The Romance of Boris Pasternak and Bill Greer

One of the most beautiful books in my collection comes from a less-expected place. Published by Hallmark Crown Editions in 1971, The Poems of Doctor Zhivago collects the poetry Boris Pasternak crafted in the name of his main character, which comprised the seventeenth and final chapter of his epic novel Doctor Zhivago. Through their inclusion in the book, Pasternak is providing the reader with a greater understanding of the character, his motivations and thoughts; according to historian Dimitri Obolensky, “Their relevance to the plot of the novel and to its hero's personality is repeatedly stressed by the author: we are told that Zhivago, already in his student days, wrote poetry distinguished by 'vigour and originality'. Much later, during the last days of his life with Lara at Varykino, he is shown composing several of the actual poems printed in the last chapter of the novel. After his parting from Lara, he wrote poetry inspired by her. And after Zhivago's return to Moscow in 1922, his poems were privately printed and sold in the bookshops of the city.”¹ These poems are meant to illustrate Yuri Zhivago’s view of the world; they “celebrate the joy of love, the pain of parting, the loneliness of war.”

Hallmark Crown Editions was a shortly lived imprint (publishing from around 1971 to 1973) that put out slightly meatier editions by Hallmark than their normal slim gift books. Last year I sent out a newsletter about another gift book—that one, of Amy Lowell’s poetry with illustrations by the same artist, was published by Hallmark Editions in 1972 and is around half the size (Sunbeam Library’s How Do I Love Thee? is even smaller). Unlike the Sunbeam Library books, which were to be given in place of greeting cards, the Hallmark Crown Editions and Hallmark Editions were supplementary gifts (though still sold in greeting card stores and pharmacies, not bookshops).

The Columbus Enquirer (Columbus, Georgia), September 4, 1967.

Four years earlier, Hallmark Editions published a smaller volume of The Poems of Doctor Zhivago (around 6¾" - 7¾") with black-and-white line drawings by Bill Greer (scroll down to the bottom to see some examples). For the 1971 Hallmark Crown version, Greer redid all the illustrations in full colour with fully revised translations of the poems.