sewn paper
Poetry / Art
1984
80 pages
ISBN 0-88984-057-1
$7.95
The Amorous Unicorn
Florence Vale
`Here is yet another beautifully produced book from the Porcupine's Quill.
This attractive little volume features the work of artist Florence Vale (born 1909).
Twenty-one of Vale's drawings are reproduced here, for the most part frankly
erotic in subject. Vale's pen-and-ink drawings are elegant and whimsical, and
the volume is enhanced by three attractive watercolours in pastel tones. The artwork
is accompanied by fifty short poems by the artist, witty amorous ditties, naughty
limericks, and poems celebrating sexual desire, which complement the drawings.
This tasteful erotica, distinctive in its feminine point of view, is intended for
an adult audience.' `The Amorous Unicorn by Florence Vale dances with glee around the
inhibitions and sensibilities of her friends. Vale has poetic talent, and a strong
feel for imagery. When she is not being entertaining or sexy, she is very good,
as in "Mulberry Bush":
Tear the heart away `In a workshop, those last few lines would have been removed to make
a more poetic statement. But it wouldn't have been Flory.' `The Amorous Unicorn, by artist Florence Vale, is a children's
book for adults. Vale approaches her subject -- erotic adult life -- with
a child's abandon. The book is a grand romp through the life of the senses,
full of pollen-laden bees, black butterflies and sweaty thighs. ... The
Dionysian dimension is delicately tempered by moments of mature sadness,
auch as in "Leaves Hung Down", an understated lament for a dead child.
Vale's poems scorn laboured interpretation; her craft is open, generous,
and confident -- a gift to the reader.'
-- Vivienne Denton, Canadian Materials
become a mulberry bush
Worms will eat your leaves
spitting pure silk
to be spun
and woven /
safely impersonal
-- Michael Warren, Poetry Toronto
-- Bruce Pirie, Canadian Literature
When she was eighteen, she met Dutch-born artist, Albert Jacques Franck, when he was swimming inuctor at the Oakwood pool. Two years later they were married. Their life together is described in Harold Town's Albert Franck: Keeper of the Lanes, published after Franck's death in 1973.
In 1950 and 1951, Vale and Franck organized the Unaffiliated Artists exhibitions at the Eaton's College Street Gallery, and in 1952, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, giving unique public exposure to the work of young artists like Cahen, Hodgson, Mead, Ronald, Town, Yarwood and Vale and Franck.
Florence Vale's own career as a professional artist had begun in 1948. A major retrospective of her work was organized in 1980 by Natalie Luckyj for the Agnes Etherington Art Centre at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and toured galleries throughout central and eastern Canada, including the Arts Gallery of Ontario and the Dalhousie Gallery in Halifax. Her work is in major public and private collections throughout Canada, the United States and Great Britain. She is represented by the Gadatsy Gallery, Toronto.
Vale's tiny 1965 pen and ink drawing `Pyramid of Roses' inspired Harold Town's series of Vale Variations as well as Pyramid of Roses, Christopher Chapman and Gordon McLennan's 70mm and Dolby stereo short film production, with music by Harry Freedman, celebrating both Town's Variations and the original Vale drawing. The first volume of her work, Florence Vale: Selected Drawings and Verse, was published in 1979 by Aya Press, Toronto.