Monthly Archives: April 2014

April 20

Engraving in the 21st Century

When asked if I would review the new textbook on engraving, Design to Touch, written by Rose Gonnella and Erin Smith and published by the International Engraved Graphics Association (IEGA), I of course leapt at the chance. As someone enchanted by letterpress printing, I am equally fascinated by its sister art. Physically, the processes are […]

April 14

Children’s Books I Hate (And My Son Loves)

When we visit the children’s room of the library, I gravitate toward the shelf of Caldecott winners: those inventively written and gorgeously illustrated books that I often remember from my own childhood. But ever since he’s had the power to move around independently, my son has toddled elsewhere. I know nothing about children’s book publishing, but there’s a class of […]

April 09

Reader Empathy

We’re reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist in my World Literature class right now. Included in the brief Q&A at the back of our book is a comment from author Mohsin Hamid about why he writes: “I believe that the core skill of a novelist is empathy: the ability to imagine what someone else might feel.” After […]