BookLust

Win Some, Lose Some

I belong to the illustration organization known as SCBWI (The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators). I'm a fairly new member, so I'm still not aware of all the great things that this organization has to offer. One thing I did find out about recently though is that they had an illustration contest to choose a new design for their official SCBWI bag. So what the heck, I entered.

I didn't win, but I had fun creating this. Nothing says cute like green kitties, I think.

To see the winning illustration, click here.

Happy Guten-Birthday, Johann!

I really wanted to write this post this morning, but I just didn't have the time, darn it!

So, is June 24, 1400, really the birth date of Johann Gutenberg, the man who started that great revolution in 1450 with the development of the printing press and moveable lead type? Probably not. But that's the date that the people of Mainz, Germany decided upon, mainly because June 24th is the Feast of St. John the Baptist, and Johann is German for John, so what the heck, why not? Besides it's a great day for celebrating, and we have a lot to celebrate when it comes to good ol' Mr. Gutenberg.

Regardless of his motives (let's face it, the guy just really wanted to make a buck, and unfortunately some dude named Fust screwed him royally, so Gutenberg didn't exactly gain a lot financially from this creation), what Gutenberg created has had such a phenomenal impact on our world, it's hard to really grasp it.

We probably take things like books and reading matter for granted, but think about it: there was a time when efficient printing did not exist. Before printing with moveable lead type, books were pain-stakingly written by skilled artists; and only certain types of books were created, and only for the very fortunate limited few who were literate, and could afford such a treasure as a book. We may bitch about the price of a hard cover these days, but trust me, in 1400, a book was bloody expensive.

Gutenberg's printing press was not only the great educator, it was also the great equalizer. Books were cheaper to make, and you could make more of them in a shorter period of time. As more books became accessable to the lower classes, literacy increased. And well, you know the rest. Stuff like the Reformation and Martin Luther and then the Renaissance and so on until present day when we have great things like the internet and blogs.

So take a moment, if not tonight, then tomorrow or some day soon, and think about and read up on this amazing man and his wonderful creation, and how it has influenced our lives in so many ways. For those interested, I recommend the book The Gutenberg Revolution by John Man. It's a great source of information, and a good way to start finding out about this great man in history.

Happy Birthday, Johann, and happy birthday to your printing press, too!

I Met Her!!!!

Sick of me talking about Barbara Hodgson yet? Yeah, well too bad. Tonight I attended Harbourfront's last session in their Summer Reading series. The only reason I went was because Barbara Hodgson, that most talented of book designers and writers was there to talk about her latest book, The Lives of Shadows. She did not disappoint. Down-to-earth, funny, friendly, and a great story-teller. As well as reading from her novel, she showed slides of her work that she used for her book, as well as photographs of Damascus which she used for inspiration. And speaking of inspiration, she is an inspiration. I just want to get back into collage, and write this story that's been kicking around in my head for 2 years (I've got a small amount of it written, but not much). Yes, I confess that I would love to create an illustrated novel in the style of Barbara.

Did I gush when it came time for her to sign my book? Of course. Hope I didn't look too much like an idiot.

And so in honour of Barbara, I will show one of my favourite collages that I made a few years back. It's a page from one of the first large books that I hand-made.

Slush Interview 2

Lately I've been talking a lot about Ray Robertson. He's a pretty cool guy, and a good writer, too. Oh yeah, and Canadian. You can really tell that he's in love with language when you read his stuff; rich and energetic and sincere and funny all rolled into one great package. He studied philosophy, and then decided to become a writer; he's real down-to-earth; loves hockey and country-rock music and he's a pretty damn good rock-and-roll crooner himself (I once heard him sing a Moody Blues song at this bar downtown; very impressive). There's no bullshit about this guy, and that's what's so appealing about him. He's written 3 works of fiction, Home Movies, Heroes, and Moody Food; and his newest book, Mental Hygiene, which is a selection of his essays and reviews written over the past five years.
It reads on the back of the book: "Robertson, following in the footsteps of Mordecai Richler and other novelist-critics such as Anthony Burgess, Kinglsey and Martin Amis and John Updike, is at the front line of contemporary literary debate. Whether castigating the bland cabal he refers to as McCanLit, poking fun at the trendy ephemera of intellectual fashion or arguing for his own unique fictional aesthetic, Robertson pulls no punches and suffers no fools."

My kinda guy.

So here is an excerpt from the SLUSH interview with Ray that Bev did back in 1999:

SLUSH: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Ray:I did my B.A. in philosophy (at U of T) but always seemed to be reading some novel or book of short stories and scribbling away in a little red notebook. And whenever my friends would come over to get drunk, the kitchen table would invariably be littered the next morning with beer bottles and books of poetry. When I was around 24 and had decided that the academic life wasn't for me and was at a crossroads as to what to do next, my wife – then girlfriend – said, "It's obvious, isn't it? You should write." And she was right. I can't think of anything else I'd rather spend my life doing.
SLUSH:How many times was your first published work rejected?
Ray:Home Movies was rejected by approximately ten to fifteen publishers, some with a form letter, some with written comments. The essential thing that I learned through the rejection (and eventual acceptance) process is that a good book will find a home; it just means finding the right reader. Nearly half of the rejections I received criticized my use of language – baroque, overwritten, even pretentious – while the reader who eventually took it, Jan Geddes, the publisher at Cormorant, singled out the language as her favourite thing about the book – vibrant, poetic, nervy. Writers and publishers are like books and reader: there's usually a good match to be found, it just usually takes time and effort to find it.
SLUSH:What kept you going before you "made it"?
Ray:I like writing novels more than just about anything else. The purely hedonistic payoff of writing kept me going when most signs (and there were many) said stop. Also (and this can't be underestimated) my enormous ego said that my stuff was better than 99% of the other stuff out there and therefore deserved to be published. Most writers are equal parts raging egomaniac and snivelling self-pitying neurotic.
SLUSH:If you weren't a writer, what would you be?
Ray:A well-read but bitter security guard with a profound drinking problem who doesn't understand why he's so damn bitter.

