We’re All Mad Here

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I maintain the firm belief that we can never have enough new editions of Alice in Wonderland, especially illustrated versions. So, I was happy to see the Pushkin Press has issued a very special Alice that features the marvelous artwork of the brilliant Dutch illustrator Floor Reider. I haven’t had the opportunity to lay my hands on a copy IRL as of yet, but the photos that I’ve seen convince me that it is a worthy edition. Here’s a sample an a short video for now:

This new edition contains the texts of both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass in a beautiful, clothbound flipped book – illustrated throughout in glorious color. Floor Rieder’s gorgeous drawings are an original and fresh imagining of Alice’s topsy-turvy world. Out now from Pushkin Children’s, this clothbound edition is a must for any Alice fans, and the perfect Christmas gift for all. https://pushkinpress.com/books/alices…

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Bookstores make you feel

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Take a (long) hike

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Many years ago, I hiked the fabled Appalachian Train. Well, actually I only day hiked on a few sections of the 2190 mile (3500 kilometer) mountainous trail, but technically one could argue that I did in fact hike the Trail. Even though I have never been an intrepid thru- hiker, I do try and do day hikes whenever I travel in wilderness places such as Alaska, Iceland, Canada, and New Zealand. A few years ago, I even did some hiking in Colorado.

The beautiful film below by Croatian filmmaker and thru-hiker Nikola Horvat is a stunning documentary about hiking the Colorado Trail entitled “Why (Do I Hike).” The award-winning 23-minute film incorporates gorgeous footage of the Colorado Rockies and a narrative about the thru-hiking experience.

Horvat shot the film during a 2019 Colorado Trail thru-hike. It features interviews with people he met along the way. “Why (Do I Hike) “is divided into five segments: The first four deal with the key factors that motivate long-distance backpackers (Nature, Time, Community, and Mental Health, respectively), while the Final Chapter synthesizes Horvat’s conclusions.

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…but then you read

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Inspired by James Baldwin’s powerful 1963 book The Fire Next Time, musician and poet Meshell Ndegeocello created this intriguing short film based on Baldwin’s writing.

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be an ingenuous reader

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“I must be a very ingenuous reader, because I’ve never thought that novelists mean to say more than what they say. When Franz Kafka says that Gregory Samsa woke up one morning transformed into a gigantic insect, it doesn’t strike me as a symbol of anything, and the only thing that has always intrigued me is what kind of creature he might have been. I believe that in reality there was a time when carpets flew and genies were imprisoned in bottles. I believe Balaam’s ass spoke—as the Bible tells us—and the only regrettable thing is that his voice was not recorded, and I believe that Joshua destroyed the walls of Jericho with the power of his trumpets, and the only regrettable thing is that no one transcribed the demolition music. I believe, indeed, that the lawyer of glass—by Cervantes—really was made of glass, as he believed in his madness, and I truly believe in the joyful truth that Gargantua pissed in torrents over the cathedrals of Paris. Even more: I believe other similar wonders are still happening, and if we don’t see them it is in large measure because we are impeded by the obscurantist rationalism inculcated in us by bad literature teachers.”

Gabriel García Márquez

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More than Nordic Noir

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

In recent years, there has been an amazing interest around the world in Nordic Noir literature. But long before it became trendy, Iceland  was producing compelling books. I first became interested in Icelandic writers way back in the 7th grade. My English teacher was a little surprised when I chose to do a book report on Halldór Laxless’ Independent People. If you haven’t discovered the Nobel laureates’ work, it’s a good place to start.

Last month, the Icelandic Literature Center launched a new website dedicated to Icelandic writers whose books have been published in translation. The goal of the project is to promote Icelandic authors, and at the same time to enable publishers abroad, agents, organizers of events and festivals to find Icelandic authors and their books in translation, to further promote Icelandic literature. Website visitors can search for an author by name, genre or by a language. You can check out the website here .

The Icelandic Literature Center also recently produced a video featuring ten Icelandic authors discussing Icelandic literature at Gljúfrasteinn, home of the Icelandic Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness. Andri Snær Magnason, Auður Jónsdóttir, Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson, Bergþóra Snæbjörnsdóttir, Dóri DNA, Einar Már Guðmundsson, Gerður Kristný, Ragnar Jónasson, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir and Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir are all featured in the short video below.

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How to be at home

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Director Andrea Dorfman and poet Tanya Davis teamed-up to create this wonderful short film that is very timely. Must of us need this right about now.

 

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Is nostalgia a coping mechanism

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

As I was attempting to deal with the overwhelming political anxiety of this fraught time in the United States, I chose to fall back on my go to method of diversion: travel nostalgia. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t been out of the U.S. for a year now. In fact, at this time a year ago, I was road-tripping on the South Island of New Zealand. So, of course I did what we always do and Googled international flights to New Zealand. In the process, I stumbled upon the terrific work of Kiwi cartographer Andre Douglas-Clifford. He created the very neat infographic above and the clever versions of New Zealand road maps below. Check out his official website to see more great maps and graphics, and maybe buy a print or two.

 

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November for beginners

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“November for Beginners”

by

Rita Dove

Snow would be the easy
way out—that softening
sky like a sigh of relief
at finally being allowed
to yield. No dice.
We stack twigs for burning
in glistening patches
but the rain won’t give.

So we wait, breeding
mood, making music
of decline. We sit down
in the smell of the past
and rise in a light
that is already leaving.
We ache in secret,
memorizing

a gloomy line
or two of German.
When spring comes
we promise to act
the fool. Pour,
rain! Sail, wind,
with your cargo of zithers!

 

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When book-lovers dream of luxury…

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Drifting into dreamland after the ultimate reading experience…

When book-lovers dream of luxury, they dream of Detroit’s Book-Cadillac Hotel–at least according to this fabulous ad copy from 1928. The curtains flutter, the readers snuggle, and service is swift and silent.

From Collier’s (September 28, 1928). Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library

The renovated Book-Cadillac today.

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit is a historic skyscraper hotel located at 1114 Washington Boulevard in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Washington Boulevard Historic District. Designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and constructed as the Book-Cadillac, it is part of Westin Hotels and embodies Neo-Classical elements and building sculpture, incorporating brick and limestone. Among its notable features are the sculptures of notable figures from Detroit’s history—General Anthony Wayne, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, Chief Pontiac, and Robert Navarre along the ornate Michigan Avenue façade and copper-covered roof elements.[2] The flagship hotel is 349 ft (106 m) tall with 31 floors, and includes 65 exclusive luxury condominiums and penthouses on the top eight floors. It reopened in October 2008 after completing a $200-million reconstruction project.

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