The Singing Bullets of Soft Secession
Book Title: The Singing Bullets of Soft Secession & Other DaySongs
Client: Paul E. Nelson, Seattle, WA
Timeline: November 2025
Overview: The Singing Bullets of Soft Secession & Other DaySongs is a poetry collection rooted in the DaySong form—a 24-hour writing ritual in which a long-form poem is composed continuously over the span of a single day. In this practice, time functions as a structural constraint, much like spatial limits in forms such as postcard poetry. Grounded in the idea that one day can serve as a synecdoche for a life, the DaySong captures attention, perception, and lived experience as they unfold in real time.
The cover design for this collection needed to foreground landscape as both subject and metaphor. Centered on a photographed cliff face, the challenge was to preserve the integrity and texture of the rock formation while integrating title, author, and supporting text—allowing the image to remain primary while carrying the weight and tone of the poems it contains.
Design Approach: The layout was built around the natural texture and tonal variation of the rock face, drawing a restrained palette from the image itself—weathered grays, oxidized orange, and muted cream. Typography was positioned to avoid obscuring key visual details, allowing the photograph to remain dominant.
To create a sense of continuity, the rock image was mirrored and extended across the front and back covers, forming a continuous wrap. This approach not only strengthens the visual narrative, but also helps mitigate minor alignment shifts during printing, reinforcing the book’s physical cohesion.
The Singing Bullets of Soft Secession & Other DaySongs, by Paul E. Nelson, full book jacket mock up