nq notes

NQ in style

2012-01-30T08:21:00.002-03:30

We at the NQ are all about style, obviously, look no further than our new logo, which is terrifically a la mode - as are all our writers and contributors; but sometimes, it is true, one needs a guide. Periods after "Dr" or "Ms" or not? Should we use "twelve" or "12"? What about such NQ-specific issues as when to use "Nfld" or "NL"? All valid questions, and all worth a thoughtful answer, which is coming in our new style guide, which is close, very close, to readiness.

(Image: crackofdawncreations.com.)

Winter Sparks

2012-01-23T16:36:00.003-03:30

The NQ did some hobnobbing over the weekend; it was the third annual Sparks Festival, complete with poetry readings, author Q&As, booth displays and elegant receptions. Lots of chat, a glass or two of wine, and the NQs free chocolates also made a nice impression. Sparks is a nice event, and free yes free, worth watching out for, a bright literary light in late January.

(image: envato.com.)

Watch out for wildlife

2012-01-16T08:49:00.003-03:30

Newfoundland and Labrador is a place of many (often wonderful) things, but biological abundance isn't one of them. Very few species are indigenous; adding those that have been introduced (or introduced themselves) still makes for a non-hefty catalogue. Still, we're developing a nice story list for the upcoming magazine, whose theme, as you have surely guessed, is fauna.

(Image: cbc.ca/larry colwell.)

Spring Issue storyboard

2012-01-09T10:34:00.003-03:30

And here is an image that is all symbolic, not just of the issue's potential, but (hint) of its theme.

(Image: chestofbooks.com.)

Ready, set...

2012-01-03T09:17:00.002-03:30

Welcome to 2012! Perhaps you've geared up for the New Year by declaring a resolution or two. Or maybe you're charting a Paris-style tack and preparing to mark St Sylvestre through to February. The NQ is looking towards Spring, the new issue but a glimmer of ideas, theme, art.

(Image: steamwhistle.ca.)

All the joys of the season

2011-12-19T09:16:00.002-03:30

We're still going about our business-as-usual at NQ HQ, but we will be taking some Christmas time over the next week. So this is the last posting for the year; we'll see you in 2012! In the meantime, enjoy this Kate Rusby song, which is hitting a high note on this season's soundtrack.

(Image: www.paintinghere.com)

Distribution day

2011-12-12T07:45:00.002-03:30

Today we'll be making our rounds of the retailers, dropping off caches of NQs hither and yon: Afterwords, Johnny Ruth, the Heritage Shops, The Rocket Bakery. We'll be in the mail to a few spots around the island and up to Labrador, too. Some people come right to the source - our office - and of course we're the ones to contact for your gifts. Three calls as soon as we unlocked the office doors this morning, which gives us that nice, warm, look-at-us-we're-helping-Santa kind of feeling.

(image: bigcartel.com.)

Countdown to Winter Issue

2011-12-05T15:51:00.002-03:30

Just three more sleeps and they'll be delivered from the printers. Give us a turnaround day for labels and notes and gift cards, and they'll be on their way to you. Will you love the cover as much as we do? (Still trying to keep it a surprise, although hint hint it's a gorgeous piece by one of our best-known artists.) What about our anchor piece, an extensive interview with - with - but, no, we'll try to keep that under gold-foil-Christmas-paper wraps for now. But we hope you feel as excited holding the new NQ your hands as we did putting it together!

(Image: Count Dracula of Sesame Street, ucsc.edu.)

In the spirit of the Season

2011-11-28T11:05:00.003-03:30

This time of year the NQ likes to step up for Santa; our cards and booths and banners are all about gift giving (and, of course, a chance to win the gorgeous Jean Claude Roy landscape painting). We've two Fairs down and one more to go and the pace has been pretty steady.

(Image: yowzers.com.)

Almost to the printers, and ready for the road

2011-11-21T09:16:00.003-03:30

We're going to press with the Winter Issue, we're going to the Mail Room with supplies for the Corner Brook Craft Fair - our office is all about the logistics today. Where's the new usb code for the cover? What about ribbon for our Christmas bundles? And bows for our calendars? Last minute proofing wrapped in tasteful vintage paper.

