| A Publication of the Region 2 Arts Council | Vol. 1 No. 6 | November, 2001 |
Guest Commentary |
Valuable Art Lost in WTCBy KATHERINE ROTH, AP Millions of dollars worth of art, including works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Joan Miro and Roy Lichtenstein, was damaged or destroyed by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. "The terrorist attack not only destroyed human lives but it was an attack on our financial community, on our freedoms, on our very culture and civilization," said Sally Webster, professor of art history at City University's graduate center and Lehman College. With the exception of Miro, the art in the Trade Center was done by Americans, she said. "That their work should be attached to this important symbol of our city and country was not accidental," Webster said. "This was us at our best." The works, reportedly worth about $10 million, include a bright red 25-foot Calder sculpture, the 1971 "Red Stabile," at 7 world Trade Center; a painted wood relief by Nevelson entitled "Sky Gate, New York," which hung in 1 World Trade Center; a painting by Lichtenstein from his "Enablature" series that had been in the lobby of 7 World Trade Center; and Miro's "World Trade Center" tapestry from 1974 that was on display in 2 World Trade Center. It is not yet known how many of the works are salvageable. But Karen Yager, an independent conservator working for various downtown art groups, said that one of Nevelson's works looked good, as did a piece by Dubuffet. Glimpses of Lichtenstein's 30-foot sculpture, "Modern Head," have been seen on television news clips covered in dust and debris. "Over time, we're worried about acidity and stuff like that eating into the stone work of buildings with carved facades and decorative elements," she said. |
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Thousands of newly released, glossy, full-color hardcovers and paperbacks were recently propped up, stacked, displayed and ballyhooed at St. Paul's RiverCentre. The occasion for the glorious promotion? The Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) trade show. The UMBA trade show is the Super Bowl party of the book publishing industry, except that everyone claims to have the championship "title" of the year. All the major players were there: HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill, Barron's, Scholastic and Penguin Putnam. Each exhibitor offered drastic discounts in the hopes of enticing bookstore owners to place orders. Many publishers gave away books along with other freebies. Competition, as they say, was fierce. By the second day of the show, booksellers' arms and backs ached from carrying bulging tote bags. They patiently waited in long lines to meet upcoming or established writers, such as Leif Enger (Peace Like a River), Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie), Cheri Register (Packinghouse Daughter) and Emily Carter (Glory Goes and Gets Some). Unfortunately, modest, independent literary presses like Bemidji's very own Loonfeather Press are often overlooked by bookstore owners and budding authors. Granted, small to mid-sized publishers don't have big budgets to mass produce tens of thousands of books. We generally can't sponsor a nationwide book tour. We probably can't get an author interviewed by Letterman. And if you've written a romance novel, Fabio won't likely be on the cover. Nevertheless, small literary presses serve a vital function in the industry. We are often the first outlet for beginning writers. Rather than only seeking the next Clancy or Grisham (with their guaranteed book sales), we |
publish quality work by the undiscovered. Thanks to grants from Region II Arts Council and other funding sources, Loonfeather Press has been able to print a bilingual (English and Ojibwe) children's book, an illustrated journal about loon behavior and an award-winning book of creative non-fiction, to name a few. In fact, small publishers are perhaps the only ones left willing to print poetry books (which are risky because sales, sadly, tend to be a pittance). Creative types always dream big, but instead of striving to get published in Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker right off the bat, consider building your artistic resume by submitting work to regional literary journals. Exceptional poetry and prose by emerging writers appears in small literary magazines, like Loonfeather Annual and others. At the UMBA convention, one publisher complained about how often unknown writers present a manuscript of poems or short stories and ask, "Will you publish it?" The answer is generally "no" because the writer doesn't have any credentials. So if you're a fledgling novelist or poet, imagine yourself as a car salesperson. You have designed and hand-constructed a thing of beauty. It is sleek, and you believe, honed to perfection. Without prior experience or references, however, potential investors will consider your work a lemon. They want to know "Where else have you sold your work?" "Show me other satisfied customers." "Who has test driven your work?" Don't be discouraged. Simply turn your attention to the people interested in getting you on the road to first-time publication: small literary presses. Shannon Geisen is a freelance writer and journalist. She presently works at the Park Rapids Enterprise. She also serves as an editorial board member for Loonfeather Press. |
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