radfrac_archive_full (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
radfrac_archive_full) wrote2007-08-24 09:58 am
radfrac_archive_full) wrote2007-08-24 09:58 am
festival notes 1: things you wish you had
The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts takes place at Rockwood Centre, which is a beautiful camp-like space right in the town of Sechelt, behind the library and not five minutes from the water.
The site is steeply sloped, which makes it awkward in terms of accessibility, though mom didn't have much trouble on her braces. She's way more mobile since the knee surgery, and she has noticeably more energy. I almost cried when she talked about last year, when she had a lot less control and her fatigue was worse. She said she was terrified going up and down the hill, and that the bathrooms were really difficult. But she did it anyway, several times. That's my mom. Absolutely stubborn if she wants to do something.
The hall uses the natural slope of the site to create its stadium seating. It has a lower and an upper entrance. The food kiosks were along the path to the upper entrance, and then on the level above that was the book tent.
There were several tables in the tent -- one for festival merch, one for the authors' books, one for local self-published authors, and one for the Alcuin society.
They're a typography and book arts society. I'd never heard of them. They seem like a peculiar mix -- almost unworldly. The generation before digital took off, and not really at ease with its possibilties -- happier with the stern requirements of earlier technologies.
The table was full of pamphlets and a few limited-edition books for sale, and this is the only evidence for my deductions. The layouts were clean but not striking, and some of the merchandise was water- or age-damaged. Given that, the prices seemed surprisingly high to me -- maybe that's what limited-edition is like, but there were flyers or folders for $15 and $25. They use some digital typesetting. I'm not sure about the printing -- they don't do it themselves anymore, and I think at least some of it was digital. Though apparently you can still find letterpress printers in Vancouver, which, how cool is that?
It's not that I don't believe their costsand effort made the pricing logical; it's just that as a zine-maker, used to putting in dozens of hours and scraping together money to produce something you'll sell ten copies of for $2 apiece, it was odd to see a three-fold brochure (vintage? letterpress?) valued so highly.
I was browsing politely, wondering what I was missing, when I came across:
"Bringhurst!" I crowed. And that did it. We were away. I bought the pamphlet (4 pages of nice 8-1/2 x 11 laid, staple-bound, not sure of print method (no noticeable type impression), circa 1986 but it could have been a reprint -- $15.) We gossiped Bringhurst. They gave me one of the member posters, an information pamphlet (offset) and three catalogues from the annual book design awards they give -- which I was also unaware of (shame). So that my free swag more than compensated for any sentimental Bringhurst-induced expenses.
I'm considering joining. They seem eccentric. And who else is going to send you a poster of a sonnet as a members' incentive?
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The site is steeply sloped, which makes it awkward in terms of accessibility, though mom didn't have much trouble on her braces. She's way more mobile since the knee surgery, and she has noticeably more energy. I almost cried when she talked about last year, when she had a lot less control and her fatigue was worse. She said she was terrified going up and down the hill, and that the bathrooms were really difficult. But she did it anyway, several times. That's my mom. Absolutely stubborn if she wants to do something.
The hall uses the natural slope of the site to create its stadium seating. It has a lower and an upper entrance. The food kiosks were along the path to the upper entrance, and then on the level above that was the book tent.
There were several tables in the tent -- one for festival merch, one for the authors' books, one for local self-published authors, and one for the Alcuin society.
They're a typography and book arts society. I'd never heard of them. They seem like a peculiar mix -- almost unworldly. The generation before digital took off, and not really at ease with its possibilties -- happier with the stern requirements of earlier technologies.
The table was full of pamphlets and a few limited-edition books for sale, and this is the only evidence for my deductions. The layouts were clean but not striking, and some of the merchandise was water- or age-damaged. Given that, the prices seemed surprisingly high to me -- maybe that's what limited-edition is like, but there were flyers or folders for $15 and $25. They use some digital typesetting. I'm not sure about the printing -- they don't do it themselves anymore, and I think at least some of it was digital. Though apparently you can still find letterpress printers in Vancouver, which, how cool is that?
It's not that I don't believe their costsand effort made the pricing logical; it's just that as a zine-maker, used to putting in dozens of hours and scraping together money to produce something you'll sell ten copies of for $2 apiece, it was odd to see a three-fold brochure (vintage? letterpress?) valued so highly.
I was browsing politely, wondering what I was missing, when I came across:
Shovels, shoes and the slow rotation of letters: a feuilleton in honour of John Dreyfus
Compiled by Robert Bringhurst and produced for the Alcuin Society
"Bringhurst!" I crowed. And that did it. We were away. I bought the pamphlet (4 pages of nice 8-1/2 x 11 laid, staple-bound, not sure of print method (no noticeable type impression), circa 1986 but it could have been a reprint -- $15.) We gossiped Bringhurst. They gave me one of the member posters, an information pamphlet (offset) and three catalogues from the annual book design awards they give -- which I was also unaware of (shame). So that my free swag more than compensated for any sentimental Bringhurst-induced expenses.
I'm considering joining. They seem eccentric. And who else is going to send you a poster of a sonnet as a members' incentive?
{rf}
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he's a bit of an alcuin misfit because he wants to take the world of traditional design and uses it to create well designed AND accessible works of literature through digital means.
using letter presses and fancy paper increases the labour and cost...and hence why you get certain book editions selling for $250. any less and someone isn't being compensated for their time. and surprisingly there is a market for it. almost all special edition pressings sell out because of book collectors.
anyways. my prof. jason dewinetz. he is a bringhurst disciple. he actually spent awhile hanging out with him and learning from him. he runs greenboathouse press in vernon, bc (who do really amazing things with some really amazing writers).
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>any less and someone isn't being compensated for their time
For sure. As I say, I thought it was probably valid. I'm just used to not being compensated for my time.
How does your prof characterize the society?
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Bringhurst does a lot with the society (consulting and jury work) so I think that most typographers (at least those involved in book design) give Alcuin props and respect but it's not...yeah.
That is to say that I think there are a lot of obvious reasons why people would both respect and malign The Alcuin Society.
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