Archive for January 10, 2023

A Paragraph from Rebecca Solnit’s ORWELL’S ROSES: “How Much He Recounted Enjoyment”

Hang with me here for a minute. Rebecca Solnit’s first sentence on page 24 from Orwell’s Roses is a doozy — it carries a lot of weight — and I was tempted to not include it here. A challenging task for a distracted blog scroller like yourself, and maybe not necessary to convey the main idea from this brief excerpt, but I decided to roll with it. Who am I to omit even one sentence from Solnit’s brilliant paragraph, now with freshly-drawn stars and exclamation points in the marginalia of my copy. I defer to her genius. 

Okay, here we go . . . 

 

Perhaps his relentless scrutiny of the monstrosities and underlying dangers in the present and the future defines him, but it’s also been used to characterize him as though he was what he saw, or that was all he looked at. I returned to his writing after the roses startled me, and there I found another Orwell whose other perspectives seem to counterbalance his cold eye on political monstrosity. One of the striking things was how much he recounted enjoyment, from many forms of the domestic comfort that might be called coziness to ribald postcards, the pleasures of nineteenth-century American children’s books, British writers like Dickens, “good bad books,” and a host of other things, and most of all animals, plants, flowers, natural landscapes, gardening, the countryside, pleasures that surface over and over again in his books all the way through Nineteen Eighty-Four‘s lyrical evocation of the Golden Country and its light, trees, meadows, birdsong, and sense of freedom and release. 

 

That’s it, that is all. The thought for the day. Amidst the ugliness and the horror — perhaps even because of it — Orwell consistently took pleasure in the beauty, the joys, that life continually offers us. He planted a rose garden when the world was on the verge of horrific warfare.

5 Questions with Raul the Third, illustrator of “Stuntboy” & “Lowriders,” and Creator of the “World of Vamos!”

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first met Raul Gonzalez, AKA, Raul the Third, at the Rochester Children’s Book Festival in November of 2022. I was aware of his books, knew he was riding high with a steady stream of successes (Stuntboy by Jason Reynolds had just come out), and I knew that his work was cool and contemporary. Yet that was pretty much all that I knew about him. That first night in Rochester, a small group of us gathered for dinner in a fine restaurant, graciously hosted by several of the RCBF organizers, led that night by the unsinkable Linda Sue Park.  I came away from that evening, and the entire weekend, hugely impressed by Raul’s gentleness, humility, warmth, intelligence, and humor. Nothing phony about him. Just a cool guy. And, best of all, I am happy to announce: a friend.

 

 

1. Hey, Raul. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in El Paso, TX and Juarez, MX in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. I really enjoyed growing up there. I spent the first twelve years of my life living with my parents and two brothers in an apartment complex where we would run wild with other kids causing all sorts of trouble. We also spent a lot of time in Juarez. My Mom’s side of the family lived and worked there and we had a great time playing with cousins at the Mercado Cuahtemoc and the house on Avenida Lincoln. It was an adventure-filled childhood!

2. You knew you wanted to be “famous” — whatever that means — at an early age. Where do you think that feeling came from? A desire to escape your surroundings? An inner sense of being destined for something bigger?

I wanted to be a famous cartoonist –- whatever that means –- just like the artists whose names I memorized and idolized whenever I would read them from the 75 cent floppies I would pick up from the spinner rack at the 7-11. By the time I became enthralled with comic book art and cartooning I was a teenager and life was not going very well for me. I was a terrible student, a ball of nervous anxiety, and the only escape I had from my surroundings I found in comic books and the process of trying to figure out how to draw them. I was also becoming aware that I hated all of the jobs that would be available to me if I didn’t become a “famous cartoonist” so it became my goal and what I strived to do with my life. It definitely lead to a lot of interesting adventures! 

 

There he is, just a kid with a dream, some talent, and a sense of humor.

 

3. I had the pleasure of actually hanging out with you at the 2022 Rochester Children’s Book Festival, eating dinner beside you, drinking beer, swapping stories, even driving you around in my car. At one point you made a comment that helped me make a connection between Richard Scarry and your VAMOS! series. I was like, “Oh, yes, I see it now!” Could you expand on that a bit?

         

Ah, yes! That was a fun evening of slurping down oysters and drinking cervezas with my new pal James Preller! Before I began the World Of Vamos! series (I can’t believe that I’m working on book 10!), I was drawing the Lowrider series written by my friend and writer Cathy Camper. That series had opened a lot of doors for me and I met many interesting people along the way. Two of which would set me off on a new creative adventure!  So I was sitting around my house minding my own business when I received a call from Arielle Eckstut who is a co-founder of the Book Doctors and Kwame Alexander’s agent. She wanted me to know that Kwame was starting his own imprint at Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt and that they wanted me to be a part of it. At that point I had never professionally written a book but Arielle was convinced that I would do a great job and that the book should be a picture book. I had never worked on a picture book before but it was something that I wanted to do. She then suggested that I make the book “Like Richard Scarry but on the border!”

 

 

. . . and that I had one week to come up with a pitch. A few days later I shared my pitch and a few sample drawings that I created with my wife Elaine Bay and we were off and running! 

 

4) You did an astonishing job on the first Jason Reynolds Stuntboy book (and presumably the sequel, which is coming soon). It’s sort of a hybrid between a graphic novel and a richly illustrated novel. There’s a surprise on every spread. Could you maybe tell us about how that process worked for you?

