This collection of 65 drypoint etchings from the brilliant Gertrude Degenhardt was created while the artist was in the West of Ireland - apparently one of her favorite haunts. Drawn directly onto the copperplate, these images - by turns whimsical and exuberant, melancholy and sometimes sinister - capture the contradictory feelings of loneliness and community that the outsider can sometimes observe in the region.

I am not sure that it is appropriate to write of having "read" this book, since the text consists of a one-page discussion (three pages, if you count the German and French versions) of the art of drypoint etching, and the creation of Farewell to Connaught. I have, however, often looked through this book and savored the visual treat that it offers - and the memories of my own time in Ireland that it evokes. The landscapes and pub scenes in particular remind me of some of my experiences while there... whether walking past a dry-stone wall, or sitting and listening to a traditional musician...

I find Gertrude Degenhardt's work, both in Farewell to Connaught and Women in Music to be powerful - full of vitality, and capable of piercing me to the heart. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: this artist deserves to be better known in the United States. ( )