O

Oak Knoll: A major contributor on many fronts. The annual Fest provides a venue for artists to parade their work before institutional and private collectors. Equally important are the publications produced under its imprint, one of the few houses to document and glorify Book Arts. Bob Fleck and his staff deserve thanks and support. Opsimath: One who learns late in life. Over 50 and discovering fine press and artists’ books for the first time, over 60 and discovering new and worthy work almost daily — we’re glad there’s a word for it.

P

Parking Spaces on Campus: As valuable as undeveloped coastland, and at least as rare. Finding parking on campus is sometimes the most difficult and exasperating part of our day. The low point of too many days is to arrive at the parking lot/structure where we’ve been parking of the last few years only to find a hole or fenced construction sight. The last time Bill cried was when….Philip Pullman: author of The Golden Compass, quoted in The New Yorker: “‘Thou shalt not’ may reach the head, but it takes ‘Once upon a time to reach the heart.’”

Q

Questions most asked: What is an artists’ book? What’s been the reaction to my new book? What is an artists’ book? When will the check be here? What is an artists’ book? How do people like my new book? What’s an artists’ book? Why haven’t I been paid for the book you said you sold? What’s an artists’ book? Any movement on my book? What’s an artists’ book? This is ridiculous; where’s the check?

R

Jonathan Raban: A transplanted Londoner living in Seattle, Raban’s non-fiction books are wise, witty, stylish, and highly recommended (by Bill, who hasn’t yet convinced Vicky to read one).

S

Serendipity: We love, believe in, and can attest to the power of serendipity in our lives. We embrace it every day. Samantha: Our dog, a from-the-pound Spaniel mix, who goes to Dog Camp (ten acres, many simpatico canine friends) when we are on the road.. She hasn’t refused to come back to us yet, but we could understand. Speeding tickets: This was the year for speeding tickets. One well deserved in Vermont (late for an appointment, mad and embarrassed), one in small town Georgia where, according to our driver, speed limit signs confused the issue. Tom Stoppard: In Bill’s opinion, the most interesting, enjoyable, and exciting playwright going. Travesties and On the Razzle this year, but missed The Coast of Utopia by a week in New York (the three plays in a single Saturday). Vicky was not heartbroken. Sudoku: Vicky’s refuge against the traffic (See  traffic). Whenever we hit traffic — and it’s not just Southern California freeways, traffic is as omnipresent as bad hair — Vicky focuses on the laptop or pulls out her Sudoku book. She’s in a fog of concentration, and not in danger of injuring her brake-foot on the pedal that doesn’t exist for the passenger seat or ripping the ceiling upholstery as she braces herself for impending collisions.

T

The Teaching Company: College courses on tape, at least college professors presenting a series of lectures about all manner of things. Courses on history, literature, and language accompany us on our trips, and provide a change-of-pace to books-on-tape. Like everything else these days, they’re always on sale and, it seems to us, consistently worthy and worthwhile. Traffic: It’s everywhere, everywhere, everywhere — and getting worse. Tolerance: It’s nowhere, and the lack of it makes the world a more dangerous and unpleasant place. If you don’t know what I mean, we are truly from different generations. If you do know what I mean and don’t care, we’re on different sides of an important divide.

U

Umbrella: This quarterly, edited and published by Judith Hoffberg, includes reviews and notice of exhibitions. Now available only on the web for $15/year for individuals and $20/year for institutions. The Umbrella Journal 1978-2005 (the longevity is unheard of) is browsable and searchable. A bargain, a wonderful anomaly.

V

Van: Our traveling gallery is a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, which began service at the end of August 2006.  With all seats removed except for the driver’s and front passenger, it will hold 10 wheeled suitcases full of bookworks, a few items too large for  the cases, and enough clothes to get us by for a month or two at a time. As of the last day of 2007 it was approaching 55,000 miles.

W

Windows: The sort with panes and nothing to do with Microsoft. We spent two weeks in December moving V&T vertically some 20 feet, up one floor to a smaller space. We could have used the room we gave up, but what we gained — oh, what we gained — windows. We’re convinced that heaven must have windows. W is for W. One more year. Enough said.

X

Xylography, or wood engraving: This was another buffer year for the special ones: Miriam Macgregor, Abigail Rorer, Gaylord Schanilec. X: for the unnamed librarians and artists who shall remain unnamed (for the time being) because they Xed or didn’t X or are forever Xing or refuse to X. How dare they?

Y

William Butler Yeats: a poet who speaks to and for Bill every year. On the one hand he described the first decade of this century almost a century ago: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.” (“The Second Coming”) [N.B. The “worst” are fanatics here, there, and everywhere.] On the other hand, Yeats can write: “I am content to live it all again / And yet again, if life be to pitch /Into the grog-spawn of a blind man’s ditch, … / We must laugh and we must sing. / We are blest by everything. / Everything we look upon is blest.” (“Dialogue of Self & Soul”) In other words: In spite of everything — YES.

Z

Zzxjoanw: Scrabble players beware. Rupert Hughes' The Music Lovers' Encyclopedia, (first published in 1903), asserted that "zzxjoanw" was the name of a Maori drum, .despite the fact that there's no Z, X or J in the Maori language. (Nothing to do with Book Arts, but we need a break some times.)

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable,

and wealthy, not rich;

to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages

with open heart;

to study hard,

to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently,

await occasions, hurry never;

in a work, to let the spiritual,

unbidden and unconscious,

grow up through the common —

this is my symphony.

— William Henry Channing

Thanks for 2007
May your life have purpose and poetry in 2008

< Back to previous page

n

         Back to About Us Page