my darling, my reason

By Jeff Morin
Stevens Point, Wisconsin: sailorBOYpress, 2006. Edition of 48.
7.75 x 10.75 x 1.25"; 25 pages. Type: 20th Century Light. Designed to look like a photograph album with black photographic album corners used to tip in photographs. Bound in brown mottled paper endboards with postage stamp adhered to front board. Ration stamp used for edition numbering. Housed in brown cloth dropback box.
my darling, my reason appears to be a photo album with text from letters written home by a World War II sailor. His thoughts – unexpressed, or at least not included in his letters to his wife – provide the subtext and tension .Colophon: "The substrate is gelatin-sized Hahnemühle watercolor paper. The photographs, with the exception of two obvious photo postcards, have never been published and are part of a larger collection of such images of sailors. They are editioned using an archival inkjet process on Kodak Ultima paper."
Jeffry Morin, Colophon: "The letters came to me in an anonymous way with no knowledge of the author or the relationship with his wife. This book has evolved over time from the original intention of being a photo album to a book that presents the possible thoughts of Roger D N who wrote to his wife faithfully while a sailor during World War II. Misspelling and grammatical oddities remain from the original letters. He is opinionated, perhaps stopped in time, and in the company of men. He both misses his wife and embraces a community separate from women. At what point does the mind wander and begin to consider the alternatives? What makes distraction and lust permissible?"
Excerpt:
4/16/44
"Have met many fellows and hear plenty of harrowing stories. Theres one fellow in the band Ive been with quite a bit. Hes from Denver Colo. His name is Ray Beam Very smart fellow. Independant thinker, well read etc. Why I always or almost always have to get to know fellows with such divergant ideas or religion, and general way of living kills me. Guess the appeal lies in that they think even if I disagree with them. Hes a fine fellow however."
What am I hoping for? Do I want one of these fine fellows to convince me to cross the line? We stay up most of the night talking, drinking, and being inappropriate.