One semester down

Well, as of today, I am six hours toward a master's degree in publishing. We finished our two classes with a lunch at Fossatti's Deli, and I admit I enjoy being back in school and learning about book design and getting my fonts study back. (In my day job, I use nothing but Times New Roman, so it is nice to lay out a book using Sabon and learn about Sumner Stone, who invented the Stone font.)

Once I get 18 hours, I will be eligible to teach courses as an adjunct and I think I am looking forward to that as well. Christine is finishing her second semester as a full-time English Comp instructor.

I am also exhausted as we came off of hosting guests at our home each night during the Centro Victoria Pachanga. Then I was up late finishing papers for the afore-mentioned classes. There have also been some changes at work that have created additional work. I should sleep well tonight. It's been a good semester.

Here's a link to the program page: http://www.uhv.edu/msINpublishing/

The 'dean' of South Texas letters

Still the coolest part of my job is getting to interview all the visiting authors who come as part of the American Book Review Reading Series. This week, I talked with Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, the "dean" of Mexican-American letters in Texas. Along with Don Graham, he teaches the Life & Literature of the Southwest classes at the University of Texas, which were begun by the legendary J. Frank Dobie. Hinojosa writes in English and Spanish, has penned over 20 books, and travels extensively being a Texas ambassador for the writing arts.

He and I are continuing our conversation before his visit here next week since I told him I was from the same town as George Sessions Perry, whose "Hold Autumn In Your Hand" he uses in his class. Looking forward to getting to visit personally with this man, the gentleman scholar.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1114

Cesar Martinez visits Victoria

Cesar Martinez in full lecture mode.

What a cool opportunity freshman English students at UHV had today to hear a lecture by Chicano artist Cesar Martinez of San Antonio.

I got to interview Cesar last week preceding his visit, and he has had a neat history, followed by a career that most artists would envy.
Though he is known mostly for his "pachuco" series and the "bato" paintings, he showed us some of his newer work using textures and different mediums and it is all stunning. It has the absolute flavor of South Texas, from using rattlesnake skins to painting dust devils to his subjects who make the area what it is.

He also has a great way of archiving potential subject material by going through obituary listings in the newspaper and clipping out faces that are filled with character. His "Bato con lime green shirt," pictured here, is a San Antonio man who he knew through ad agency work. The rest are mesclas of people from his family, or some he went to high school with, and others who he thought just looked interesting.

I don't think the 18-year-olds, whether Mexican-American or not, "got it" - that they were seeing a true legend in the art field. But maybe one day, they'll be able to say, "I saw Cesar Martinez in my freshman class."

Que raro. Que cool.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1100

Author interview - Beverly Lowry

Creative non-fiction maestra,
Beverly Lowry

I grew to like Beverly Lowry a lot in the short time I talked with her. She came to town and read from her upcoming book which dives into the still unsolved yogurt shop murders in Austin. I have not read her fiction, but her "creative non-fiction," which is really just very strong journalism, is riveting. I read some of her book on pick axe killer Karla Faye Tucker, who was put to death for her crimes, and could not put the book down. Her book about the Austin murders promises to be equally gripping.

Lowry is compadres with English profs Thomas Williams, Dagoberto Gilb and Kim Herzinger. She bragged on a small-school program who commits to bring that type of talent here to teach. Lowry was also at the University of Houston during its creative writing heyday. We purchased her biography on Harriett Tubman, which won plenty of awards and critical praise. I like her because she practices good, digging journalism. This Austin resident is a Texas treasure.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1076

Author interview - Kate Bernheimer

Kate Bernheimer, knower of all things fairy tale.

Like many people, I did a double-take when I saw one of our American Book Review speakers was an expert on fairy tales. But Kate Bernheimer is exactly that, and she put on a thoroughly enjoyable talk that showcased her extensive knowledge of the subject. The auditorium was packed, and the students stayed interested the entire time.

She was a good interview and is so enthusiastic about her subject. I mentioned that my boys were about the age where they would become interested in the Brothers Grimm or something like that, and she e-mailed me a list of five, stopping herself only because she had things to do. If you need any info on fairy tales, she is THE authority.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1057

Author interview - Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Rachel Eliza Griffiths at ABR reading. (Photo by yours truly.)