(Image: colourlovers.com.)

Fair weather

2011-11-14T17:21:00.002-03:30

There were a couple of topics of conversation around the NQ booth at the Craft Fair - one was how much people enjoyed the last Language issue (thanks!); the other was the run of calm, cool, sunny November days we were gifted with. Speaking of gifts, we still have the Corner Brook event and the Anna Templeton Tea & Fair on our agenda; perhaps we'll catch you there?

(Image: newbloodart.com.)

There's a certain art to managing this time of year*

2011-11-07T09:11:00.003-03:30

Talk about your work/work balance. These couple of weeks, the production line for the Winter Issue converges with the set-up & operational schedule for the fairs, creating a veritable 'perfect storm' of details that must be finessed, fact-checked, finagled into shape and/or otherwise dealt with by NQ central.

(Image: typepad.com.)

*Beautiful art work on our upcoming cover, too - wait until you see!

Treats & a pumpkin patch

2011-10-31T08:20:00.004-02:30

Preoccupied as we are with production details and marketing ideas and booth measurements and travel itineraries, today's significance hasn't escaped us, and we have stocked up on mini KitKats, Coffee Crisps and boxes of Smarties for the potential visitation of Jedi Knights, ballerinas and vampires (Twilight-, not Count Dracula-style). Halloween has gotten slightly overblown - and strangely adult-oriented - lately; just our opinion, but, then again, we never saw any need to venture beyond the two-holes-cut-in-a-bedsheet Ur-costume. Surely there's still room for the classics, like a Ray Bradbury story or a Peanuts special?

(image: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, internetmonk.com.)

Gearing up for the fairs

2011-10-25T09:16:00.003-02:30

We're deep into Craft Fair logistics; designing a new banner so our booth defines 'eye-catching'; organizing magazines and treats to compose our famed 'Christmas bundles'; and figuring our how to get our gorgeous subscription prize, Jean Claude Roy's Happy Valley, Goose Bay (2011) (which shows, we've been told, the Moravian church) safely to and fro not just the St. John's event but the 'do in Corner Brook as well.

(image: favouriteideas.com.)

Oh, and we have our next cover selected, too...

Framing the performing arts

2011-10-17T09:52:00.002-02:30

While we're avidly waiting to see what our contributors submit for our "Performing Arts" issue, our own in-house writing is coming along as well. As mentioned before, MUN's Performing Arts Archives is a gold mine (and an apt and safe repository for those scripts, programs, papers and ephemera you may yourself have created or collected). We could do an issue on the posters alone.

(Image: acinl.ca.)

Start saving those dates

2011-10-11T10:11:00.003-02:30

Our copy and ad deadline reminders are circulated; we like to give contributors a nudge about a month in advance, as this tends to stave off last minute panicking. A month from now we'll be knee-deep in filed prose, and also embarked on that time of year known as Craft Fair Season. Amazingly, it's on our marketing horizon already & again. This time next November we'll be halfway through the St. John's event. Might want to mark your own calendars (oh, and we'll have our new 2012 calendars on offer).

(Image: us123.rf.com.)

NQ branches out

2011-10-03T09:18:00.004-02:30

One of the noted dates on the campus social calendar is the Pratt Lecture, and last Saturday novelist and former writer-in-residence Jane Urquhart did the honours. She talked about houses, actual, historical, and imaginary, and the architecture they lend to fiction (Thornfield Hall, anyone?). A reception followed, giving the NQ a chance to hobnob, and chat up the Fall Issue. Monday morning of course sees us back in the office and poised for another week of writing, editing, and creatively constructing the upcoming magazine.

(Image: abebooks.com.)

Storyboard

2011-09-26T10:39:00.004-02:30

Researching the Performing Arts for our next issue is, of course, nothing but fun, especially since the CNS Special Collection of Performing Arts Archives is so close, next door even. Lots of wonderful stuff in here; the problem is what to chose?

(Image: poster for The Queen of Paradise's Garden, from andyjonesproductions.com.)

