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Gill and Laughlin on Video, Joking and Talking About "The New Yawper" and More
Filed under: Looked Into Tagged: books, Brendan Gill, design, James Laughlin, poetry, video
If you went to the Jack Spade website, you’d expect to find snappy bags and leather accessories for men. And indeed you’ll find those. But click on ‘Happenings’ and you’ll find some things you simply could never have predicted to find.Man, it’s good. Just go. And buy The Way It Wasn’t, which the Spade site is presenting along with the video. It’s designed by the gifted Rodrigo Corral, is full of fascinating photos and beautiful typography, and it’ll make your whole life (not to mention Laughlin’s) feel like a poem.The most remarkable of these is the reminiscences on video from James Laughlin (1914-1997), poet, as well as publisher of New Directions. Among its many distinctions, New Directions was the first American publisher of Nabokov. Seated with Laughlin is his old friend Brendan Gill of the New Yorker (his birth and death years happen to match Laughlin’s), and the two reminisce about the authors they worked with and befriended.
It’s just two old fellows talking, but in our YouTube world of cats playing the piano, we find the talk absolutely spellbinding. Watch it here.
About us
Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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We welcome tips, questions, comments, and corrections, and are always on the lookout for ardent, obsessive new contributors. Click here to email us.
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Tell me more
Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
Blogroll highlights
- Box Office Boffo
- World of Pollux
- Jonathan Taylor
- Carolita Johnson
- Songs for blogroll lovers (more links)
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Comments
Dear Emily,
As the producer/director of the Gill/Laughlin documentary( still in progress), I am delighted by the warmth of your praise.
In any event, my most finished film will be on PBS/American Masters- Clint Eastwood presents- TONY BENNETT: THE MUSIC NEVER ENDS - Airdate - Sept 12 PBS nationwide.
Thanks,
Bruce Ricker