Oh, boys. Four kinds of booze* in one evening? Good grief.
Welcome to October! No grand news to report, other than incipient Travel-a-thon; I’ll be at APE mid-month, then away for some family funerals, then home for Halloween, and then in Massachusetts for New England Webcomics Weekend! (Sorry, no New York Comic-Con for this girl; my head would’ve fallen off.) Doubtless this will have an impact on my productivity, but I’m looking forward to seeing friendly faces on both coasts. I am looking forward even more to a winter full of staying put.
But more than all of that, I’m looking forward to the next few pages. Mwahahah.
Pre-orders: still going out! Down to the last armful of book-onlys, and steadily burrowing through the painting orders. Whew! It’ll be crazy to not go through $200 of postage a week when this is all over…
It’s kind of nice when autumn rolls around here in the Pacific Northwest and the comic and the world around me are approximately climate-equal.
D.C. was great – the best break I’ve had so far from a really tough year. Thank you to everybody who came by the table at SPX – it was a wonderful weekend in which books sold themselves and lovely intelligent people kept asking me pleasant questions.
Once again I’m back on the case sending the last pre-orders and working through all the watercolors. Next week: another page! Hurray.
After a week of travel, I am home, and I find that autumn has met me here. I traditionally post this poem, “Herbsttag”, by Rainer Maria Rilke, when the moment seems right – it’s a very famous one, the subject of many dozens of English translations.
C. John Holcombe has an extended online essay on the considerations that go into translating such a soft, vivid, metered-and-rhymed poem, which I think is wonderfully worth reading. Translation is a humbling enterprise, and the shifting colors of the poem are lovely and intriguing to see in variation.
I was really introduced to Rilke through the translations of Stephen Mitchell, who prefers blank verse. Here is his version.
Lord: it is time. The huge summer has gone by.
Now overlap the sundials with your shadows,
and on the meadows let the wind go free.
Command the fruits to swell on tree and vine;
grant them a few more warm transparent days,
urge them on to fulfillment then, and press
the final sweetness into the heavy wine.
Whoever has no house now, will never have one.
Whoever is alone will stay alone,
will sit, read, write long letters through the evening,
and wander the boulevards, up and down,
restlessly, while the dry leaves are blowing.
Trans. Stephen Mitchell
Photo by Jim Wallace
—-
German original:
Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groß.
Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren,
und auf den Fluren laß die Winde los.
Befiel den letzten Früchten voll zu sein;
gib ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage,
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage
die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.
Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr.
Wer jetzt allein ist, wird Es lange bleiben,
wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben
und wird in den Alleen hin und her
unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Greetings all! This weekend I’ll be at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD, at Table F2.
This is the first time Family Man will be sold on the East Coast! In addition to books I’ll also be selling off some of the last remaining extra goodies from pre-order packages – if you came late to the party and missed out on that cool Spinoza patch or a set of bookplates, this is your chance. There will also be all sorts of prints and some super-cool bookmarks! Everything is in limited quantities, so stop by the table ASAP if you want to be sure to get something!
After that I’ll be spending a few days in D.C., taking in many nerdy historical sites (several of an 18th century nature). I regret the disruption in updates and shipping, but a fresh infusion of income and a few days away from the grind are very welcome.
While I’m gone, I’ll be uploading a few of the wee watercolor paintings I’ve been doing for the high-end pre-order packages to the Family Man site. Check in on the 13th, 15th, and 17th! Then I’ll be back and updating for the 23rd.
See you soon!
Well, it only took mumble-mumble pages, but here, ladies and gents, is a DANG WOLF.
I swear, there will be more of them. In fewer pages, this time. Considerably fewer!
Upcoming antics: September 11-12, I’ll be at the Small Press Expo in scenic Bethesda, MD! Come find me at Table 2F, right next to the excellent Carla Speed McNeil, who will probably be hosting the fire sale of the century as she prepares for Dark Horse to take over publishing her wonderful body of work.
Pre-orders are still going out – I’m down to book-only orders and anything involving an original painting, so keep your eyes on your mailboxes!
Have a lovely Labor Day weekend, my fellow Americans – I’ll see you next week.
