[Hudson Owen]

Attached is a link to two trial covers for a collection of whimsical, satirical Sixties-oriented poems.

You can toggle back and forth between the large image and small image at the bottom of page.
As usual, I have technical difficulties with these things--I could not get the image icon to work.
This is not a Wordpress post, so do not leave a comment on the image page. Ignore the "kiss" image at bottom of page.

[/url] http://hudowen.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=863[/url]

What do you think?

 

[Hudson Owen]

These both have the "homemade" look, I'm afraid. But ... it is poetry, where chapbooks are common. I don't know. I wouldn't click on either thumbnail myself.

Yes, I designed the covers using stock images. If you search "poetry" on Amazon, the first books that will show up are austere two-tone covers with white titles. These are not chapbooks. I wanted something with more color and art than those books. A contemporary poet like Mary Oliver will use a still image of a placid scene from nature. Poetry book covers, in general, do not resemble romance or YA or sci fi covers.

 

[Hudson Owen]

The bright one has just too much going on. It's like some sort of psychedelic vomit and not in a good way. The other one looks like a Guitar lesson book. It doesn't say enough about what's going to be inside.

I like the sound of this character. I want to know more about him - the cover should reflect this dude. This awesome sixties dude. So here is my go at it!

Wow! Really impressive improv cover! Remember, a blurb accompanies the cover, which describes this fictional world in some detail. Although there is a long poem titled "All Go to a Rock Convert," Peezis himself is not a musican. With "psychedelic," you're in the right ballpark. I would not describe the artist's work as "vomit,"

 

[Hudson Owen]

Offence noted.

No offense intended.

 

[Hudson Owen]

Why not ... that's what I thought of it. You asked my opinion. If you just want 'lip service' why ask people for their opinion?

Here's some nice psychedelic images I've found from stock that I think are tasteful. And if done right could make a good cover:

BTW, if you do search on shutterstock for 'psychedelic' you'll find them.

Yes, these are groovy psychedelic images. Thanks.

 

[Hudson Owen]

If I was stoned or if I had just dropped acid, the one with the flower would appeal to me more, of those two. But, honestly, if I was clicking through covers, I'd pass over both to check out Humblenations' flaming guitar player.

I did note Humblenations' flaming guitar. It's quite spectacular, more suited to a rock cd cover than my book of poems. My experience with LSD, or what I took to be acid, was more subtle than psychedelic images. For example, the wall of my 1968 apartment, illuminated by a colored light bulb, undulated in time with the music. It was a good trip, as I recall.

 

[Hudson Owen]

I tripped a bunch of times, and they were all good. Too bad that stuff's so brutal on the body. Never had any true hallucinations, just the visual traces and melting. But it was fun. Ah well, those were the days.

You're right, fun while it lasted. Haven't done any no-medicinal drugs in years, or felt the need.

 

[Hudson Owen]

Different stroked for different folks. I find the colorful flower cover enchanting, vibrant, and inviting. The other one feels a bit flat to me.

Thanks. One vote more for the flower.

 

[Hudson Owen]

The ball-bearing at the top of the flower picture is distracting. The guitar is much more interesting. I think you like features of both images and so I combined the two images plus changed the font scheme. I think the fonts are what made the other images "home made" Notice how two fonts are used, balanced the poem cycle at the bottom vs your name at the top. If I were to fiddle some more I'd blend out the inset frame of brown that cuts vertically through the words and trim the image at the edges of the brown instead of the white frame from a quick cut. I'd call it "Poetry" instead of "A Poem Cycle" but I'm not in that market so I have no idea which is more appropriate. You could fiddle with contrast and brightness balance between the flowers, guitar, background, and fonts too.

Very nice! Thoughtful of you. I missed the ball bearing. A cycle indicates a closer connection among the poems than merely saying 'poems' of 'collection, Thank you! I like the flower overlay.