Pen in hand, we approach the drawing board

2011-09-19T10:04:00.003-02:30

We'd be hard-pressed to pick the one aspect of producing the NQ that is the most fun, but selecting themes would definitely be up there. At that point, the magazine is a blank slate, a Tabula rasa if you will. Then, viola!, we have an idea and the issue begins to come into focus, features suggest themselves, motifs emerge. This is our moment, now, as we look ahead to Fall and think: The Performing Arts...

(Image: flickr.com.)

Coming soon

2011-09-12T09:32:00.002-02:30

A sneak preview of a website special:

(Images, Jared Reid, with permission from Cirque du Soliel.)

NQ in the mail & on the air

2011-09-06T09:41:00.002-02:30

It's a big day at NQ Central, what with the brand new Fall issues coming from the printers within the hour, and an interview scheduled later today with the lovely Ted Blades for CBC's On The Go. NQ subscribers, keep an eye on your mailbox, and radio listeners, open your ears around 4pm today and you'll get the intel on the latest magazine.

(Image: girlontheright.com.)

To press, so relax

2011-08-29T10:36:00.003-02:30

Time to clear away our pdfs and proofs, reference books and red pens. The Fall NQ is gone to print. Now we'll spend our time gathering up our lapsed subscribers; anyone who needs to renew after the Summer Issue is hearing from us - feel free to just give us a call, too, we've got time to chat!

(Image: wordpress.)

48 hours to presstime

2011-08-22T15:45:00.002-02:30

Which leaves us pressed for time! Always one more copy edit, one more visual enhancement. At this point, the "em-dash" versus "dash-dash" debate enters our dreams, and don't even ask us how we feel about indicating possessives for a name ending in "s". Better minds than ours (ie. Russell Smith in The Globe and Mail) tackle such issues on our behalf.

(Image: farmcollector.com.)

Third proof's a charm -

2011-08-15T14:09:00.003-02:30

- and then we go for four, and then five...It's all in the details now, reviewing and finessing, adding touches of a fresh template, an editorial and design ballet, if you will.

(Image: wordpress.com.)

Fall issue ahoy!

2011-08-08T10:00:00.003-02:30

Nothing like crafting a good issue of the NQ to distract one from the weather, we like to say. What's happening outside our windows may be best left unspoken of, but what's being filed, edited, reworked, polished, and matched with nifty illustrations for our Sept. 6 publishing date is worth a few words. In fact, it's all about words - how we use language, and what that usage turns around and says about us. Fascinating stuff, and we hope you'll think so, too. Just beginning to file it now, designing comes next...

(image: The Colour of Words, Wosene, ionandreipeucan.blogspot.com.)

Great reading + Great writing = Great issue

2011-08-01T08:20:00.004-02:30

One way to look at it, for sure. Our dream is to produce a superb Fall Issue. Our goal is to assemble a wealth of material. And our copy deadline is one week away. (And we already have one knock-your-socks-off art feature ready to go.)

(Image: mypersonaltrainernyc.com.)

Styleguide ps 'n qs

2011-07-27T10:11:00.004-02:30

"Travelling" or "traveling"? One space after a period, or two? (Huge fight raging through the pages of slate.com over this.) Oxford comma, anyone? (I'm a firm supporter, myself.) We're launched on our styleguide, and we are having fun. Completion date: Winter Issue.

(Image: greenchairpress.com)

We know 'em as pitchy-paws, ma'am

2011-07-18T09:28:00.003-02:30

Here's a site for all hands interested in NL's special words and phrases, and of course it's proving a treasure trove for our Fall issue.

(Image: melanzani.com.)

Good day...

2011-07-09T14:34:00.004-02:30

It's all about issue #441 here at NQ HQ; the span between our Summer and Fall magazines is actually our shortest production timeline of the year. September 6th is the publication day, and our feature writers, reviewers, columnists, and visual artists are busy as whatsits gathering their material. Even so, from time to time we've lifted our heads and noticed it seems to be, what's the word, sunny? Yes, that was it, sunny, sun, sunshine, an element completely deleted from the Newfoundland skies throughout June. (Labrador was largely spared.) Now it's finally shining on beloved pine clad hills. Enjoy.

(Image: blogspot.com.)

