The latest edition of CANADIAN NOTES AND QUERIES is out. You can check out the online version of the magazine here. (I have an article in this one, though it's not online.)
With the help of Charles Yang, I am building a new version of the CBT blog. Check out its first, somewhat gangly and awkward first post-steps here.
Other than that, happy holidays.
Conversations in the Book Trade: Books, art, art-books, and ... authorial movies.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Call for submissions
Dan Green, who has been running his litblog since its inception primarily as a one-person operation (though he did for a while have a side-blog entitled CRITICAL DISTANCE) invites others to contribute to THE READING EXPERIENCE. He is hoping to put a particular emphasis on poetry. I hope he might also consider contributions on graphic fiction as well as web-published fiction, though I realize that is entirely up to him.
From Green's call:
From Green's call:
The Reading Experience would thus become a forum for reviews of this kind. I would contribute such reviews myself, but I would also be the "editor" in that I would be looking for other writers and critics to contribute as well. Since I can't pay anyone for the effort, unfortunately the reward would have to be in the value of the effort itself. I could imagine reviews of books that are appearing several months to several years after the publication date, as well as essays that attempt to retrieve books from the oblivion into which they threaten to fall because of a lack of attention.
If anything, poetry is even more endangered by current reviewing practices than fiction, since much important poetry is given no attention at all in book review sections and on book review sites. So I would be interested additionally in reviews of poets and poetry, especially those that attempt to identify the important work being done, either by examining single books by particular poets, or by grouping several poets together, or by discussing at length noteworthy anthologies.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Noteworthy
Nigel Beale interviews book historian Jonathan Rose. The interview takes as its starting point the history of British publisher John Malaby Dent; however, it also provides an interesting overview of the publishing of the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Noteworthy
Korean film critics Bak Eun-young and Kang Yoo-jeong on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Noteworthy
- Quebecois publisher Marcel Broquet, who was kind enough to be interviewed for an academic section of my series on contemporary publishing, has released an autobiographical account of his life in Quebec letters. It is entitled LAISSEZ-MOI VOUS RACONTER: 53 ANS DANS LE MONDE DU LIVRE (Let me tell you a story: 53 years in the world of books).
- Jimoondang Publishing [집문당] of Korea continues with its English-language series on Korean culture with WON-BUDDHISM: THE BIRTH OF KOREAN BUDDHISM.
- Dan Green on creative writing programs and their institutionalized discontents.
- Levi Asher on OWS and its un-institutionalized evolutions.
- Jimoondang Publishing [집문당] of Korea continues with its English-language series on Korean culture with WON-BUDDHISM: THE BIRTH OF KOREAN BUDDHISM.
- Dan Green on creative writing programs and their institutionalized discontents.
- Levi Asher on OWS and its un-institutionalized evolutions.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sanaaq
From an interesting customer review of Mitiarjuk Nappaluk's novel of an Inuit woman's life, Sanaaq:
Cette oeuvre renseigne sur les us et coutumes des Inuit. On ne lit pas Sanaaq pour la beauté de l'écriture. L'auteur raconte tout simplement leur lutte acharnée pour survivre. La chasse et la pêche font partie de leurs activités quotidiennes.
Le phoque compose leur nourriture de base. C'est le bovin de l'Occidental. Comme il est important, il prend plusieurs noms. Ainsi un phoque est un ujjuk; mais n'ayant que la tête hors de l'eau, il devient un puiji et étendu au soleil, c'est un uutuk. Cette distinction est très utile pour un chasseur averti.
L'univers féminin des Inuites transparaît dans ce roman. L'héroïne est Sanaaq, une veuve remariée dont la vie n'est pas reléguée dans l'ombre du mari. La violence conjugale viendra ternir cette image, mais comme elle origine d'un homme équilibré mais perturbé par la maladie de son fils, le couple pourra continuer à vivre dans l'harmonie. Malgré cet incident malheureux, l'oeuvre révèle que les Inuit composent un peuple simple et sain. Si ça sent le bonheur, il ne faut pas croire que la psychologie ne joue pas dans l'Arctique. Les dépressions et les succubes s'y donnent aussi rendez-vous. Heureusement, le roman prend fin peu de temps après l'arrivée des blancs. Il n'en fallait pas plus pour engrosser la soeur de Sanaaq et les diviser à propos de la religion.