It has been an honor to collaborate with Jason Reynolds on the Stuntboy books. Jason called me up one day and asked if I could recommend a cartoonist of color to work with him on a top-secret project. Of course I recommended myself! He sent me a couple of chapters and a few hours later I had sent him back character designs and a few page layouts. It has been a wonderful experience.

I believe that I drew the first book in under two months. I just let Jason’s words guide my drawings. When you don’t have a lot of time to work on a project you let intuition guide you. I enjoyed not having the time to second guess myself and I think that the heartfelt immediacy of the drawings adds an extra level of realism that I am very proud of. 

     

5) I love that answer. I often think that tight deadlines can be a positive force creatively, like shopping for gifts on Christmas Eve, exactly for the reasons you articulate so well. You do the best possible work you can at the time and move on. It must be especially meaningful for you to return to Texas and visit with young Mexican-American students, those same kids who used to be you. What is your message to them?

Raul uses Bic pens to create his illustrations for the Lowriders graphic novels. That’s it, folks. Just Bic pens.

 

It is such a thrill to speak to kids with similar origins as my own. I love that I can make them laugh in the language that their relatives speak. I just want them to know that they can become anything they dream of. I want them to know that their experiences and origins are unique and important and that they should share them with the world and not shy away from them. I hope that my books bring comfort and pride to the kids and parents who flip through their pages. I love what I do and I can’t wait to meet the young artists I encounter on the road as adults artists making their books for the world to read. Good times lay ahead! 

JAMES PRELLER is the author of many books for young readers, including Bystander, Blood Mountain, Six Innings, All Welcome Here, and the popular Jigsaw Jones mystery series. Look for the first book in his strange & mysterious middle-grade series, EXIT 13: The Whispering Pines, available in stores in February 7th, 2023. 

My Name Is Jimmy & I Have An Australian Licorice Problem

I don’t know why it took the Australians to crack the code, but I freaking love their licorice. Best in the world. Just the perfect combination of soft and chewy and flavorful. I discovered the Wiley Wallaby brand at my local ACE Hardware store. In the same way that independent bookstores carry earrings and plush toys and birthday gifts and kites, ACE carries aisles of Carhartt clothing, plus specialty sodas and, yes, Australian licorice.

As documented previously, I painted my house this summer and found myself in ACE several times a week. Wood filler, sandpaper, paint brushes, window glaze, rope, and so on.

And while I was there, if my resistance was low, I’d grab a bag of Wiley Wallaby’s “classic red” licorice.

After about 8 weeks, I finished painting the house. My trips to ACE slowed. It put me in a quandary. I couldn’t go to the hardware store just to buy licorice. How would that look? So I’d be alert for shortages of ice melt or leaf bags, that kind of thing, any excuse for a quick trip to ACE.

“Propane low? I’m on it!”

One day I plucked up my courage and tried the “green apple” flavor. Not bad. It was like an autumn trip to the orchard. Plus they made great stocking stuffers.

Soon I began to devise elaborate home-improvement projects just so I could buy more licorice.

Honey, I’ve going to lay down a fresh bead of bathroom caulk!

Off to ACE Hardware!

Honey, I’m thinking about removing that old wallpaper from the hallway!

Off to ACE Hardware!

Honey, I’m going to rewire a vintage entry lantern by the front door!

ZAP, SIZZLE!

(Maybe I shouldn’t mess with electricity.)

The problem is, I’m not good at this stuff. My default is shiftlessness and sloth. I don’t even own many tools. I once mashed my thumb with a hammer and I don’t want that to happen again. All I really want to do is sit in my chair and read books. But the licorice is so darned good.

Honey, I’m thinking we need a bomb shelter in the backyard. I just don’t like what I’m hearing from North Korea. I’ll be back in a minute. Just need to run to ACE for a few supplies . . . .

MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER’S IRISH OBITUARY: “There Is General Regret in Ravensdale”

I heard from a distant family relative recently who shared with me the obituary of my great-grandmother, “Mrs. McDermott.” What an unexpected treasure of family history and lost language. 

 

My maternal grandmother came over from Ireland as a teenager, though I’m unclear on the details. That’s where our roots are, where I sprang from, the wee county Louth.

I love so much the language from this 1936 newspaper clipping. Those wonderful turns of phrase for which the Irish are noted.

“There is general regret in Ravensdale . . .”

“a kindly and charitable woman”

“esteemed by her neighbors”

“exhibited many sterling qualities of head and heart”

“her charity was unbounded”

“whence the funeral on Friday at St. Patrick’s cemetery was very largely attended”

“sincere thanks to all who sympathized with them”

“in their sad bereavement”

Here is a photo from the mid-1960s. I am sitting beside Mrs. McDermott’s daughter, my grandmother Bridget Gilluly, formerly Bridget McDermott. To me she was Grandma Bridgie, and also, Granny Good Witch. She later came to live with us in Wantagh when she needed more assistance. As my brothers and sisters left the house, she arrived to take their place. 

 

 

Sidenote: My brother Alan — the Pottery King — just passed along this passport photo. Grandma Bridgie, also called Bride, returned to Ireland for a visit with her two young children, Ann (my mother) and Billy (my uncle). Click to enlarge if you are so inclined.