July 1, 1916

2011-06-30T10:43:00.001-02:30

Image: wordpress.com

NQs en route

2011-06-28T09:44:00.002-02:30

If you don't consider it officially summer until you can hold your Summer NQ in your hands, you won't have to wait much longer. The mail strike is over and the magazines are on the move. Lots of beautiful imagery (Brenda McClellan, Scott Goudie), pages and pages of great reading (Bob Hallett, Bert Riggs); soon you'll be able to dive right in.

(Image: fluiddesign.com.)

All labeled up but no place to go

2011-06-20T09:53:00.002-02:30

We're printed, stickered, and arranged by postal code, stacked oh-so-neatly in covered plastic bins. Now all we need is the mail. Fingers crossed it will be this week. In the meantime we're already in pursuit of ideas for the next issue, which is about language, and especially about the Dictionary of Newfoundland English (30 years old next year!). So, we'd like to know: what word from the DNE would you like to see in more common use? My vote goes for "whizgigging", but, of course, there are lots more choices: "drash" (as is happening right now outside our windows); "peggin" (and we could need a few before the day's out, according to the forecast); "swab" (might be looking for one or two of those as well).

(Image: amazon.com.)

NQ publishing & David Blackwood speaking

2011-06-13T09:39:00.002-02:30

Looks like it's all happening this Wednesday. First the Summer Issue gets delivered, so we'll be up to our elbows in address labels and mail bins. It's a busy process, aided by our now-traditional playing of Johnny Cash tunes. We usually turn the mailout around fairly efficiently, but we'll have an added impetus this week: David Blackwood is giving a lecture at The Rooms at 7pm. This is sure to be well worth attending; we were lucky enough to spend some time with his Black Ice at the AGO during last week's conference, and there'll be a write-up on that in the Fall Issue. Black Ice itself travels to The Rooms next summer. Blackwood's talk promises to increase the already keenly honed anticipation for that major exhibition.

(Image: today.mun.ca.)

Hobnobbing & fine art ahead

2011-06-06T09:46:00.003-02:30

We have a couple of exciting days coming up: our first Magazines Canada Conference. We'll get to meet colleagues from across the country, discuss the focus and future of cultural magazines, compare and debate grammatical errors, all kinds of fun stuff. It will also be a chance for us to visit David Blackwood's superb new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario. We'll be putting some words and thoughts together about Black Ice, which travels to The Rooms next summer.

(Image: Fire Down on the Labrador, akimbo.)

And the NQ cycle keeps on going

2011-05-30T09:46:00.006-02:30

The Summer NQ is in its last few days of proofing; at this stage it seems a continual round of reading and finding just one more spelling error - oh, and that footnote is formatted wrong - and can we even up these columns here? At the same time, work for the Fall issue is starting to come into the fold. The time between these two magazines is actually our shortest production span of the year. Won't give away the next theme yet; that's a surprise. Ditto for the cover. But maybe tune into CBC's On the Go, say over the next week or so. Might hear a thing or two of interest.

(Image: fashionblogtrends.com)

Musing on a theme

2011-05-23T12:03:00.003-02:30

We're through a first edit of the Summer Issue, still placing text and scouting for imagery - and, also, thinking about the theme: Traditional Music and Dance. More specifically, a number of our writers ask the question: just what is traditional music? Is there some government department that officially stamps it thus? Does it matter who wrote it? What about who sings it? Fascinating questions, where this kind of music begins, and where it goes.

(Image: rysonsmusic.com.)

Dancing to our copy deadline, Summer Issue

2011-05-16T09:16:00.003-02:30

Our features, essays and reviews are flying in from all over. On performing in Renews, preserving the intangibles of play, and decoding the artistic structure of Beijing Opera. Not to mention the efforts to obtain our cover image, a striking piece that turns out to be not as accessible as I had imagined. We'll see what we can file by end of day - you can weigh our efforts against what you hold in yours hands in a month or so.

(Image: willtogo.com.)

Cover models

2011-05-08T15:25:00.003-02:30

We set the bar high with our Spring cover - the gorgeous Barbara Pratt painting, the jiffy new logo. Cover design is an art in itself, as you can see by these examples. We're determined to keep high standards, creating something exciting, so you might catch us visiting galleries and generally keeping our eyes peeled for that piece, that idea, that image that says NQ Summer.