C'est un beau roman, dont la valeur est plus anthropologique que littéraire. Yves Thériault avait fait connaître les Inuit avec Agaguk. Dans Je m'en vais, Jean Echenoz a signalé l'importance de leur art. Avec Sanaaq, on les découvre vraiment.
As the above makes clear, the volume is available in French (and advertised at collectors' prices: $303). I don't have time to translate the entire passage, but the gist of it is that Sanaaq is written in spare, simple prose and tells of the customs and habits of the Inuit. It describes their life of hunting and fishing, and goes into detail, for example, about their terminology for seals. The story is told from the point of view of a remarried widow, and it portrays Inuit society just on the eve of its first contact with whites. The Inuit are described as simple and pure; however, it is a work that does not shy away from showing some of the darker sides of Inuit life, such as psychological depression.
The work was originally written in syllabics -- an alphabet that, coincidentally, bears some resemblance to Hangeul. I first came across mention of this work at the Studies in Canadian Literature website. I'd like to find out more about this volume.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Matt Kindt -- illustrator, graphic novelist
Matt Kindt of Super Spy, The Tooth, Revolver, and 3 Story (The Secret History of the Giant Man):
1. Graphic fiction, we are told, is in; it has arrived. Academics talk about it, literary publishers include it -- sometimes -- on their lists. But how accepted is it really? Is it genuinely accepted by the high-brow, and viewed with true objectivity? Or is some of the praise that it is given merely bumpf? After all, MFA programs specialize in writing, not graphic fiction; English departments rarely if ever pay attention to graphic fiction; major publishers do not publish much of it, and major prizes never include it in short lists, even though it can be a form of novel. What needs to change for graphic fiction to gain more acceptance?
MK: I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that question - but my best guess would be readership. There needs to be shift in readers of monthly genre books that go to the store every week to more traditional readers that pick up graphic novels as they would any other book, instead of just the few that do make it to mainstream attention.
2. Literary fiction (particularly by new authors) is struggling these days while graphic novels are enjoying steady, healthy sales. Any observations on why that is?
MK: Entertainment. I think readers want to be entertained. And I can't say that I'm very impressed with "literary fiction" in its modern form anyway. Simply put, it's boring. I won't name authors but a lot of what I consider literary fiction, I can't even get through the descriptive copy on the back of the book without rolling my eyes. I think a lot of writers forget what their first goal is and it should be to entertain. The second goal should be to make a reader think differently about something. But those 2 goals need to be in that order.
3. There are a lot of comics artists who self-publish. As in the music industry -- with bands with their own labels -- this is considered perfectly acceptable as long as the creative result is good. Yet self-publishing is deeply frowned upon in literary circles. Why do you think that is?
MK: There's more history and culture there and it's really a different world. It's like the fine art community -- where the "accepted" art is determined by the academics. Comics is still the wild west to some degree -- anything goes and the good stuff rises to the top regardless of publisher or agent.
4. How did you start out?
MK: I self-published my first few comics and just hand distributed them to local comic shops. In 2000 I submitted my first finished graphic novel to Top Shelf and they agreed to publish a week after I handed it to them. There was a lot of sweat and work before that first book got handed to Top Shelf but I just didn't bother trying to get published until I thought I was ready.
5.What kinds of drawing materials do you use?
MK: Japanese Sumi Calligraphy ink, #2 sable hair brush, and windsor newton travel water colors, and water color paper
6. Cartoonists tend to refer directly in their work to the influence of other cartoonists, while traditional artists get "left out". Any fine art influences on your work?
MK: Edward Hopper and Dave McKean are probably my biggest visual influences.
7. How about literary influences?
MK: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and 9 Stories by J D Salinger are by far the most influential books I've read.
