The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, ill. by Murray Kimber. Toronto: KCP Poetry, 2005. ISBN: 9781553374251
Annotation: Kimber’s artwork modernizes and parallels Noyes’ classic poem, using an art deco New York setting, motorcycles and police cars to appeal to today’s youths
Media: rendered in charcoal, conté, and acrylic on paper
Rating: 4Q/4P
lss August/2009
Noyes, A. (2005). Illustrated by Murray Kimber. The Highwayman. New York: Kids Can Press Ltd. ISBN 1-55337-425-8
The original Noyes poem is updated with beautiful illustrations. The poem is adapted to a New York gangster style setting while still using the original Noyes text.
Media - Illustrator Murray Kimber was excited to make the classic poem The Highwayman relevant to today’s readers. He originally found himself limited by the poem’s historical context but when decided to create a parallel work of art, a larger theme of anti-hero struggling against authority emerged. He was inspired by his experience with comic books, gangster movies, and film noir. The images replace the scenes of the moonlit winter nights over the purple moor with scenes of American cops and robbers. The illustrations for the book were rendered in charcoal, conte, and acrylic on paper.
Rating - 5Q/5P
Curriculum Connection - High School; can be used in the Language Arts curriculum to help kids better understand the original poem or to show how art influences interpretation
MBallenger 5/4/08
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