(Image: blogspot.com.)

NQ written in red ink

2011-04-30T16:11:00.004-02:30

This phase of NQ production finds us wandering from desk to desk, printout to printout, red pen in hand. The focus is on editing. Copyediting, which comes later, eliminates those typos and misused words that clutter the page and jar the eye. Editing tightens the prose, smooths out the textual wrinkles, and unifies the issue. It can't be too thorough. There's always something! Always.

(Image: antonyjohn.net.)

Forecasting an abundance of foil-wrapped eggs

2011-04-17T13:41:00.003-02:30

We're coming up on Easter, which means a short break from the office, before we return all rested and ready to retackle the Summer Issue. Story suggestions for music and dance are harmonizing nicely, and we're also adding some literary notes to make for lovely reading. Safe holidays all, and we'll rendezvous in two weeks.

(Image: alaska-in-pictures.com.)

And on to the summer issue

2011-04-08T15:54:00.004-02:30

Traditional music and dance offers a lot of fun possibilities for articles. Perhaps we'll run the goat, or work up a batch of ugly sticks. And we have to try and match this glorious cover:

(Image: Venus, by Barbara Pratt, 1999, private collection.)

Prize draw tomorrow

2011-04-03T13:37:00.003-02:30

All things being equal and all going as planned, we'll be on the CBC Radio airwaves with Ted Blades tomorrow (On the Go), chatting about the new issue and drawing the name of the lucky winner of Jean Claude Roy's Grand Bruit. Russell Wangersky, who I'm proud to say is on the NQF Board, and who I'm happy to say has just added the Winterset to the growing list of awards he's won for his writing (fiction and non-fiction), will be our celebrity prize-drawer. So tune in!

P.S. Our spring issues are in the mail!

NQs gotta move

2011-03-28T11:22:00.003-02:30

With the Spring issue due from the printers this Friday, we're gearing up for the mailout. We used to handle this all ourselves, arranging NQs in the bins, stacking them on a trolley (hugely noisy mode of transportation by the way, we might as well have strolled the corridors playing the accordion), and bringing them down to the mailroom. But the volume has outgrown the strength of our two-person office. A couple of issues ago, as we maneuvered the towering rickety bulk into the elevator, I thought, "You know, this is an accident waiting to happen. This is what people mean when they say: That's an accident waiting to happen." So, now the movers come and do this for us.
And, of course, we're making arrangement for our prize draw. More on that next week...

(image: worldgallery.co.uk.)

24 hours and five minutes to press time

2011-03-21T09:00:00.004-02:30

It's coming down to the wire now, a last few hours to make sure our nouns match our verbs, our photos are properly captioned, our (freshly designed) Contents page reading as it should (this editor's private recurring nightmare). This time tomorrow we'll be about five minutes from filing to the printers...think I'll doublecheck that that hyphen on page 44 has been changed to a dash. And that we're consistent with our "per cents" (not "percents"). And that the white on the cover (you should see it! It's gorgeous.) has been tweaked just as the artist (you'll have to wait to learn who; it's a big surprise) wants it...

(Image: imagekind.com.)

Snakes & the banishing of

2011-03-14T15:57:00.005-02:30

Tomorrow we start our proofing, a big day for us, but for most people this week's headliner event is St. Patrick's Day. I confess the day has never meant that much to me: nothing against the fascinating St. Patrick, of course, but it's the Sheila's Brush that tends to have more of an impact - as we can see right now, looking out our NQ office windows.

(Image: www.markdroberts.com.)

And the designing begins

2011-03-06T16:43:00.003-03:30

Clean, fresh, and a little bit jazzy: that would be our visual goal.

(Image: Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, oil on canvas, 1942-43.)

The last day of February...