8. The United States has produced some of the biggest names in experimental comics, as the form as gone through a series of incarnations: the surreal satire of Krazy Kat by George Herriman, to the underground comics of R. Crumb, to the graphic fiction of Chris Ware. Any other names you'd like to add to the list?
MK: Dan Clowes I think really towers over everyone as well as Cristophe Blaine and Gipi.
1. Graphic fiction, we are told, is in; it has arrived. Academics talk about it, literary publishers include it -- sometimes -- on their lists. But how accepted is it really? Is it genuinely accepted by the high-brow, and viewed with true objectivity? Or is some of the praise that it is given merely bumpf? After all, MFA programs specialize in writing, not graphic fiction; English departments rarely if ever pay attention to graphic fiction; major publishers do not publish much of it, and major prizes never include it in short lists, even though it can be a form of novel. What needs to change for graphic fiction to gain more acceptance?
MK: I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that question - but my best guess would be readership. There needs to be shift in readers of monthly genre books that go to the store every week to more traditional readers that pick up graphic novels as they would any other book, instead of just the few that do make it to mainstream attention.
2. Literary fiction (particularly by new authors) is struggling these days while graphic novels are enjoying steady, healthy sales. Any observations on why that is?
MK: Entertainment. I think readers want to be entertained. And I can't say that I'm very impressed with "literary fiction" in its modern form anyway. Simply put, it's boring. I won't name authors but a lot of what I consider literary fiction, I can't even get through the descriptive copy on the back of the book without rolling my eyes. I think a lot of writers forget what their first goal is and it should be to entertain. The second goal should be to make a reader think differently about something. But those 2 goals need to be in that order.
3. There are a lot of comics artists who self-publish. As in the music industry -- with bands with their own labels -- this is considered perfectly acceptable as long as the creative result is good. Yet self-publishing is deeply frowned upon in literary circles. Why do you think that is?
MK: There's more history and culture there and it's really a different world. It's like the fine art community -- where the "accepted" art is determined by the academics. Comics is still the wild west to some degree -- anything goes and the good stuff rises to the top regardless of publisher or agent.
4. How did you start out?
MK: I self-published my first few comics and just hand distributed them to local comic shops. In 2000 I submitted my first finished graphic novel to Top Shelf and they agreed to publish a week after I handed it to them. There was a lot of sweat and work before that first book got handed to Top Shelf but I just didn't bother trying to get published until I thought I was ready.
5.What kinds of drawing materials do you use?
MK: Japanese Sumi Calligraphy ink, #2 sable hair brush, and windsor newton travel water colors, and water color paper
6. Cartoonists tend to refer directly in their work to the influence of other cartoonists, while traditional artists get "left out". Any fine art influences on your work?
MK: Edward Hopper and Dave McKean are probably my biggest visual influences.
7. How about literary influences?
MK: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and 9 Stories by J D Salinger are by far the most influential books I've read.
8. The United States has produced some of the biggest names in experimental comics, as the form as gone through a series of incarnations: the surreal satire of Krazy Kat by George Herriman, to the underground comics of R. Crumb, to the graphic fiction of Chris Ware. Any other names you'd like to add to the list?
MK: Dan Clowes I think really towers over everyone as well as Cristophe Blaine and Gipi.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Noteworthy
Levi Asher publishes his fourth title, this time an anthology: Beats in Time: A Literary Generation's Legacy.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Van Jensen -- graphic novelist
Van Jensen -- blogger (Graphic Fiction), graphic novelist (Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer), editor/journalist
1. Graphic fiction, we are told, is in; it has arrived. Academics talk about it, literary publishers include it -- sometimes -- on their lists. But how accepted is it really? Is it genuinely accepted by the high-brow, and viewed with true objectivity? Or is some of the praise that it is given merely bumpf? After all, MFA programs specialize in writing, not graphic fiction; English departments rarely if ever pay attention to graphic fiction; major publishers do not publish much of it, and major prizes never include it in short lists, even though it can be a form of novel. What needs to change for graphic fiction to gain more acceptance?
