At Summer's End Blogging On (Whither Books?)

It's been a crazy summer of way too much travel, shovelfuls of e-mails (if I owe you one, bless you for your patience), marvels, wonders, discovering the Anat Baniel method, ukulele playing (but not with these guys), and dog walking--- and working on the Bhima translation (that page to be updated shortly.)

In the midst of all this, many a time I have wondered, what am I doing as a writer with all this blogging? (I'm blogging Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays here, and over at the new Maximilian ~ Carlota blog on Tuesdays.)

Recently, I redesigned my decade-old website and realized that much of my writing in the past year is not for the printed page--- or, if for print, it appeared (appears) simultaneously on-line (e.g., "Twitter Is" for Literal and "A Traveler in Mexico: A Rendezvous with Rosemary Sullivan" for Inside Mexico). So the redesigned website has a page for my books, and another for other print publications--- and then a page for the blogs, and another for podcasts. I should have added yet another for the videos (right now, these consist of book trailers, but a longer video-story, based on "What Happened to Thelma," is in progress.)

And as for books, from my conversations with friends, it looks like, whether in the iPad or Kindle, e-books are taking over... Right now, only my novel is available as an e-book. There should be news about the others soon.

In another five years I doubt we'll be reading as many books in print format. It's getting interesting as things blend, video and audio and photos just a click (or touch) from the text itself.

One project I'd love to do: the e-book of Miraculous Air with not only text but photos, audio, video, Q & A, a reading guide, and interactive maps (including a map app like the one Julia Sussner did for Impressionist Paris).


P.S. Check out this blog post and this eye-popping talk by marketing guru Seth Godin on the future of the book industry.

More anon.

Mexico Flu Outbreak: Links

It really is serious. Here's an excellent interview by National Public Radio's Jacki Lyden with science writer Laurie Garrett--- exactly why this is so dangerous, what happened in 1918, and what you can do to protect yourself. Also, Inside Mexico offers some tips for protecting yourself here.

If you protect yourself, you may also save someone else's life. This can be highly contagious. As Laurie Garrett explains, the genetic material in this virus is similar to the 1918 strain.

More anon.

A Traveler in Mexico: A Rendezvous with Writer Rosemary Sullivan (Inside Mexico)

My profile of Canadian writer and poet Rosemary Sullivan and her book Villa Air-Bel is now on-line in the new issue of Inside Mexico.

Coyoacán has become inextricably linked with painter Frida Kahlo, so what better place to rendezvous with poet, writer, and biographer of Surrealists Rosemary Sullivan? A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Sullivan had just alighted in Mexico City and would soon be on her way to meet with Surrealist painter Leonora Carrington when we met over cappuccinos at the sun-drenched Café Moheli to talk about her latest book.

Villa Air-Bel: World War II, Escape, and a House in Marseille is a page-turner of a deeply researched history about the rescue of artists and intellectuals trapped as the Nazis closed in. This effort, promoted by the New York-based Emergency Rescue Committee and their agent in Marseilles, Varian Fry, managed to save André Breton, Marc Chagall, and Max Ernst, among others, and found refuge for them in the United States. But some came to Mexico, including Russian novelist Victor Serge, his son Vlady, and most famously Surrealist painters Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo, who today (along with Frida Kahlo) are among Mexico's most revered artists. For this reason, Villa Air-Bel is a work important to the history of modern art in Mexico.

But the book's connection to Mexico goes deeper.

"Villa Air-Bel started here," Sullivan said. ...READ MORE

Inside Mexico: Found in Translation

As usual, I have lots to say about literary translation and Mexican literature. Margot Shetterley's profile of Yours Truly (& Picadou) appears in the June issue of Inside Mexico. The photo is by Luz Montero. More anon.

Inside Mexico: Dog Tales

Picadou approves of this one! Inside Mexico's lead article is about Mexico City's dog and cat rescue organization, Presencia Animal. (A portion of all sales of my audio CD, "The Essential Francisco Sosa or, Picadou's Mexico City" benefit this worthy organization.)