They Come to Us without a Word documents Joan Jonas’s (born 1936) project for the US Pavilion of the 56th Venice Biennale 2015, an installation that incorporates multiple components, including projected videos (with music by Jason Moran), drawings and photographs. Each section of the pavilion represented a particular creature (bees, fish) or natural condition. Recited fragments of ghost stories sourced from the oral tradition of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, formed a continuous narrative linking one room to the next.

Designed with Jonas’s close collaboration, this book features an extensive collection of images selected by the artist, including stills, drawings and photographs. Also included is a major new text by Jonas herself, as well as significant texts from Ann Reynolds and Marina Warner, and an interview with the artist by Ingrid Schaffner.