It's rare to interview someone with so many talents, but poet, painter and photographer Rachel Eliza Griffiths was a delight. She was a pleasant interview and talked about her family life, her childhood and her days of "schooling" when she first moved to New York and made the city her classroom. A beautiful, talented person.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1051

'Wanna paint this fence?'

Excellent article on how we are all being suckered into creating value for others -- and jumping at the chance to do so.

Love the comparison to Tom Sawyer: "Just imagine if Tom had also schooled them in the networking opportunities of the user-generated endeavor: 'You’re not just painting a fence. You’re building an audience around your personal brand.'"

At Media Companies, a Nation of Serfs (NYT)

Thomas Goetz: It's time to redesign medical data | Video on TED.com

Thomas Goetz: It's time to redesign medical data | Video on TED.com

This is an excellent talk about how something so seemingly simple, a better-designed medical report, could be of huge consequence to the patient. Look at how the use of color and graphics eases a patient's understanding of these generally hard-to-understand reports.

I is a gradjut student

Well, why not? Directly across the hall from my PR office is the office and class space for the Master of Science in Publishing program at University of Houston-Victoria.

It's a forward-looking program, especially for a small university. They do a lot of publishing of experimental prose and have acquired a couple of small presses. I'm looking forward to learning more about the book biz, and seeing what's happening on the digital front.

I have ordered books for the two classes I'm taking -- Style & Editing and Advanced Publishing. We're using the Chicago Manual of Style in one class, and looking at InDesign Type, plus a wood type, fontsy book for the texts. We'll be working with InDesign CS5, for which I am SO GLAD, because I have only used Microsoft Word since September, and that'll drive a man nuts.

It'll take me a while to finish, but I could teach some classes once I have 18 hours under my belt. It's a growing university and an inventive (also growing) program, so there's no telling what I could end up doing. It's part of a cool, new journey and I'm excited about it.

Author interview - Jayne Anne Phillips

Jayne Anne Phillips
(Elena Seibert photo)

We have a prose heavy kicking off the UHV/American Book Review Spring Reading Series. Jayne Anne Phillips will read here Thursday, Jan. 27. She has won, or been nominated for, many major literary awards, and her prose is so real, the ties between her characters so palpable. She's also from a small town, so I feel a kinship there, though our rural upbringings don't mean we're all gifted with the pen.

Phillips told me she's looking forward to some Texas barbeque and warmer weather. She is in Newark (under a blanket of snow and ice) where she directs the MFA in Creating Writing at Rutgers-Newark. She is good friends with UHV's Dagoberto Gilb, so hopefully we'll get to hang for a while.

"Lark & Termite" is her latest. It's gotten rave reviews, as has all her work.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1039

Costly Mistakes | American Journalism Review

Costly Mistakes | American Journalism Review

In this AJR piece, John Morton's got some very good points. You can look at about any daily paper in the nation and it is a shadow of its 2003 self. Still a lot of quality work being done, but trimming of staffs was necessary considering the drop in revenues. We all, big and small papers alike, were giving it away for free.

Still, as a left-leaner, I wish all these corporations that own so many papers would be more realistic about a lower profit margin and stop trying to live up to the 30 percent they were making back in the 1970s and early 1980s. The bean counters have definitely affected the quality of newspapers.

You can almost trace the acceptance of newspaper site pay walls along generational lines. One young consultant I know sings "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead" every time a site drops their pay wall. But others, mostly a little longer in the tooth, know that it costs money to produce, so why would you throw it out for free?

We put up a pay wall for our weekly newspaper and heard some griping, but we also more than doubled our electronic subscription count over a year.

I also watched a discussion with Hollywood "super agent" Ari Emmanuel and while it didn't deal with newspaper, it did deal with digital content. He says people in Silicon Valley are naive if they think movies and other created content should be free. He said it's simply theft to take it, even if it is easy to take.

The best thing I heard at the last newspaper convention I attended was that this transformation to digital is a 50-year process and we are still in the toddler years. It's best that newspapers: Stay on top of what is happening; try some things and stop others that aren't working; and, most importantly, realize that no matter what you do, it's going to change again, probably sooner than you would like.

Personally, I don't believe there is anything wrong with charging for the service you provide. No one, from publishers to producers to prostitutes, is going to stay in business long if they give it all away for free.

