The books arrived today. Fortunately, we were able to allocate them around the world for the various upcoming exhibits and signings, so only 30 crates of books had to be hoisted up the five flights of stairs. I need the workout.
Now that the finished product is in hand, the pain of creation fades. It has been a long year. When we finally had the book outline approved and deadlined, the BP gulf spill occurred. I remember thinking 2 things: can I go down and do something that has not been done by all of the journalists convening on the gulf, and what is this going to do to the book deadline?
As it was, I did go down, and got some amazing images. The memory of waiting in the Mobile airport, begging the airline counter people for the last ticket back to New York (more than once) and all the while pulling out the laptop whenever I had a quiet moment and writing, writing, writing. Being the world’s worst at deadlines, I was supposed to keep all of the contributors on schedule as well? Some, especially Dr. Hansen, did not sign on until after the deadline. And how can you rush James Hansen?
Then there are always the re-writes. Trying to craft clear language that expresses complex issues while simultaneously having a lyrical tone is the hardest thing in the world.
Of course, we missed the deadline, primarily because of all of the time I spent shooting the Gulf. At the time it seemed like a tragedy: missing the Christmas season. It turned out to be one of those mysterious blessings. What could be more timely than to have the book come out when I have two shows up in New York, and a raft of press? The book became a catalyst magnifying the impact of all of the events.
Time to move on and tackle Arctic drilling.
They tell us the books are arriving at the warehouse any day. Very exciting.
So much has happened that the book seems like an old friend: visual memory almost forgotten; what remains is the sense and smell.
And in spite of the anxieties about arrival date and disappointment from missing the season of Christ, the timing could not be better with the two exhibitions opening in NYC.
I look forward to having this testament in my life.
So many thanks to the different contributors.
Thanks to my awesome publisher, powerHouse Books, a beautiful B-Side is now available for my new book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis. Check it out!
Have you reserved your copy of DAT yet? Don’t wait any longer! The book will be flying off bookstore shelves, come Feb 2011!
It’s nice to have heroes, and nicer to meet them and have them live up to your anticipation.
Jim Hansen is just such a man: an honest, skeptical citizen looking for the truth, and willing to keep saying it, in spite of opposition. He recently received the Blue Planet Prize and his message rings no less powerful.
I’m honored to have him as a contributor in The Day After Tomorrow: Images Of Our Earth In Crisis.
After all the work and dialog about the content of the book, going over picture choice and text editing endlessly, re-editing and corrections and rules of English, we come finally to the cover.
Of course the first question is image selection; everyone has their preference, and valid reasons for the choice.
Once the image is agreed, then text.
Trips to bookstores to see which designs on the shelves grab the eye.
And then you start to ponder how the books are displayed; how the placement decisions are made and handed down, whether the book’s landscape format will handicap it in a portrait world.
Of course these are imponderables, but you grapple anyway.
And ultimately you have to go with what your gut tells you, after absorbing as much input as possible.
Remember your initial impulse and stay on that line.
Trust yourself.
Last night I had the great pleasure to go to the house of Pam and Eric Pooley for another great slow food event hosted by Katonah Green. I made okra and tomatoes, with a little jalapeno pepper, and it was a good batch. But it paled in comparison to the variety of delectables brought by the other guests. These events are: a gourmand’s delight, and a wonderful meeting of like-minded people concerned for the future of our children.
Pam is a landscape architect of great talent, and it was a pleasure to see the garden (and steal a few hot peppers to replenish my supply).
Eric recently published The Climate Wars, a book about the political battles being waged around this most pressing of issues. This is a must read for anyone that wants to understand how we can sell our children down the river to enrich a few hydrocarbon barons that have managed to mis-brand the issue as one of jobs and national defense. The irony is that national defense and the economy are more at risk from our inaction on this issue than from the remedial actions we could take, that would actually put our country back at the forefront of the global economy.
Eric’s insightful analysis of the characters and situation are a well-written joy.
Thanks to the good advice of the folks at Really Social Strategies, we set up the book blog and a book web page well in advance of the time when they would be needed (or so we thought.) The book is scheduled for a January release, perfect timing for the Gerald Peters vernissage in New York City .
Turns out, Dr. Hansen really likes the piece he wrote for the book, Activist, and has been talking about it in recent interviews in the New York Times and The Guardian.
Fortunately, though, the pages were ready to go live as soon as we heard about the interviews.
My filmmaker friends tell me that the great films are never finished, they are abandoned.
Of course any large project involves tremendous second-guessing, rewrites, and endless error-checking, but as production draws to a close on The Day After Tomorrow: Images Of Our Earth In Crisis, I’m almost embarrassed to say that it has not been too painful.
Unfortunately the production schedule conflicted with many other big projects (exhibits and shoots) that had been in the pipeline for years, and the BP Deepwater disaster especially interfered with the deadlines. The emotional toll of repeated trips down to the Gulf has been great, and post production of those images has been extremely consuming.
Powerhouse has been very helpful, grumbling a bit about missed deadlines, but supportive of the decisions that led to them. So many things developed as we were writing and assembling the book which had to be included, it’s surprising we are so close to schedule.
One of the most exciting things for me about the book is the people who have contributed: some of the writers, scientists, and environmentalist that I respect most in the world agreed for some reason to write. Each contributed a personal essay, running the gamut from hilarious to heart-wrenching. A discussion of who they are and what they wrote in the next blog.
This will be an outlet for all things book-related! Check back soon and often for the latest news, updates, information, and special events, all relating to my new book, The Day After Tomorrow: Images of Our Earth in Crisis, published by powerHouse Books in cooperation with Random House, due to be released this November, 2010.
Categories: art book
Tags: art, book, climate change, eco-friendly, environment, Frances Mayes, global warming, green, J Henry Fair, James Hansen, photography
