Category: Books

A few weeks ago, I asked for and received a review copy of Jeffrey Zeldman’s fine book, Taking Your Talent to the Web: A Guide for the Transitioning Designer. My rationalization was that if I was indeed able to sell the review, Jeffrey would sell more books than my simply paying for one. The review is written and is making the rounds. Look for it here in a short while (pssst! Brand new section coming soon, with all my recent writing).

The twist? Today I just received another review copy of the book. So I’m using the happy accident to run a contest. Since the shipping will probably cost me $10, I’m hoping to get good mileage out of this. So here are the rules for the Zeldman contest:

1. Compose a Zeldman haiku and post it using the comments feature here
2. Strict meter applies (5-7-5)
3. Limericks, sonnets, villanelles also acceptable, but haiku preferred
4. Your poem must conform to all Web Standards
5. At least 10 entries must be received, therefore…
6. If you have a site, you must link back to this post to be eligible to win (publicity is required for this to be fair)
7. Zeldman, his family members, and employees of Zeldman Inc. are not eligible to participate
8. Void where prohibited by law
9. Contest closes when it begins to get lame

Please help spread the word!!!

I was at the library yesterday and am now completely engrossed in Fiona MacCarthy’s biography of Eric Gill. Sadly, the book itself is now out of print. Eric Gill, font designer (Gill Sans), author (An Essay on Typography) and sculptor, was a fascinating man of contradictions. A man of immense skill and breadth of knowledge and a devout Catholic convert, he was the founder of several communes in the early part of this century. His ideal was to bring work and art and home life all together. Sadly, he was also a bit of a sexual oddity, pursuing incestuous relationships with his sisters and possibly even his own daughters. What a fascinating read, though. I mean, all of us are people of contradictions, too, but not all of us in such bold strokes. I especially liked this quote from his own autobiography:

“It is thus: we human beings are all in the same difficulty. We are all torn asunder, all of us, by this disintegration of our flesh and spirit. And so if in this book I am appearing more spiritual than credible to some of those I have loved, let them examine their own consciences. I think they will discover, as I have done, that they also are torn asunder and that they also have desired to be made whole.”

The biography’s title, by the way, for anyone who wants to try tracking it down at the library or whatever, is Eric Gill: A Lover’s Quest for Art and God, by Fiona MacCarthy (New York: Dutton, 1989).

Here’s an idea for Heather. How about a Friends of Jeffrey Veen site? As long as everyone buys a copy of his book, I think Jeff would be OK with it.