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BOOK LOOK
W
riters have penned
words of love
throughout the cen-
turies. Favorites in the English
language include Shakespeare's
sonnets and the poetry of
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The
Italians often recite the love son-
nets of the 14th century poet
Petrarch. The words of 20th cen-
tury Indian poet Rabindranath
Tagore also come to mind.
Long before these poets graced
the world with their romantic and
passionate words of love, there
was "The Song of Songs." Found
in the Old Testament, the 117
verses of the "Songs" have pro-
vided lovers with some of the
most passionate and lasting love
poetry ever written.
The true meaning of their
words, however, continues to be
debated. Are the verses a celebra-
tion of romantic love or an allego-
ry of divine love and redemption?
In a new book, The Song of
Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden
(Jewish Publication Society; $75),
author and artist Debra Band
offers an illuminated work in
which these two lines of interpre-
tation are harmonized within a
visual context:
Like "The Song of Songs"
themselves, her lovely calligraphy,
artwork and paper cuts are both
literal and allegorical, sensuous as
well as spiritual.
The 65 full-page illuminations
in the book draw upon classic rab-
binic texts and modern scholar-
ship. The art is accompanied by
the artist's interpretation of the
images, and it includes the Bible
text in its original Hebrew, next
to translations by the Jewish
Publication Society and the new
David Band translation.
This new publication would
make a lovely gift for weddings,
anniversaries and other occasions
celebrating romantic love. ❑
THE HONEYBEE IN THE GARDEN
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— Gail Zimmerman,
creative editor
The
Words Of Love
I went, down to the walnut grove,
to see the fresh growth by the stream,
to see whether the fresh vines have flowered,
whether the pomegranates have budded.
Before I was aware,
she set me in a chariot beside my people's prince.
From "'The Song of Songs 6:11 12," translated by David Band;
illuminatiOn by Debra Band, from The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the Garden
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JUNE 2005 • JNPLATINUM
"The man exults in the pleasure he finds with his lover," writes Debra Band,_ in
explaining her artwork accompanying these two verses.
"The crown-shaped painting shows the garden at dawn. Behind the curtains
shielding the bed, the bedcover and the woman's blue and gold cloak have fallen
to the floor. Walnuts and brilliant pomegranate blossoms have dropped onto the
crumpled cloth. A candle stub still smokes as the faint dawn light dapples the dark
tiles with the shadows of the garden's greenery"
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