Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) was a man of boundless energy and diverse talents, embracing numerous roles throughout his long and dynamic life. He wore many hats—architect, draftsman, carpenter, laborer, painter, illustrator, printmaker, commercial artist, designer, traveler, explorer, writer, lecturer, dairy farmer, and political activist.
"Greenland Journal" offers a compelling narrative of Kent's adventurous year-long stay in Igdlorssuit, Umanak District, on the western coast of Greenland from 1931 to 1932. This vivid account captures his experiences living amidst the stark beauty and harsh realities of Greenland, offering readers an intimate glimpse into the life of an artist deeply connected to his surroundings. Kent's reflections on his time in this remote Arctic landscape, accompanied by his evocative illustrations, make this journal an extraordinary blend of adventure, art, and personal insight. Whether you are drawn to tales of exploration or the inner workings of a creative mind, "Greenland Journal" promises a journey that is as enriching as it is captivating.
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From the back cover:
Of Greenland, that ice-filled, stark and glamorous "largest island" in the world wrote Marie Ahrighito Peary in the Saturday Review of Literature: "the beauty, the majesty, the grandeur have always been there," adding, "but it has taken Rockwell Kent to recognize and capture them and bring them home."
And we read-again in the Saturday Review-of Kent's "deeply felt description of nature, bold self-revelations, prose that is lyrical, and prose that crackles indignantly."
High adventure, romance, work and play, and deep reflections upon life and love and mankind's ways: these are the meat and marrow of the most unsparingly intimate of Rockwell Kent's works, his GREENLAND JOURNAL. His second personal journal to be published after a lapse of many years calls to mind his first, WILDERNESS: A JOURNAL OF QUIET ADVENTURE IN ALASKA, hailed by the New Statesman (London) as "the most remarkable book to have come out of America since LEAVES OF GRASS."
"Quiet adventure?" No, Greenland was not that! Loving that land and sharing in the dangers, joys and sorrows of the people's lives, sharing their thoughts, loving and being loved by them, he found himself. The JoURNAL transports us to a remote era in the life of Man, conjuring up by the realistic magic of its prose, an adventure less to read than, in the author's spirit, live. It offers us an experience in happiness which will become a lasting memory.
