Le Scat Noir: January 2013

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cover Dust & Mummy Lust

I did not design this one, but wish I had.

Not sure how I missed seeing this back in 65 (when I was squatting in Gotham), but it’s a beaut. Hey, Bob. how come I’m always the last to know? (No relation.)

The book was published in the UK by Cape and the crack jacket design is by Jan Pienkowski--a Polish-born British author of children's books.

I wonder if this cover would make it past the committee today. What with all the bloodshed in the streets of Cairo.

Which reminds me, it’s time for all of Albert Cossery’s novels to be brought back in print and given shiny new faces.

Hey, New Directions, I’m available.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Poet Opal Louis Nations recently composed a poem in my honor. It was to have been recited at the Montgomery Institute National Independent Publishing Awards in Dallas on March 23. Unfortunately this year’s ceremony was cancelled as it was discovered that the pavilion is situated on a toxic waste dump.

Although we will not get to hear Mr. Nations read the poem in his rousing British accent, at least we can treasure his words.

There was a fine laddy named Norman
Who's neither a Moonie nor Mormon
Some say he's quite batty
Prints books that are scatty
And thinks he's the devil's own doorman

Sunday, January 13, 2013

More Cover Stories

Readers of this blog (yes, I mean both of you) undoubtedly know that I love book covers. I also love designing them. And I devote a fair amount of time creating covers for Black Scat Books. That’s about twenty covers, I think. I also design for other publishers. For example, I did quite a few for Paul Rosheim’s press, Obscure Publications, with my favorite being for Terry Southern’s PURITAN PORN.

_{A simple design that gets right to the point, so to speak.}
And speaking of simplicity, my cover for Erik Belgum’s COLLECTED STORT SHORIES is truly minimalist.

My cover for the forthcoming issue of FICTION INTERNATIONAL is another personal favorite. I’ve done a bunch of FI covers over the years, and one with a Beuyscout motif turned out to be one of their biggest sellers. Of course that may have been due to that issue’s contributors. Here’s an advance peek at #46.

Took my first crack at designing uniform covers for a trilogy of novels by Yuriy Tarnawsky for JEF Books..

I just completed the design for a reissue of Harold Jaffe’s PARIS 60. The book is loosely based on Baudelaire’s PARIS SPLEEN, so it seemed appropriate to use the poet’s eye.

This is one of the very few covers I’ve done in black and white.
It has the feel of the old New Directions paperbacks I was reared on, like this edition of Rimbaud’s ILLUMINATIONS.

My aesthetic usually tends toward retro and, thus, my designs rarely go out of fashion.

Smile

Monday, January 7, 2013

MY NEXT BIG THING…

The lovely writer Samantha Memi invited me to participate in a blog-chain project called “The Next Big Thing.” Thus, I’m required to interview myself and ask myself a series of predetermined questions. I’ve been told I need not take this exercise seriously, but I am still forced to spend time with myself when I could be out skipping stones in the Bay.

Oh well, here we go…

1. WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK?

SNOWDROP IN AFRICA.

2. WHERE DO YOU GET THE IDEAS FOR YOUR STORIES?

That’s always a tough one. I buy some of my ideas over the counter at Walmart. Others I find in various dumpsters throughout the Bay Area. While others arrive at my door completely unannounced; then force their way inside and squat. The good ones tend to stick around despite my repeated threats to call the cops. Of course they realize I would never do that since I can’t stomach authority figures.

Professor Snowdrop appeared as a character in several stories I wrote. I wanted to expand on these. As a devotee of Oulipo, I decided to subject the professor to several sadistic constraints.

3. WHAT'S THE GENRE FOR THE BOOK?

Metafiction. Dada-noir.

4. IF YOU HAD TO PICK ACTORS TO PLAY THE LEAD IN ONE OF YOUR STORIES, WHOM WOULD YOU PICK?

Groucho Marx. Robert Redford. Orson Wells. Anyone but Brad Pitt.

5. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BOOK IN ONE SENTENCE?

A film noir starring Groucho Marx, with a screenplay by Raymond Roussel, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

6. HOW WILL YOUR BOOK BE PUBLISHED OR WILL YOU BE HANDLING IT YOURSELF?

The book has been published in the Absurdist Texts & Documents series from Black Scat Books (www.blackscatbooks.com) . And since I’m the Président-Fondateur of the press, I guess you could say I handled it myself.

7. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT?

3 weeks to produce a rough draft of 30-pages. Additional time for the illustrations which accompany the text.

8. WHAT OTHER BOOKS WITHIN YOUR GENRE ARE SIMILAR TO YOURS?

On the surface, perhaps… Walter Abish’s ALPHABETICAL AFRICA (a brilliant book, by the way) , but In terms of plot…I can’t think of any off-hand.

9. WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

The Oulipo.

10. WHAT ABOUT YOUR BOOK WILL PIQUE THE READER'S INTEREST?

It’s an odd little tale with several twists & surprises.

Snowdrop in Africa is available here:

***

Acknowledgements

Frances Leftkowitz www.franceslefkowitz.net/