Author Archives: Brian D. Butler

Literary Illustration

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

There is a long history of utilizing maps as a mode of literary illustration. The current exhibition Landmarks: Maps As Literary Illustration at Harvard’s Houghton Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts brings together a wonderful collection of more than sixty literary maps of places … Continue reading →

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Road Scholars

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Caught Mapping (see below) will likely only be of interest to cartography geeks and serious roadtrippers, but take a gander anyway.

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Empire in decline, or Grave New World

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

One week ago, members of the infamous street art collective known as Indecline commemorated Tangerine Mussolini’s ascent to power with a guerrilla art installation of a faux cemetery near his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course. Using a truck disguised as … Continue reading →

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Effective Dreams

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

I was saddened to read this week of the death of the legendary writer Ursula K. Le Guin. One of America’s literary greats of the 20th and 21st centuries, she was also an inspirational feminist pioneer and steadfast opponent of … Continue reading →

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Whisper to Me

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

New York magazine is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion, the publication has announced the release of a series of 50 special covers. Eight of the covers, created by Yoko Ono, Alex Katz, Barbara Kruger, Mel … Continue reading →

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Addicted to Street Art

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Brian D. Butler
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My Kind of Recycling

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

During the last eight months, the trash collectors in the Çankaya District of Ankara, Turkey have rescued more than 5,000 books from the garbage. Thanks to their diligence, a lending library has been created in the townhall. The library is open … Continue reading →

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Stephen King To The Rescue

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Gerald Winters & Son is a rare bookstore and major collector of Stephen King books and memorabilia. The recently opened book shop, which specializes in Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and J.K. Rowling books is located in downtown … Continue reading →

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Worth Revisiting

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

h/t Shepard Fairey

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You can’t get there from here

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

Helsinki-based geographer Topi Tjukanov is a wizard at using spatial data from new perspectives. If you’ve ever done any roadtripping in the US, this map of optimal routes by car from the geographic center of the country to all counties … Continue reading →

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