Woman Sleeping

This reprint of a woodcut by Ricardo Levins Morales is based on a haunting allegory by African/English writer Olive Schreiner.  It tells the story of a sleeping woman choosing between love and freedom.

One of Ricardo’s earliest posters (originally from 1977), it is a 17×22 offset print on beige colored stock.

Text of the poster: “I saw a woman sleeping. In her sleep, she dreamt life stood before her, and held in each hand a gift – in the one hand love, in the other freedom. And she said to the woman, Choose. And the woman waited long: and she said, Freedom. And life said, Thou hast well chosen. If thou had said Love I would have given thee that thou didst ask for; and I would have gone from thee, and returned to thee no more. Now, the day will come when I shall return. In that day I shall bear both gifts in one hand. I heard the woman laugh in her sleep.”