Memories

We’ve all been a bit busy lately, but this week there was a little bit of progress. First up, the deputy art editor at my old employer, Computer Arts magazine, has agreed to create a mood graphic for this very blog site. Antony and I chatted it over and decided to ask Luke for something with a bit of text, some shapes and effects, in a limited palette. Other than that, he’s free to go crazy. That’s just the sort of thing Luke loves creating. We appreciate his help with this illustration, big time.

Also, the deputy editor on Computer Arts, Tom Dennis, is going to join our editorial team and will be interviewing Antony in the next week or two. Antony is a cancer survivor and a driving force behind our project here. We’re really grateful to Tom for agreeing to work with us. Having written a piece for the book already, I know he’ll have a challenge on his hands. However the good he’s doing will outweigh that, for sure.

Because I’m going to be the editor for the Memories book, I thought I should start by writing up one of the ‘memories’ that will go in it. I decided upon a story about one day that I remember with my father, who died of a brain tumour last November. The idea was to test out our ideas on the length and format for each article in the book.

It took me ages to get started. For a long time I had a day in mind – not necessarily a nice day but a day that I remember because it was pretty meaningful for me and my sister. Eventually I started writing it last week. I swear it was the most difficult piece I’ve ever written. The first draft was a very emotional experience. Just getting the words down was about 10 times harder than, for instance, writing an article for a magazine (something I do daily). It took me most of the day to write 500 words.

The second draft was hard as well. I wanted to make the article a bit more poetic, creative, and maybe a touch romantic. After doing this, I showed it to my girlfriend but she told me she didn’t get it. I actually got quite upset about this because I’d wanted to push my creativity. However she was completely right. The parts of the article where I’d tried to play with imagery and descrptiveness made the story about my dad seem trivial. I’m glad she told me it was rubbish. A few days later I made the arty bits a lot more literal and it pulled them into the story much better.

I was pleased when she said she liked the copy after I showed it to her again. I was also nervous that my sister wouldn’t like it, just because the story wasn’t exactly a day we thought was nice or one that we’re proud of. But she said she remembered the day and she said she thought the piece was beautifully observed. Phew!

Today I’ve worked up a brief for writers who are going to help with the project and sent it around to the guys on the project to see what they think. We’re also working on choosing subjects for the book so that we can let the writers start their interviews. My good friend Tom Dennis, from Computer Arts, is most likely going to interview Antony from Subism about the cancer he survived.

I don’t want to spoil it by giving away details about the story I have written about my father. You’ll just have to wait until Memories comes out. But I will say that it is the toughest assignment I’ve ever had, creatively and emotionally. The other writers are going to find interviewing and writing challenging, but also very rewarding.

The Canadian poet Patrick Woodcock has added his support to the Memories project. Earlier this year his seventh book of poetry – Always Die Before Your Mother – was published worldwide, dedicated to his mother Susan Woodcock who died of cancer in 2007.

You’ll be able to read Woodcock’s poem Swimming with Pink Dolphins and my Dead Mother when Memories is released, and also see artists’ visual responses to this work. It’s a moving and vivid piece of poetry and we expect the accompanying artwork to be equally emotive.

You can pick up Woodcock’s book on Amazon. The poet is currently teaching English in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Memories will look at the thoughts and experiences of individuals who have survived cancer, as well as those of people who have lost loved ones.

There will be ten stories inside, each looking at one person’s recollection of a particular day in the struggle against cancer. For each of these ‘memories’ a dozen leading artists, illustrators and designers will be creating their own visual response.

Two further stories will go ‘open brief’ and we’ll be inviting creatives worldwide to make their own images to accompany the text. The best submissions will go into the book.

Memories will soon be open for artist submissions. To register your interest please contact us at info@subism.co.uk