British wood engraver Peter Forster died earlier this year; he was 86. On first encountering his engravings, English printer Michael Mitchell wrote:
His engravings were assured, covering a wide range of subjects, wittily observed and based on excellent draughtsmanship, not surprisingly when I learned he had been working as a professional designer (albeit with increasing distaste and paranoia).
Mitchell observed that Forster had a self-deprecating attitude toward his work, with a wry, even surreal sense of humor. To commemorate his life and work, we present a few of Forster’s engravings as printed in Matrix 6, Winter 1986, to accompany his own article “Portrait of the Wood-engraver in Middle Age,” pp. 72-75. The engravings from top to bottom are:
1.) H. M. Britannic Majesty, Duke, and Merman originally printed in Britannic Majesty (Libanus Press).
2.) The Miller's Tale from Canterbury Tales (Folio Society).
3.) Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.
4.) Stranger on a train.
5.) From The Symposium (Libanus Press).
6.) Oscar Wilde.
7.) From The Press (Fleece Press).
8.) Magna Carta from Malaprop Chronicle (Malaprop Press).
9.) The Whitehall Venus (Malaprop Press).
10.) Green Man.
Of his medium, Forster wrote:
Is wood-engraving an Art or a Craft -- or a Therapy -- or is it, like having sex, or knitting, or reading a newspaper, simply a method of amusing cats? It is difficult to engrave if a cat is sitting on the block or has his nose two inches from the sharp end. . . . Cats take the most active interest in the actual practice of wood-engraving, the manipulation of the block on the bag, the exact angle of the anglepoise, the orderly disposition of tools. They take as much interest in the finished result as do most publishers, most galleries and most people. Cats are unique in that they would never call a wood-engraving a ‘woodcut,’ though it would be as pointless explaining the difference . . . to them as to anyone else. . . .
Wood-engraving must be the most long-winded method of making a rather small picture ever devised. Wood-engraving is just as about as spontaneous a means of self-expression as making a soufflé.
Matrix was printed by John and Rosalind Randle at the Whittington Press in England, and is a donation from our friend Jerry Buff.
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"The filmmaker, having scrupulously established the world of film noir, queers it by shattering the categories — both narrative and cinematic — of the world itself."
Peter Forster , German Pro Racer for Team Stradalli – Safetti
As Peter Forster’s collegiate road season continues; his last 6 races have been all very successful. The races in Clemson, Brevard and the home race in Atlanta, 6 out of the 4 races have been wins, and 3 of those wins have been by peter on his new Stradalli San Remo on the Top step. After a tough 6 races with his Stradalli team mate Andy Scarano he was also trying new racing tactics that he has learned from being in the US. Skeptical at first he put faith in his teammates and it was proven to be successful; with a two man attack tactic attempted at the race in Brevard. Fellow Teammate Sean Fincham and Peter attacked the field with 20 minutes to go and managed to stay away until the finish resulting in a double win.
Peter continues to pull away with his lead in the south east collegiate cycling conference on his brand new Stradalli San Remo Carbon Frame and the help of his sponsors Safetti, Met-Rx and NOW Helmets with great support, feedback and race proven results. Coming up will be the last collegiate cycling event of the conference in Johnson City at Milligan University. In these race riders score twice as many point’s than in a normal race, peter should be able to secure his lead in the collegiate Men’s Class A without a problem. Good luck to Peter and the rest of the SCAD Team.
Peter Forster is an interesting poet. I read his work online regularly and wanted to know about the mysterious man behind the words. So, here he is.
The plain in simple truth is that I enjoy writing. I always have. Sometimes it feels like the flow of hungry words is never ending and I will be swept right off my feet, carried along on an imaginative stream of unconscious process…
