June 28, 2007 - 8:44am
Malaspina University-College, The Institute for Coastal Research (ICR) and the Gustafson Chair of Poetry have combined their efforts to produce two student-made chapbooks (small books of 48 pages or less) based on lectures by recent poetry chairs Robert Bringhurst and Don Domanski.
The process of creating these chapbooks started with the Ralph and Betty Gustafson Trust, which was established at Malaspina in 1998 from the estate of the late Ralph Gustafson, one of Canada’s pre-eminent poets. The Trust endows an annual Chair of Poetry at Malaspina devoted to advancing Canadian poetry and supporting deserving poets. When poetry chairs Robert Bringhurst and Don Domanski gave lectures at Malaspina, these lectures were transcribed and became the basis of both chapbooks.
“These chapbooks are exquisite,” said Deborah Torkko, an English professor at Malaspina and Chair of the Gustafson Trust. “The Gustafson Trust celebrates poetry's important place in our culture and broadens the exposure to individual poets, their poetry, and their poetics. These books help us to do that.”
Torkko and publishing professor Rhonda Bailey of the Creative Writing and Journalism department convinced Bill Pennell, acting Director of the Institute for Coastal Research (an interdisciplinary research organization at Malaspina which brings together scholars and students from many disciplines to focus on coastal issues), that the publication of these chapbooks would be a good idea.
“They convinced me this was a publishing opportunity of great potential waiting to be realized,” said Pennell. “We conducted campus-wide interviews about the best actions of the ICR and a lot of people suggested publishing, so it seemed like a natural fit.”
From there, Rhonda Bailey convinced Robert Bringhurst, who is known worldwide for his expertise in design and typography, as well as poetry and linguistics, to work with her directed studies in publishing students in the design of these books from start to finish.
“Working with Robert Bringhurst on these chapbooks created an excellent learning opportunity for students,” said Bailey. “We used Bringhurst’s book The Elements of Typographic Style as our textbook for the course. Students felt privileged to work with him. They learned things a master class of designers would learn.”
The directed studies students who worked on the chapbooks included Carra Simpson, Matt Carter, Nikki Dykema and Dave Woods. They met once a week with instructor Rhonda Bailey in the ICR and even had the luxury of a two-day workshop with Robert Bringhurst on typography. He brought chapbook samples and guided students in selecting fonts, typefaces, paper and other details. The students chose to hand bind the books, so they researched and ordered the materials (special book binding needles and archival-quality linen thread) and spent one long evening hand binding 300 copies of Don Domanski’s chapbook.
“The students surpassed my expectations in every way,” said Bailey. “They took on more challenges than I imagined, but it all paid off in the end. The students loved the experience and one even says it changed her life.”
Such a learning experience fit right in with the ICR’s vision and Pennell was thrilled with the outcome.
“These handmade books came back as masterpieces. The whole process encapsulated the values of the ICR - bringing great people into contact with faculty and students to create something new within a coastal theme. Wherever possible, the students are integral in what we plan to do. Creating amazing, vivid and profound educational experiences is a pleasure and a big part of Malaspina and the ICR's goals.”
For more information on Wild Language by Robert Bringhurst, Poetry and the Sacred by Don Domanski or the forthcoming chapbook based on Canadian poet Dionne Brand’s lectures, please contact Bill Pennell at the ICR at 740-6347 or pennell@viu.ca
Tags: In the Community