3. There are a lot of comics artists who self-publish. As in the music industry -- with bands with their own labels -- this is considered perfectly acceptable as long as the creative result is good. Yet self-publishing is deeply frowned upon in literary circles. Why do you think that is?
VJ: I was just discussing that with some fellow creators at Comic-Con. Self-publishing in comics is a badge of honor. In novels, it's pathetic. In comics, this probably traces back to the mid-1980s, when so many indie comics burst onto the scene to great success (i.e. Bone, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cerebus, etc.), and even beyond that to the underground alt comix scene of the 1960s and '70s. I don't know enough about the history of novel publishing to understand exactly why that community is so opposed to self-publishing. Novels have such a great tradition of self-publishing from Blake to Dickens to Twain. With the advancements in technology, we're seeing the barriers between author and audience being stripped away. I do wonder if perhaps we're entering a new era (see the success of novelist Amanda Hocking), in which the giant publishers no longer are the arbiters of good fiction.
4. How did you start out?
VJ: Start writing? It all came from a love of reading. One of my grandmothers was an English teacher and the other a librarian. Both were published poets. They constantly put great books in my hands, and so I always had a love of good storytelling. I spent some time as a journalist focusing on literary nonfiction, but eventually I felt drawn back to comics (I had been an avid comics reader as a kid and was always drawing). I love how comics mixes text and visuals -- it's just an extremely effective storytelling medium.
5.What kinds of drawing materials do you use?
VJ: I draw on a smooth bristol and mostly use a very fine brush and ink. When I have time, I incorporate watercolors. I don't much use a pen, because I prefer the variety of line width that a brush offers.
6. Cartoonists tend to refer directly in their work to the influence of other cartoonists, while traditional artists get "left out". Any fine art influences on your work?
VJ: My mom is a painter, and she's by far my biggest influence. I enjoy most of the modernists, particularly Manet. My good friend Neal Obermeyer (www.nealo.com) is an extremely talented artist and helped guide my early forays into comics.
8. The United States has produced some of the biggest names in experimental comics, as the form has gone through a series of incarnations: the surreal satire of Krazy Kat by George Herriman, to the underground comics of R. Crumb, to the graphic fiction of Chris Ware. Any other names you'd like to add to the list?
Bio: Van is a former newspaper crime reporter and current magazine editor. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was editor in chief of the student newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan. He continues to work as a freelance reporter, contributing to publications such as Atlanta magazine, Sojourners, Publishers Weekly, Comic Foundry, Comic Book Resources, the Omaha World-Herald, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Lawrence Journal-World.
1. Graphic fiction, we are told, is in; it has arrived. Academics talk about it, literary publishers include it -- sometimes -- on their lists. But how accepted is it really? Is it genuinely accepted by the high-brow, and viewed with true objectivity? Or is some of the praise that it is given merely bumpf? After all, MFA programs specialize in writing, not graphic fiction; English departments rarely if ever pay attention to graphic fiction; major publishers do not publish much of it, and major prizes never include it in short lists, even though it can be a form of novel. What needs to change for graphic fiction to gain more acceptance?
VJ: If you look at the history of comics (a catch-all for graphic fiction) in America, you see that in the wake of Fredric Wertham's campaign against the medium, comics were ghettoized as an art form for decades. While graphic fiction in Asia and Europe (and even South America) matured with a variety of stories, U.S. comics only survived through superheroes (and Archie). In the recent past, that certainly has started to change with books like Blankets, Maus and Fun Home bringing more academic and critical attention to comics. But I continue to find that the average American consumer doesn't realize there are comics that don't feature heroes wearing silly tights. The fairly dismal sales statistics of most comics and graphic novels reflect this lack of awareness. However, I am optimistic that this is changing. Two very crucial groups are increasingly supporting graphic fiction -- librarians and teachers. If these two communities embrace comics, they will help build a new generation of comics readers. And as those readers age and mature, they will look to a wider variety of comics, and the industry will be healthier over all.
