by Patricia A. McGoldrick
I have to confess that bookmaking has become a bit of an obsession to me. Not cooking the books or becoming a bookie, but actually constructing and compiling books.
Right now, you might be dismissing this new-for-me activity as somewhat of a childish hobby in which to be engaged; however, as a poet writer, I assure you that it is a worthwhile one, one that has not only captured my imagination but that of other visual and word artists. They have, as I will discuss, inspired me to publish my poetry and stories in book form, of all shapes and sizes —creatively and sustainably.
As a bookmaking newcomer, I have been positively inspired to make books by visual and word artist, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord at http://www.makingbooks.com/. On her website, in free, PDF file format, plus a You Tube link, Susan provides user-friendly instructions for making these small books. As a poet, one of my favorite Gaylord titles, available for purchase, is Homes for Poems: Making Books for Poetry. This “home” concept for my writing appeals to me.
I am not the only one who has been drawn to Gaylord’s popular, informative, website. Poet, Kay Day, mentions it in an article "Publish your poetry; there are more options than ever,"
Making small books is an opportunity not only to share one’s writing creatively. It is also a means of practicing sustainability by reusing resources that are often right in front of us. This is clearly a focus at Gaylord’s website and it is also a focus of Jill Magi, a poet with a visual flare for reusing paper and other goods for publishing her works. This wordsmith urges readers to "Make a Tiny Book"
Last year, I wrote, designed and published several books (See Figure 1): two memorial books, one posted on my blog at http://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/; an easy-to-carry book for Poetry-in-your-Pocket month; gift books about my Mother, a little child, spring, basketball, and our puppy, Cody (Figure 3); a chapbook of my completed Poetry Month venture to write a poem-a-day based on some literary prompts during April (Figure 2). Covered with a navy sheet of cover-stock paper and spine trimmed with burgundy ribbon, this chapbook now sits in my writing area for inspiration to persevere.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3I would like to conclude by assuring you that these books are not difficult to make. For inspiration, I recommend checking out the websites I have listed; then, gather some colorful paper, yarn, glue, pictures plus your words. Make a book!
The sense of accomplishment is wonderful as you see your words being published in a book, designed by you! National Poetry Month is coming up soon—you might want to give bookmaking a try—that’s my plan!
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Patricia A. McGoldrick writes poems, essays and reviews about history, nature, books, social justice, events and people. Most recently, non-fiction article "'Now Boards'Give Life to Dreams" was published online; Poems published at Sleet; Irish American Post; Chapter And Verse; Cyclamens and Swords; League of Canadian Poets; Contributions are in: leaf press, Frost and Foliage; Voices Israel Anthology 2009; Ice: New Writing on Hockey; Love & Longing in the Near North; The Changing Image,2008,1994; The Grand Table Anthology. Patricia is a member of The Ontario Poetry Society (TOPS). WEB: http://sites.google.com/site/pmpoetwriter/
BLOGS: http://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/ ; PM27's Blog
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