Sea Voyage with Pigs

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island and an honorary chief of the Lennox Island
Mi’kmaq of Prince Edward Island.

In 2000, the award-winning pianist and author William Aide became the
inaugural holder of the University of Toronto’s R.E. Edwards Chair in
piano performance. In 1996, he published his autobiography, Starting
from Porcupine. His second book of poetry, Sea Voyage with Pigs, is a
suite of poems based on Chopin’s Opus 28 Preludes.

A brief introduction supplies the background to the composition of the
preludes in 1838–39. Many of the poems are dramatic monologues
narrated by Chopin and different members of his circle, most notably his
lover, George Sand. Chopin’s illnesses, his failed relationships, and
his music and aesthetic concerns are recurring themes.

Sea Voyage with Pigs is handsomely produced, with each poem facing a
page of music from each prelude. The book comes with a compact disc of
the Preludes, impressively performed by William Aide himself.