The making of paintings and the writing of poetry are solitary activities. They are the property of the senses and are often beyond reason's frail reach. Artist Ken Kirkby considers poetry the highest of the art forms, so it was with surprise and delight that he learned Manolis, an exceptionally fine poet, was interested in a collaboration. The results are this beautiful book.

Manolis (Emmanuel Aligizakis) was born in the small village Kolibari west of Chania on the Greek island of Crete in 1947. At a young age his family moved first to Thessaloniki and then to Athens where he was educated, achieving a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences at the Panteion University of Athens. He served in the armed forces for two years, and emigrated to Vancouver in 1973, where he worked in several different jobs over the years. He attended Simon Fraser University for a year, taking English Literature in a non-degree program. He has written three novels and a large number of collections of poetry, which are slowly appearing as published works. Various articles, poems and short stories in Greek as well as in English have appeared in various magazines and newspapers in Canada, United States, Australia and Greece. After working as an iron worker, train labourer, taxi driver and stock broker, he now lives in White Rock where he spends his time writing, gardening and traveling. In 2006 he founded Libros Libertad, an unorthodox and independent publishing company in Surrey, BC with the goal of publishing literary books.

Manolis Aligizakis' profile page

Born in England, raised in Portugal, Ken moved to Canada in 1958. He travelled with the Inuit across Canada's far north, recording the landscape, the people and the conditions in a vast collection of drawings. It was during this time that Ken discovered the "Inukshuks". Since moving to Vancouver Island, he has focused on the West Coast in his work.

Ken Kirkby's profile page

Vespers is a stunning collection that takes one away from the warmth and comfort of domestic life and throws one into the Canadian wilderness. Ken Kirby's paintings offer the perfect compliment to Manolis' words. Together they have created an artistic gift that allows the reader to experience the vastness of this country. The harshness of the Canadian north is juxtaposed with the raw beauty that exists in that space, where linear time is forgotten and circle of nature rules. This is truly a beautiful collection that weaves together the visual and poetic to tell the story of the emotional extremes of life in the far north.

Cathi Shaw