J.M.G Le Clézio

My name is John Shakespear. I'm a Cambridge boy, a compa-rative literature student, and – you guessed it – one of the summer interns at Godine. When we were recently moving shop to our new office at 15 Court Square, my fellow intern Ellie and I packed up the reference library and occasionally a book would catch our eye. I noticed the name J.M.G. Le Clézio, and I wound up picking up his book Desert.

I was drawn in by Desert's opening pages, which depict the dreamlike descent of a tribe to a long-awaited oasis, and I took the book with me and resolved to find out more about Le Clézio. I learned that J.M.G. stood for Jean-Marie Gustave, that he won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature, and that he spoke at the 2011 Seoul International Forum for Literature in May. In the days leading up to that event, Le Clézio gave a very interesting interview with Lee Sun-Min of the Korea JoongAng Daily in which he talked about the role of literature in our modern, globalizing world. Here's what he had to say:

“The subject the forum is going to talk about – the globalizing world and the human community – has been talked about frequently at many other forums as well worldwide. However, it is still important, it is discussed over and over again, since literature is something that travels across national borders. Of course, there is a limit, since the original words of literature are written in a (native) language. But as long as they deal with factors and ideas that all human beings can sympathize with, they will carry their power.

I heard this story, if you take a picture of all the human races and show 20 pictures every second, people cannot tell who’s Asian and who’s African and who’s European. Eventually, all the faces appearing look the same. This shows that there is something universally inherent in humans. What literature needs to do is find that inherent universal thing in humankind and let more people know about it.”

Le Clézio’s faith in the power of literature to tap into universal, borderless human experiences and sentiments is at the heart of his 1980 novel Desert, which was first published in English translation by Godine in 2008 and has now become an eBook. The sprawling, beautiful narrative crosses national borders and the first half of the 20th century as it tells the parallel tales of one son and one daughter of a nomadic Saharan tribe called the Blue Men. What really struck me about Desert was Le Clézio’s ability to use language to pull me off of my couch, out of my air-conditioned apartment – in short, out of my comfortable life – and into a world governed by very elemental and immediate human needs. Thirst, hunger, spiritual nourishment, staying warm – these are all essential aspects of what it means and has always meant to be human, but they can lose their immediacy for those who, like me, are lucky enough to live fairly comfortably. It was refreshing to read Le Clézio’s elemental, sensory prose, which draws out the natural danger and beauty inherent in those basic realities.

The rest of the interview can be found here. The eBook edition of Desert is now available at the Google eBookstore.

Superior Person's Tuesday!

Dissave v. Believe it or not, this delightful word means exactly what it ought to – the opposite of "save." To dissave is to spend more than one's income by drawing upon one's savings or capital. In a sense, it could be said that the ultimate object of all saving is dissaving; this is something that not many people realize.



Each Tuesday, we’ll offer up a Superior Word for the edification of our Superior Readers, via the volumes of the inimitable Peter Bowler. You can purchase all or any of the four Superior Person’s Books of Words from the Godine website. Dissave appears in the Second.

Correspondence on Bookslut

A big thank you goes out to Colleen Mondor at Bookslut for her review of the new Godine novel Correspondence: An Adventure in Letters by N. John Hall. Colleen recommends Correspondence as "an armchair education on Victorian literature":

"Dickerson's evolution from mildly interested to deeply committed is a joy to follow and the many lessons on the Victorians that Hall artfully embeds in the text are welcome to anyone who wants to know more without tackling a biography (or night school). In many ways, Correspondence serves as the best sort of English textbook; it contains a bit of a mystery, some warm exchanges between friends, and more than one kind word for some truly great writers. An AP English student would find much here to worth adding to his classroom education but I can't help thinking it is people who find themselves in circumstances similar to Dickerson -- finally with the time on their hands to learn all they missed -- who will most likely embrace it. These are literary lessons at their most amiable and a tonic to the chaos of the world around us."

Independence Day by Mark Doty

In honor of the Fourth of July holiday, we wanted to share an excerpt from a poem from Turtle, Swan by the incomparable Mark Doty:

Independence Day

Benches spangled in shade,
billows of bunting in river breeze,
the esplanade blazing: blanket to blanket
and cooler to cooler, their quarter-million radios’
zones of sound overlapping, a quarter-million
have gathered early for the fireworks.

The two of us can’t help but feel part
of this immense party: everywhere
we are spread on quilts, masked in visors
and sunglasses. The collective future’s decided,
I guess, by these crowds—more of us
than I’ll ever see in one place, and all out

for a good time. We all stake claims:
sometimes even a makeshift tent or string fence
marks a chosen portion of view,
though everyone seems more interested
in the community of viewers. We wonder
if the scene might be much different in war

or disaster—these could be refugees
lugging their portable households—
but these are cheerful explosions, surprises
and mock danger everyone seems to like.
Glow-in-the-dark headbands begin to shine
as evening comes on, electric pink

or blue, as if the buyer could wear a thin stripe
of the neon that will later burst
over the water, a fire to keep.
The faces of the vendors
who carry hundreds in swaying bundles
glow in the light of their fifty-cent toys.

. . .

Back when we were both very young, Godine had the honor of publishing the first two poetry books of Mark Doty, who has since gone on to considerable and deserved fame and fortune, winning the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008, as well as honors from the National Book Critics Circle, the LA Times Book Prize, a Whiting Award, and (as the first American in its history) the T.S. Eliot Prize. This fall Godine will publish Paragon Park, a new collection with the complete texts of Doty's Turtle, Swan and Bethleham in Broad Daylight along with almost two dozen poems that have appeared in small magazines but have never before been collected.