2011-02-28T09:50:00.002-03:30

...which means tomorrow is the first of March, which means there is one month left for our subscription contest. Press release: #1 on the to-do list. And it's one month 'till our Spring issue publishes so #2 of course is contacting our readers whose subscriptions have just lapsed - adding those "Time to Renew!" sticker reminders to the NQ sub cards works for some, but not for all, so we make it our job to email and call - this bunch being known to us as "the 438s". #3 is to continue with our gathering and editing material; we're especially excited about a piece coming from a certain prominent and celebrated author, whose name starts with Bernice and ends with Morgan; we can hardly wait to cast our editorial eyes over that.

(Image, by Rae Perlin, courtesy agnl, www.heritage.nf.ca.)

Here's to midterm

2011-02-21T11:29:00.003-03:30

It's quiet around campus today...too quiet.
Well, though, what can we expect; it's midterm break. Those first exams are written and papers handed in, and the students are no doubt using this time wisely, studying and prepping for class and so on. Or, whatever. Midterm Break, that seasonal restorative, has inspired a number of films and even a poem by Seamus Heaney (emotional warning: it's not what you'd call chipper). Some other places even twin it with a Family Day, on the idea that anything that gets you through February is, well, a bit of a Godsend, frankly. You may also choose to hoist one of these.

(Image: elle.com.)

Where's my wandering parakeet?*

2011-02-14T12:04:00.003-03:30

Perhaps you're mad about Valentine's Day, perhaps you're just mad that it is Valentine's Day, or perhaps you haven't noticed what day it is (except that it's three weeks to our Spring Issue copy deadline, of course). If you'd rather ignore the day altogether, that's your prerogative. But if you'd like to mark it, either solo or as part of a duet, then I say tuck yourself away from these February winds, raise a champagne toast to The Philadelphia Story (or whatever), and unwrap one or three red-foil-wrapped chocolate hearts.

(Image: 3.bp.blogspot.com.)
*Liz Imbrie, seeking an awol Macaulay Connor, TPS.

Fine tuning February

2011-02-06T18:04:00.004-03:30

One month to copy deadline, and February is one quarter fini. It is hard to get through this time of year. I have been treating myself to nice flowers and great theatre - The Fights, Pains of Youth, The Drawer Boy - and next up are two pieces by Anton Chekhov, The Proposal and The Dangers of Tobacco, opening at the Basement Theatre Feb. 16. Plus I ordered Beethoven's Symphony no 7 - the 2nd movement is the piece of music that plays at the climax of The King's Speech, in case you were wondering; I was, so I asked my classical-music-playing sister. And the record Jason Statham plays whilst chilling between assassinations in The Mechanic? That would be Schubert's Trio in E-Flat, Op. 100. Culture, culture everywhere.

(Image: Schubert at the Piano, by Gustav Klimt.)

Seeds of NQ Spring

2011-01-31T11:05:00.003-03:30

About five weeks until our copy deadline (March 7) and we've two great pieces already edited and filed and a batch more at various creative stages, from scrawl-on-a-post-it-inspiration to just-need-byline-info-and-we're-done. We've even sighted one potential cover image...with a couple of other possibilities floating around...the NQ will look gorgeous, for sure. Outside our magazine offices I can see the fresh white snow, the bare trees calm in the windless afternoon, the students walking with their hoods down, 'cause it's so mild. A bit of sunshine turning the Phys Ed facade into a warm buff tone. And, as people were saying at the gym yesterday evening, sure, for all that, it's been a halfway easy winter, and there's barely four months to go, five tops.

(Image: Jeanette Jobson, illustratedlife.blogspot.com.)

Sparks warmth

2011-01-25T10:41:00.004-03:30

The NQ had a lovely time at Sparks this year - and the readings were recorded by CBC's Jamie Fitzpatrick for The Performance Hour, so you'll have (another) chance to catch them. The foyer, where we set up alongside Running the Goat, Walking Bird and Rattling Books, was festooned with balloons and feathers, the closing reception featured California pinot grigio, Chilean reds and herring, and even the weather more-or-less co-operated for most of the day. The sessions were packed; there's surely something very comforting about spending a winter Sunday being read to; comfort food for the ears.

(Image: winterinfisherhude.)

