I just finished reading I Still Live: Biography of a Spiritualist by Annie Murphy. It is a 60 page graphic novella, though the format is a bit more like a beautiful picture book for adults (in other words, lots of full-page images). It is an homage to Achsa Sprague, a heretofore little known spiritualist who lived in 19th century Vermont. The book consists of several threads, all woven together to form a sensitive celebration of this woman's life, as well as the profound effect she's had on the book's creator. Sprague's own diary entries and poetry excerpts are scrawled throughout in script, while historical facts and Murphy's personal, modern-day accounts give the story both context and shape. The overall effect is one of getting a glimpse into the minds of two very gifted and quietly powerful women. It feels like a genuine privilege to get to read this mystic dialogue between them.
Ask your local comics shop to stock this book if they don't already! And in the meantime, you can contact Annie Murphy directly for purchase. (Also, if you check her blog, you'll see pages from her forthcoming illustrated esoteric alphabet book, for which I am of course chomping at the bit!)
That sounds amazing! I will definitely hunt this down.
Posted by: Robin | June 24, 2009 at 11:07 AM