2. According to some observers of the publishing scene such as critic Alex Good, literary fiction (particularly by new authors) is struggling these days while graphic novels are enjoying steady, healthy sales. Any observations on why that is?
2. According to some observers of the publishing scene such as critic Alex Good, literary fiction (particularly by new authors) is struggling these days while graphic novels are enjoying steady, healthy sales. Any observations on why that is?
VJ: As the author of a "successful" graphic novel series, I can say with certainty that sales aren't quite as sky high as Mr. Good claims. In comics, good sales are measured in thousands. For novels, good sales are measured in millions. However, I think there is more buzz and discussion around comics. Part of that is the Hollywood influence. Comics are particularly well suited to making big-budget movies, and that serves to bring more popular focus back to comics. Literary novels don't really translate to popcorn flicks. Graphic fiction also is a more nascent art form, and that lends it some excitement. For an academic who wants to break new ground, comics are the Wild West, while literary fiction was colonized ages ago. I could also offer a long digression on the many failings of contemporary literary fiction, but I'll save that for another day.
3. There are a lot of comics artists who self-publish. As in the music industry -- with bands with their own labels -- this is considered perfectly acceptable as long as the creative result is good. Yet self-publishing is deeply frowned upon in literary circles. Why do you think that is?
VJ: I was just discussing that with some fellow creators at Comic-Con. Self-publishing in comics is a badge of honor. In novels, it's pathetic. In comics, this probably traces back to the mid-1980s, when so many indie comics burst onto the scene to great success (i.e. Bone, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cerebus, etc.), and even beyond that to the underground alt comix scene of the 1960s and '70s. I don't know enough about the history of novel publishing to understand exactly why that community is so opposed to self-publishing. Novels have such a great tradition of self-publishing from Blake to Dickens to Twain. With the advancements in technology, we're seeing the barriers between author and audience being stripped away. I do wonder if perhaps we're entering a new era (see the success of novelist Amanda Hocking), in which the giant publishers no longer are the arbiters of good fiction.
4. How did you start out?
VJ: Start writing? It all came from a love of reading. One of my grandmothers was an English teacher and the other a librarian. Both were published poets. They constantly put great books in my hands, and so I always had a love of good storytelling. I spent some time as a journalist focusing on literary nonfiction, but eventually I felt drawn back to comics (I had been an avid comics reader as a kid and was always drawing). I love how comics mixes text and visuals -- it's just an extremely effective storytelling medium.
5.What kinds of drawing materials do you use?
VJ: I draw on a smooth bristol and mostly use a very fine brush and ink. When I have time, I incorporate watercolors. I don't much use a pen, because I prefer the variety of line width that a brush offers.
6. Cartoonists tend to refer directly in their work to the influence of other cartoonists, while traditional artists get "left out". Any fine art influences on your work?
VJ: My mom is a painter, and she's by far my biggest influence. I enjoy most of the modernists, particularly Manet. My good friend Neal Obermeyer (www.nealo.com) is an extremely talented artist and helped guide my early forays into comics.
7. How about literary influences?
VJ: Carlo Collodi of course, as his Pinocchio entirely shaped our Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer series. Italo Calvino is another excellent Italian writer. Nobody writes humor better than Mark Twain. I enjoy Capote's work up to In Cold Blood. The Great Gatsby is a cliche answer, but it really is a brilliant book. By far the best recent novel I've read is Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists.
8. The United States has produced some of the biggest names in experimental comics, as the form has gone through a series of incarnations: the surreal satire of Krazy Kat by George Herriman, to the underground comics of R. Crumb, to the graphic fiction of Chris Ware. Any other names you'd like to add to the list?
VJ: Josh Cotter might be the preeminent talent in comics right now, and it's extremely disappointing that he doesn't get more credit. His Skyscrapers of the Midwest might be the best graphic novel yet created. Matt Kindt is another singular talent who also incorporates brilliant design. Andy Runton's Owly books are excellent and truly deserve the praise they receive.
He is the winner of a William Randolph Hearst award and has been recognized by Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism and elsewhere.
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