Great Big Acknowledgement

2011-01-17T09:39:00.003-03:30

As part of the NQ's "Lives of Our Girls and Women" issue we thought to include a series of "Portraits", short bios on significant women in our history. We'll try and find some unsung heroines, but even prominent figures like Stella Burry and Margaret Duley deserve a shout-out as well. Just Googling "Famous Newfoundland and Labrador Women" throws up some intriguing names, including Demasduit, lately both a character in Kevin Major's new novel (New Under The Sun), and the inspiration for a song by Great Big Sea.

(Image: pastelpixels.com.)

P. S. Almost forgot - look for us at the Sparks Literary Festival this coming Sunday.

Lives of Our Girls and Women

2011-01-10T09:47:00.002-03:30

A quiet, mild, public-transit-less January day, and high time to get the NQ in gear. First we'll start working through our submissions; we've already received a few articles on our theme (above). Then we'll set our printing schedule for the year, so our columnists, or house writers, can prepare their dulcet prose. And there is always something extra and unexpected that turns up and somehow brings the issue together: an image, a quote, a poem.

(Painting: Vermeer, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, mystudios.com.)

2011: Look About & Look Ahead

2011-01-04T10:50:00.003-03:30

Two days before Old Christmas Day; still time for mummering, or to read (or watch John Huston's wonderful film adaptation of) James Joyce's The Dead. The weather outside the NQ office windows is uncommonly foggy and mild, which makes it hard to remember that it is a New Year, and we must move forward, perhaps propelled by 2011 plans for travel/education/enormous self-improvement. We'll start by sketching out our next issue, which currently consists of a green file folder studded with post-its of story ideas and suggestions, plus a glimmering of design-type notions, buds that will blossom in the spring.

(Image: oocites.com. I can't quite make out the signature: G. Loranger?)

Counting down the season

2010-12-29T11:16:00.002-03:30

Here we are in that final lap of the year, that calendar curve between Christmas and New Year's; I hope one well stocked with treats, visits and parties. We're checking our email and phone, in and out of the NQ office, but mostly, it is true, out, with places to go and people to see and chocolate oranges to savour. And maybe some recharging time to find. This last is hard to do, I know, when you are very used to working. Every day. Until 6. Or 7. Or - well, no time like the present to turn over a new leaf, or fold yourself up in a duvet and lie on the sofa, at least for a day or two. I know I'm relaxing when I do something I never do - watch TV during the daytime. You wouldn't want to be at it all the time, I guess, but a few days of Much More Music's Top 100 Videos (catch this from UNKLE) and the original British version of Life on Mars can be most restorative. Help you plan that New Year's Eve party menu, design one or two thrilling resolutions, and get 2011 off on the right foot.

(Image: vintage card, typepad.com.)

Walking In The Air

2010-12-20T11:29:00.003-03:30

Music is a vital ingredient to the season, and everyone has their favourites. Personally, I've managed to get through three entire Craft Fairs with my fondness for White Christmas intact. Here's another piece of music that is really special, in fact exquisite; I think I link to The Snowman around this time every year, but why break with tradition?

(Image: therushmorefilmsociety.files.wordpress.com.)

Even Santa needs a little help this time of year, and the NQ is happy to step up

2010-12-13T11:08:00.007-03:30

So we made another stop on our circuit of Craft Fairs: the Anna Templeton Centre. This arguably has the nicest atmosphere of all these events, a neighbourly kind of bustle accompanied by a communal playlist of seasonal tunes. On Saturday, Andy Jones insisted on giving me an afternoon break (kind of like having Harvey Keitel take your booth over for a while - Jones, by the way, is bringing his Queen of Paradise's Garden to the LSPU Hall later in December, and I'm definitely catching it New Year's Eve). I used the time to score a couple of gorgeous ornaments, including some from Erin McArthur. And what perfect weather to be Christmas-shopping, or even just Christmas-minded; a little snow, crisp air, those edging-towards-solstice sunsets. Meanwhile, back at NQ headquaters, we're still all about those Christmas subs, so keep 'em coming.

(Image: christmasfiles.com.)

