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Journey by Patricia MacLachlan (1991)
Journey is a middle grade novel by American author Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022). MacLachlan was a prolific author and published over 60 novels, eventually collaborating with her daughter. People may know her best for Sarah, Plain and Tall which won the 1986 Newbery Medal. She won it again for Journey, a slim paperback of just 80 […]
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How Photography Changed Picturebooks
The first commercial camera is thought to be the daguerreotype, which changed art forever starting in 1839. To generalise, the function of painting changed after that. Before the camera, artists functioned as photographers do today; the skill of authentic reproduction was highly valued because there was no other way of recording something than to paint […]
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Negatives by Annie Proulx Short Story Analysis
“Negatives” is a short story by Annie Proulx, first published 1994 in Esquire, later included in the Heart Songs collection. You can read it online, with limited unpaid access. “Negatives” is the most brutal of the stories in this collection. Content note for rape. Reasons to read this story: THE DEEP AUTUMN CAME QUICKLY. Abandoned […]
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Cameras In Storytelling
The invention of cameras was a boon for storytellers. Writers and film directors have this new narrative tool — in the shape of a camera — which allows them to play around with perspective, to use as a metaphor and as a way to explore death. (No kidding. Read on!)
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Ways Of Seeing On YouTube
EPISODE ONE, PART ONE John Berger tells us that late 20th century audiences view classic paintings very differently from earlier people. A large part of seeing depends on habit and convention. European paintings are made for European perspectives. Perspective depends on the eye of the beholder, like an inverse lighthouse. Instead of light beaming in, […]
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Picturebook Study: Why the Black and White?
1. THE AIR OF UNCOMPROMISING DETACHMENT While some picturebooks are in black and white for economic reasons, serious picture-book artists who choose to aavoid color in a medium noted for its use of color often have similar special points to make. The obvious example is the work of Chris Van Allsburg. The black-and-white pictures in […]