Printing Arts Fair in North Andover, MA

Bright and early this past Father’s day morning, this daughter set out for North Andover, MA. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant about my destination, given that it was directly across an area known as First Burying Ground that hosted all sorts of tales. Most luckily, I met neither witch nor foe. Instead, a hot sun, clear skies, and the fresh cut lawns of North Andover bid me welcome.

Fellow intern, John, met me at the annual Printing Arts Fair at The Museum of Printing. We set up our table on the second floor of the museum and watched book arts enthusiasts filter in and out, enjoying the numerous interesting exhibitors. Our exhibit featured several different books that we had a feeling might be of interest to the guests of the Printing Arts Fair. Many families stopped to chat about how they were quite familiar with a few of our books and perused some of our more recent titles. A lucky raffle winner won a copy of Personal Impressions: The Small Printing Press in Nineteenth-Century America by Elizabeth M. Harris.

Some guest favorites at our table included Lettered Creatures by Brad Leithauser, The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, Anatomy of a Typeface by Alexander Lawson, and Bibliotopia: Or Mr. Gilbar’s Book of Books & Catch-all of Literary Facts and Curiosities by Steven Gilbar.


Unfortunately our exhibit being on the second floor meant we were missing out on all the fun outside, so John and I took turns exploring other parts of the building and checking out the booths outside the front of the museum. I was initially surprised by the number of young children in tow at the fair but soon discovered there were demonstration tables set up for all ages to enjoy, giving many visitors the opportunity to print. This was very exciting to see, as many conversations that occurred at our table seemed to include the phrases “a dying art,” “kids these days,” and “I remember when.” One of the main goals of the fair appeared to be engaging young children, which is certainly of key importance when considering educating all ages on the history of printing and introducing the refined beauty of book arts.

We’re pleased to have attended the fair and been given the opportunity to share our books with true printing aficionados!

To visit The Museum of Printing, visit their website http://museumofprinting.org for hours and admission information.

We're looking for Fall interns!

Interested in learning the inner workings of an established independent book publishing house in downtown Boston? Do you want exposure and experience to everything from editing and proofreading to sales/marketing and production projects?

If so, we're looking for a few excellent interns for the Fall!

Godine offers general internships designed to expose students and recent graduates to the full range of operations of an independent publishing house. In addition to general office administration (mail, phones, etc.) interns work with our staff on a daily basis on tasks in all departments: editorial, publicity, marketing & sales, and production. Beyond that, interns are generally assigned a long-range project that is tied more closely to a specific title on our list.

While preference is given to candidates with an interest in editorial work, students with an interest in the business side of publishing are encouraged to apply. We are looking for people with strong basic office skills (Word, Excel, FileMaker Pro), and good basic proofreading and editorial skills. Experience with graphic arts software (Quark, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) is welcome but is not a prerequisite. We require a minimum commitment of 20 hours a week for 3-4 months. Internships are unpaid. A writing sample is unnecessary.

Applications for fall internships are due by July 15. Please send your resume and cover letter (by post) to our new address:

David R. Godine, Publisher
Fifteen Court Square, Suite 320
Boston, MA 02108

No phone calls or emails, please.

Superior Person's Tuesday!

Jactation n. Boasting, bragging. A specialized – indeed highly specialized – variant is jactitation, as in "jactitation of a marriage": falsely putting it about that you are married to a particular person. Both words may be of use in wedding reception speechmaking, but the author leaves the specifics of this to the reader.


Each Tuesday, we’ll offer up a Superior Word for the edification of our Superior Readers, via the volumes of the inimitable Peter Bowler. You can purchase all or any of the four Superior Person’s Books of Words from the Godine website. Jactation appears in the First.

Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel in the Boston Globe!

A thank you goes to Jan Gardner at the Boston Globe for the Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America mention yesterday:

Now comes the story of another unlikely pair of art collectors. Like Herb and Dorothy, the Cone sisters learned about art as they collected. Yet coming from a wealthy family, they didn’t bother with a budget. Still, Etta and Claribel Cone spent their money wisely. They bought what they liked, and what they liked was works by Henri Matisse, with whom they became friends.

The sisters’ taste in art was impeccable. Their collection — including 500 Matisses and 2,500 works by Picasso, Cézanne, Gauguin, and others — was bequeathed to the Baltimore Museum of Art when Etta died in 1949.

This summer the legacy of the Cone sisters is being highlighted in a new book and exhibit. Susan Fillion, who teaches drawing at the Baltimore Museum of Art, has written and illustrated “Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America’’ (Godine). Growing up in Baltimore, Fillion learned of the globetrotting sisters who bonded with fellow Baltimore residents Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo over their mutual love of art.

With her book, Fillion hopes to introduce a younger generation to these sisters who, in following their bliss, amassed an important art collection. Readers will recognize many of the paintings reproduced in Fillion’s book, reproductions likely to stir an interest in seeing the originals. That can be done at “Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore’’ at the Jewish Museum in New York City through Sept. 25.

Susan Fillion's Event in Cambridge

Another wonderful event by Susan Fillion to celebrate the publication of her book Miss Etta and Dr. Claribel: Bringing Matisse to America! Last Tuesday Susan came to town and gave her packed audience at the Porter Square Bookstore in Cambridge a mini-course in modern art, complete with slides. To call the event a reading would be misleading—Susan does not so much read from her book as entertain, delight, and instruct. A natural speaker, and trained docent, she leads you to her book indirectly, so that the real treat, the book itself, still awaits you, beckoning beneath its jewel-colored jacket.

A big thanks to Jory Hearst, Susan’s niece and a Porter Square Books employee, for helping to make the event such a success, and to all those who came from near and far (including Eva, Susan’s daughter, whose surprise visit made her day)!

Photos from the event:

Susan Fillion with her editor at Godine (and the author of this post), Susan Barba

Fillion with David R. Godine