Author interview - E. Ethelbert Miller

I feel I have no business interviewing poets because the craft is lost on me. I am anxious that everything they say will be deep and I'll be unable to process or decipher what he or she means, thanks to my country bumpkin, community journalism background.

But E. Ethelbert Miller, whom I had a chance to interview last week, was very down to earth. Though still active in social justice issues for African-Americans, he doesn't have traditional Southern African-American roots. His roots are in Barbados and he was raised in the South Bronx before moving to Washington, D.C. for his college studies.

He is a very influential man in American Letters and I liked that he said he feels he should speak up "for people who are not in the room," whether that be an overlooked African-American artist or someone from Utah who is ignored by the New York publishing establishment.

I can't wait to hear his talk here at UHV. Though many give poets the back of their hand, this man's work and advocacy are important, especially in today's ideologue-dominated world.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1004

Aaaaand the other side of the advertising coin....

From the "What were they thinking" category....

Funny/disturbing advertisements.

http://www.businessblogshub.com/2010/11/are-these-the-worst-ads-ever-created/

WaPo iPad commercial

Some will no doubt gripe that the Washington Post "sold out," but this is a charming commercial and one I can relate to, dealing with old lions and new twitterers in the newsroom. Features Bob Woodward and Ben Bradlee. Also makes me want an iPad, but that's still far down the priority list.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/ipad/

Picking fonts - best practices

An inexact, subjective art form, to be sure, but here is a good article for picking fonts for your publication. Some page designers, including many at decent-sized newspapers (ahem, Telegram), give little thought to keeping their look modern, much less arranging the fonts in a way that is appealing.

It's not just picking one or two out of the font menu -- it involves contrast, weight and mood, just to mention a few traits. This article in Smashing Magazine does a great job of explaining what to look for.

Even if you're at a small newspaper, you can give your readers a modern-looking product. Check out this article for help with the fonts, an important part of the recipe for page design.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/11/04/best-practices-of-combining-typefaces

Author interview - Charles Spurlin - Plus a new press begins

This news release is more about the start of a press here at UHV than it is the author's book, though "Port of Victoria" is certainly an interesting and important part of the history of this place.

I like that the university has begun its own press -- University Press of Victoria. There is an amazing amount of creativity and progressive action toward publishing here, all of it good for the university and the town itself. More plans are in the works for books and literary journals. And today I heard discussion of possible writers' workshops.

A great place to be for readers and scribes.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=989

Author interview - McArthur/Smith

This couple teaches at UH-Victoria and just came out with an interesting book dealing with women's rights in the Lone Star State. I interviewed Judith McArthur and Harold Smith who took a new take on the subject, getting down into little known players of the movement, far beyond Ma Ferguson and Ann Richards. Published by UT Press, it will be a good classroom book but it also looks like a good read for anyone interested in women's issues.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=966

Author interview - Diana Lopez

Here's another interview with an American Book Review speaker, Diana Lopez, who is now on the faculty at UH-Victoria. She's also a family friend and boarded with us while she and husband Gene were in transition from San Antonio to Victoria. I say "boarded" because much of her time at our home was spent playing board games with our young sons. Diana is a talented writer and a solid addition to the diverse English staff at UHV. This Corpus Christi native is also about the nicest person you could ever hope to meet.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=960

Author interview - Kim Herzinger

Kim Herzinger is about the coolest guy you could meet. He recently joined the staff here at University of Houston-Victoria and it was a pleasure to talk with him (though a bit intimidating, to be sure).

Kim owns Left Bank Books in Manhattan a store for rare first-editions, not a business you can establish just anywhere, so he obviously knows writing and knows publishing. He's also THE expert on Don Barthelme, the influential Houston writer, and has edited a couple of books of his work.

You can tell from his photo that Kim is a laid-back guy. Those of us in the words business look at him and think, "Man, what a cool existence."

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=970

Author interview - Amelia Gray

Here is an interview I did a few weeks ago with Amelia Gray, a young writer who is leading the "flash fiction" genre. While I am no expert on flash fiction, and it's a little hard to follow her train of thought at times, I enjoyed her talk at the ABR Reading Series. She was funny and related well to the students and she obviously works hard as she writes advertising copy during the day. That alone was good info for the students to have if they're planning to make a living writing. Pick up her book if you want some short, fun reads.

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=976