Overview
Crispin Best, Hello (Partus, 2019). 96-page paperback.
Cover Design
Hello is Crispin Best’s debut poetry collection. The inspiration behind this cover was the baby chameleon that turns up in the final poem, which could stand as the book’s totem animal: a creature whose flamboyance is also its camouflage. There is a shy exuberance to Crispin’s writing that helps him to tread a line between hilarity and heartbreak without ever letting his reader settle for either. The four-way gradient continues over the spine and back cover, as well as onto the French flaps. The physical texture of the cover lends the colours a tactile warmth. The oversize type is kept in check by its understated whiteness, helping to balance the foreground and the background.
