Bernard Leach (1887-1979) was as renowned in Japan and the East as in Europe and America,
both as an artist-craftsman and as a thinker. His interpretation of the traditions of the Orient
in the making of pots - and in evolving a philosophy of life - was a lodestar for many potters in
the West. 




Beyond East and West, first published in 1978, is more than an autobiography. Full of sharply-
etched and amusing recollections, it contains much of Leach’s deeper thought and a great deal
too about the practical application of his ideas. Its recurrent theme is the meeting of East and
West at all levels - artistic, cultural, social, political.