“Owning” Beauty

While common reaction to seeing a thing of beauty is to want to buy it, our real desire may be not so much to own what we find beautiful as to lay permanent claim to the inner qualities it embodies. Owning such an object may help us realise our ambition of absorbing the virtues to which it alludes, but we ought not to presume that those virtues will automatically or effortlessly begin to rub off on us through tenure. Endeavouring to purchase something we think beautiful may in fact be the most unimaginative way of dealing with the longing it excites in us, just as trying to sleep with someone may be the bluntest response to a feeling of love.

What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.

—Chapter 7 from The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton (Pantheon Books, NY: 2006). Emphasis mine.

Patience and Other Virtues

I have been working on a reprint of one of our books these past six months. It is a “special” book in that it needs to be processed as a duotone, as opposed to our usual full color cover and black and white interior. This is my first duotone book and because of certain production and design snafus, it is also the most troublesome book I’ve worked on.

This led me to reflect on the subtle and not-so-subtle challenges of picking up books that others have worked on previously. Much of the process includes piecing together bits and pieces of the production process that are either out of date, forgotten, or completely new.

When the original designer of the book handed the files to me, I only saw a big mess. The images were in various modes and the fonts were not importing correctly. I only have a functional knowledge of InDesign so these image problems were definitely out of my skill set. It may have served me better to start with the raw manuscript, but of course, this was unavailable.

Working on limited budget and  resources, I had to reign in our staff designer and a former volunteer graphic design intern. It was a nightmare to plan, but as scheduling and design gods have allowed, we moved along the production–stumbling along the way.

Six months, for most production schedules for reprints, may seem too long despite the book’s design challenges. For a small publisher, the process feels longer, particularly when manpower is stretched and other books push it further back.

This made me realize the patience required of me to plan clearly and calmly with projects like this. With the demands of newer books in production and my own personal schedule, it is a tough juggling act that I have to perform quickly. It requires tact and grace to push the book through completion as efficiently as possible. But I also have to think of the designers I work with and not forget to be grateful for their work.

The beauty of a small publishing house and of one driven by a mission other than profit is that you begin to understand the relationships between the different departments. As cliches would have it, we are not only cogs in the machine, but links on a chain as well. Without one aspect or link, we grow weaker and fall apart. Books that challenge us in different parts of its acquisition, production, and launch emphasize the importance of maintaining these relationships. We all recognize the need to finish our task, but we also continually learn to cope with bad days, bad news, and awful technical glitches.

I sent the book to preflight last week and it came back with a lengthy report of errors and glitches. It went back to the designer and intern today and I hope for some good news. Tomorrow calls for another juggling act and I hope this time when I toss those pins in the air, they land in my hands with grace and ease.

If not, I’m sure (lots of) coffee will get me through it.

Jack be nimble. Jack be quick.

Something about getting older makes me more prone to accidental falls, tripping, and general embarrassment. Either the universe is making me aware that gravity does exist, or that at any given time, it’s holding my precious mortality right on the edge between life and death.

Or maybe I’m just becoming increasingly clumsy.

Summer plans: Teaching and exploring social justice issues

Forgive my silence these past few weeks. I have been presented a challenge that I am excited to take on this summer: to teach high school seniors how to write personal statements and explore social justice issues as part of a five-week program.

Challenge accepted.

Now the hard work begins. I have lesson plans due in two weeks and I have but a small idea of how to tackle the theme and the expected results of the five-week class. I’ve been buried in research, brainstorming a possible weekly structure that incorporates writing and discussion of social issues. Right now the balance leans heavier on social justice, but I can’t forget that at the end of the five weeks, they have to be prepared to write their personal statements. I’ll have to teach basic composition, which according to Kim Brooks, is a grueling task (and I agree). As much as I want to talk about the news, social movements, and literature, I have to make sure they know how to fix sentence fragments, write a strong thesis statement, and properly use a comma.

I’m happy to do the work, but I find myself torn between two needs: to engage students and to teach them how to write in a formal setting. As I look at this summer program’s theme, I can’t help but ask myself: In light of all these important social issues, what does a misplaced comma or an occasional sentence fragment matter? I tell my Saturday Academy students that to write well is to think clearly (as David McCollough is quoted to have said), and thinking clearly and critically makes a big difference in how we view the world, how we interpret it, and how we share it.

I know these students have opinions, I’ve read them in one of my anonymous journal entry exercises. I know that there’s somewhere in there, in those teenage Twi-nerd hearts, that wants to effect change and take on the issues of their generation. How do I do it? How do I ferry these souls through the river of tedium that is composition?

Ideas?

P.S. I don’t really know if they like Twilight. That really shouldn’t matter, but just for clarity’s sake.

Short Letters

Dear Guam,

I like you, but I like seeing people leave you and meeting up with them again in California instead. But thank you for allowing me to meet them in the first place. Please keep them coming. Love, F.

Dear Friends I Don’t See Very Often,

I’m sorry for not keeping in touch better. I promise I will try harder and see you soon. Loving from a distance, F.

Dear Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman,

Thanks for reminding me that I can have “lady nuts” and still be assertive without completely turning into a witch. Or a troll. Or whatever. Also, you’re both pretty funny. Love, F.

Dear Chelsea Handler,

I’ve moved on. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Best, F.

Dear Unfinished Art Projects,

I promise I’ll get back to you as soon as I get supplies. I’ve just come back from Art Night and I look forward to exploring my creative side when I return from Michael’s or Target. Be back soon—F.

Dear WordPress,

Thanks for this new distraction-free writing feature. I’m really getting a lot of writing done. In the end, that’s the best review I can give. And thanks for housing my thoughts and brain farts. Love, F.

Inspired by Leah Dieterich of Thx Thx Thx.