The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

by Ursula K. LeGuin
 
with a series of carvings by
Heather Bryant
 
The Story
 
I came across The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas while reading The Unreal and the Real, a collection of short stories by LeGuin. Although the city it describes fits perfectly within her richly drawn universe, the story stands independently from her other work. William James, whom LeGuin credits at the start, originally posed the moral problem from which the story is based on. Is the happiness of many worth the intentional suffering of one? Such a timeless problem seemed worth the fine press treatment.
 
The Artist
 
Heather Bryant-Warnalis is inspired by sacred cosmologies and folklore. Her drawings, paintings, and collages capture intrinsic encounters of divergent forms that seem to be faced with the decision of accepting or rejecting each other. These other-worldly beings seek to capture the essence of primordial existence in interconnected environments that allude to where the origins of life began. The focus of her research is to investigate the boundaries of sentience and the struggle between vice and virtue, being in this world but not of this world. The carvings that she created for this project explore texture to unite forms while also isolating them. This dualistic quality of carved line emphasizes the kindred experiences that we all share.
 
The Book
 
The Prototype Press publication was printed in an edition of 28 copies. Five cases of 24pt Goudy Text were cast fresh for the project. The choice of blackletter, along with the type size and the layout, all aim to give the reader a sense of biblical reverence. The book is bound in full hot pink goat leather, made special for the edition. Matched with the bright white handmade paper from Saint Armand, and the pitch black printed text and carvings, the hot pink leather is intended to be beautiful,  visceral and unsettling, much like the city of Omelas. The book is housed in a hinged black book box with lock and key. Unless a reader is visiting, it must always be kept locked. Cast, printed and bound by the press. Each copy is signed by the artist.