Poetic Names in Motion

Another reason why I will never be a poet. My professional poet's name is Lucille Picklesouse. How can I create inspiring poetry will a moniker like that? And how did I come up with that name? Why at Wordchowder, of course. Once you're there, just scroll down the page, and you can find out what your poet name is, male or female.

Just to see how effective it really was, I decided to type in some bonafide poet names in there, and these were the results:

William Shakespeare: Nathaniel Prissywig (love that one!)
William Blake: Nathaniel De la Smarme
T.S. Eliot: Oberon Fogbottom (why does that make so much sense to me?)
Sylvia Plath: Amanda Albatross (sad, because it's so fitting)
e.e. cummings: Cyrano Buxton
Leonard Cohen: e.e. Buxton (huh?)
Margaret Atwood: Forsythia Titwillow (Ha!)

It begs the question, would the literary world take a writer seriously if her name was Forsythia Titwillow, even if she did write something as wonderful as Alias Grace?

Illustrating a Point

Just in case any of you guys were wondering (and I'm sure this question has been keeping you up late at night for weeks on end), I can indeed actually draw stuff other than just cartoons (not that it matters if I couldn't, 'cuz cartooning is a worthy artform all unto itself oh my god don't get me started).

Behold an illustration of Simone De Beauvoir.

Quite a hottie, wasn't she?

Come On-A Maisonneuve, Maisonneuve

I can't believe that I work in the magazine publishing industry, and yet I only found out about this lovely mag Maisonneuve just last week. And they just published their 9th issue! Never mind the fact that they were nominated for eight National Magazine Awards in five categories, including best editorial package, best art direction and best cover design, and that they won two NMA awards, a Gold NMA for best spot illustration, and a Silver NMA in the article category "Society".

On their web site, Maisonneuve describes itself as "a high-end general-interest magazine championing eclectic curiosity. Published in English out of Montreal, it has a remarkably diverse readership and can be found in thousands of stores across Canada and the US. Intelligent, eclectic, slightly eccentric, cross-border and international in content, Maisonneuve appeals to sophisticated, curious, generalist readers."

They certainly got my attention. The covers from past issues are just gorgeous, and the design and the content of this mag are much more appealing to me than that Walrus. Darn. I'm gonna have to fork out some cash to buy all the back issues.

And they're looking for cartoon submissions, too. Hmmmm....

Message to Martin Rowson

Says Martin Rowson: "Cartoonists aren't the only group of artists who moan ceaselessly about the neglect and ingratitude the towering edifices of their genius suffer at the hands of editors, publishers and the public; poets, obviously, are just as bad. It's just that cartoonists do it better than anyone else."

He goes on to say that "comics aren't and shouldn't be respectable. The closest they should come to the adult world is as a kind of foul-mouthed, filthy-minded and grubby adolescence..."

Well here ya go, Mr. Rowson.

TRANSITory Reading 2

Oh what the heck, I'll make this a semi-regular feature, too. It's fun to check out what other folks are dipping into, to and from work. I must confess that so far on my travels I see more women reading fiction than men. Would it turn me on to see a man reading something like say, Barney's Version? Probably.

Any hoo-how, my latest TRANSITory observations came up with folks reading the following: Middlesex, A Complicated Kindness, and Alias Grace. Not bad at all!

But on my way to work today, I sat next to this guy who was reading the Bible. What is up with that? And why is it that it just looks odd for a person to be reading the Bible on the subway, especially a guy? Sorry fellah, it didn't turn my crank.

I'm no Poet; and trust me, I know it.

Lately I seem to be running into poets. I met another one over the weekend. Is someone trying to tell me something? I have been thinking about and reading a lot more poetry lately. And yes, I confess, I used to write poetry, too – sonnets, of all things, for my first true love (that miserable son-of-a–), but later on I went into a phase of trying to be like Dennis Lee. No, not his clever adult works like UN; think of a Garbage Delight wanna be:

BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER IS NOW BEING SERVED
On the menu I see:

Squished bananas
and I think I can find
peanut butter
(the crunchy kind)
strained pears
and blueberry jam
and little peices
of chew-up ham
spaghette sauce
and meatballs, too
and is that cheese I smell?
Peeeeuuuu!!!
All this food
It's such a waste
'cause it's all over
my brother's face!

PANCAKES
Patricia ate fourteen pancakes
One-Two-Splickity-Lick!
Patricia ate fourteen pancakes
(I think she's feeling sick)
Patricia ate fourteen pancakes
While sailing on the Humber
I do not think that fourteen is
Patricia's favourite number.

IF
If I sneezed
But held it in
Would I blow off
The tip of my chin?