Apology to the Moon

Apology to the Moon – A Poetry Collection by Jim Daniels

Apology to the Moon, written by Carnegie Melon University professor and poet Jim Daniels, is a collection of poems detailing the life of a man from his college days to fatherhood. When designing this book, we noted two things that stood out to us: the cyclical nature of the struggles the man goes through, and the moon/space imagery used throughout.

After a long process of trying to figure out how to represent these ideas in the design, we decided to pierce the cover in the shape of a constellation. The question remaining was seemingly simple, but hard to answer: “What constellation?”

After some digging, a few staff members came across the constellation of Hercules. As a demigod who had to face many hardships, or trials, he was a perfect choice to represent the man inside the book. On the back cover you’ll find the Hydra constellation, the creature Hercules defeated in his second labor.