TriQuarterly 37. Going to Heaven: A Photo Narrative.

Northwestern University, 1976.  A story told in sequences of photographs by Michael Vollan, directed by Lawrence Levy, and produced by Elliott Anderson. VG+ with minor wear on edges of stiff illustrated wraps.  Summary:

TriQuarterly 37 — Going to Heaven: A Photo Narrative (Fall 1976) is a unique, book-length issue of Northwestern University’s acclaimed literary journal. Breaking away from the magazine's traditional format of publishing diverse essays, poetry, and prose, this specific volume is dedicated entirely to a singular, cinematic "photo-narrative."

The project was co-produced by Elliott Anderson, directed by Lawrence Levy, and photographed by Michael Vollan. It features an ensemble cast that includes Bill Kranz, Sherry Johnson, Robert Birnbaum, and Kathy Francour.

Key Style and Themes

• The "Ciné-Roman" Format: The book is presented in an unconventional, tall, narrow format. It is composed of 53 plates displaying over 400 sequential black-and-white photographs arranged like film strips. This design closely mirrors the ciné-roman (film-novel) style popularized by French avant-garde cinema (such as Chris Marker’s La Jetée).

• Narrative of Death and Rebirth: The overarching sequence tells a surreal, visual story centered around themes of death, transition, and spiritual renaissance.

• The "Angel of Death": The narrative progresses entirely without dialogue or explanatory text. Instead, it relies on lighting, character blocking, and visual motifs—such as a spectral figure representing the "Angel of Death" passing through a room—to convey its eerie, evocative plot.

Significance

TriQuarterly 37 stands out as a bold editorial experiment for Northwestern University Press. By dedicating an entire quarterly issue to a purely visual, wordless narrative, the editors challenged the conventional boundaries of literary journals, blurring the lines between literature, photography, sequential art, and independent film.