'source language' that can bedevil Salesian literature; the reader will find it a fluent and attractive prose style in every respect. Peter has chosen to reword the historical details under the concept of 'the dream' - a fairly obvious choice really, but it is certainly an excellent choice as 'The Dream Begins', followed by 'Focusing the Dream', 'Enlarging and Perpetuating the Dream', 'Dreaming to the Ends of the Earth'.
The other delightful feature of this small book (though it runs to 128 pages) is provided by his collaborator Lynne Muir. Here is an outstanding illustrator, calligrapher and book-designer at work. A Melbourne-based award-winning artist, she has a particular interest in medieval and Celtic design, but has had no difficulty in capturing the best of Don Bosco in a series of vignettes that accompany the text - and she is also responsible for the calligraphic fonts used for whole page citations from various works by Don Bosco which Peter has aptly chosen. These are 18th century versions of Baskerville font. The feature headings are 16th century Humanist Italic script which she believes is "similar to Don Bosco's own handwriting style"! As someone who has had to deal with that directly, this is one point with which I am not in agreement! Humanist, yes, 'Italic' - if that includes sloping in both directions!! Nevertheless, it is worth citing a comment made on her website: ‘I see myself as a communicator, not just being an artist. It’s often the text that is the inspiration for that.’ She clearly found that in Peter's text.
The Gift of Don Bosco is published by John Garrat Publishing (and, curiously, printed in China). Click to find details on pricing and availability
