Mr. Sean McGrath '07 has already made a deep imprint on Wilbraham & Monson Academy as a member of the English Department, coach, dorm parent and friend.
By the time he departs the Academy this summer for a new teaching position in California, count on Mr. McGrath leaving a lasting impression, with the help of Fine & Performing Arts Department member Wendy Decker,
Mr. McGrath and Ms. Decker are scheduled to release their first book, "Oculus," June 15. The hardcover book will include 24 poems written since 2012 by Mr. McGrath, supported by Ms. Decker's illustrations.
"There's a lot of poetry out there, much of it for free, so I wanted to create something that was both personal and generous," said Mr. McGrath, who has been hired to be an English teacher at Fairmont Prep Academy in Anaheim, Calif. "Once Wendy and I began floating around the idea of adding illustrations to the poetry, that's when we got serious. And then when I realized I was leaving WMA, in late winter, we really put a timeline on this."
The 60-page book will include themes of life, death, rebirth, life cycles and the changing of seasons, both literally and metaphorically. Mr. McGrath's personal works of poetry are profound in both meaning and volume, but it wasn't until he connected with Ms. Decker that his vision of a poetry book came into full focus.
"I think a lot of times poetry can be inaccessible to the reader," Mr. McGrath said. "Wendy's illustrations provide a window into seeing some of the themes of these poems more clearly. It can help guide the reader to specific images or draw them into a certain place or space. It allows the reader to further imagine that space."
The biggest challenge for Ms. Decker was working out of her comfort zone, creating pieces from someone else's ideas and beliefs.
"The most challenging part is for me to turn the words into images," Ms. Decker explained. "Usually, I draw from life, but this forces me to think about the imagery differently and piece together the composition in a way that I usually don't. Most of the illustrations require multiple sketches before we decide on a final design.
"We're excited to be doing something tangible instead of just giving ideas and having conversation. It's finally going into something people can read and look back on, and this is one last hurrah before Sean leaves and something we're doing creatively together."
With all of the poems written and the illustrations nearly complete, fate was on Sean's side regarding the title of the book.
"We were in Binney Hall in the teachers' workspace, which is overlooked by a circular window, or an oculus," Sean said. "We were gazing up out of this window brainstorming titles when this one came to us. We think it encompasses not only the circularity of a lot of the works, but connects with the vantage through which we'd like the readers to see this piece as a whole."
Click here to order "Oculus," available for pre-sale until June 1 for $18.