All Heart Smiling Land

2010-12-06T11:46:00.003-03:30

What is it with The Ode to Newfoundland? from our former Premier on down, just a few lyrics are all it takes to have us choked up - it's worse than Sonny's Dream, for Pete's sake. And, believe me, I hold no pretence of superiority here - one whiff of those pine clad hills, and I'm gone. And it doesn't matter how long you've lived away from home - this is always home - those notes still resonate. Even, say, in Toronto, at the Masonic Music Hall, Yonge Street, Saturday Night. Arctic cold outside, hundreds of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and one Great Big Sea inside. It was The Smiling Land (those words again!) Foundation's Rockin' Big Give, which the NQ was happy to play a small role in. So far from those sunrays, just around the corner from Bloor, but, we love thee Newfoundland.

(Image: www.heritage.nf.ca.)

At the Fair foot of Marble Mountain

2010-11-29T12:40:00.003-03:30

Marble Mountain is a beautiful site for a Craft Fair, as glass blowers and cranberry loaf bakers and fashion designers took over the three floors of the lodge, set out their arrays within the wood-framed, blue-draped areas, and worked the Craft Fair crowds for the past weekend. The NQ was present (and many thanks to Boulder Publications for the lifts from Corner Brook and back!). And, did you know that there is a whole world of ideas behind craft booth display? 'Cause I sure didn't, showing up with one string of Christmas lights, two boxes of magazines, no extension cords, no tablecloths, and in short no clue as to how to pull things together. But, no fear, Craftspeople being so, well, crafty I suppose, and also completely kind, they found extras of this and spares of that and rearranged their own lighting to brighten my space, so in jig time I had a reasonable-looking display. But, lesson learned. Thumbtacks, spotlights and a dish of pretty, foil-wrapped candies truly help make that Craft Fair "go".

(Image: rhs.org.uk.)

Artisans & Fairs

2010-11-22T11:15:00.003-03:30

Working practices at the Craft Fair often embody the aesthetics and methods of Medieval guilds. The craftsperson or artisan displays their wares, and, often, sits beside their handiwork, working away at producing more of the same, knitting socks, beading jewelry, enrobing chocolates. The customer comes, studies the inventory, makes their selections, and after some discussion and negotiation, currency changes hands. It is very straightforward, very social. Amongst themselves, they work exchanges - a tryptych photo montage for an oilskin coat, say. And they shift camps, from site to site - now heading to Corner Brook, setting up on Marble Mountain, the NQ moving with them, Jean Claude Roy painting in tow (or cargo hold).

(Image: employees.oneonta.edu.)

Notes from the Craft Fair

2010-11-15T15:52:00.002-03:30

The first half of our first Craft Fair is a wrap, and what a treat to meet so many NQ readers - and so many fans of Jean Claude Roy. Grand Bruit shines like an hypnotic jewel from the centre of the West Gallery, drawing all eyes. We're back again next week, and then off to Corner Brook, following the NLCDA Craft Fair trail. Which is heavily traveled, by the way. All manner of artisans make the trek - jewelers, chocolatiers, photographers, screenprinters, publishers, knitters, bakers (the fruitcake on offer was said to be unparalleled). You become part of a - not quite a tribe, but a distinct crowd - a crowd that clusters together, watches each other's back/booths, yarns through the quiet times, cheers on the busy spurts. Your turf is marked by coloured lights and sparkly decorations and a constant serenade of Silver Bells. And then, after several intense 10- or 12-hours days, the Fair is over, and you break your display down, and depart, possibly to meet again the next year.

(Image: naturehills.com.)

Mag design on the go

2010-11-08T11:23:00.003-03:30

And NQ headed for the Craft Fairs - a coincidence of deadlines, and a busy time. You'll be seeing the magazine in about three weeks - so far, so good with our fact checking and design ideas and pretty close to most of our material in. (Waiting on just one columnist - you know who you are.) We should be scanning and finessing our first proof in a couple of days, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, or whatever. And at some point we'll gather our stock for the first Fair, opening Thursday, and we will have a painting and calendars and nice candies for treats, which you can even have if you don't buy a subscription, but remember we do make a very good Christmas gift. Truly.

(Image: nifteeseat.com.)

2011 calendars on the drawing board

2010-11-01T14:13:00.004-02:30

We're shifting into Craft Fair mode (St. John's, Corner Brook, and then St. John's again), and that means we have to a) figure out exactly what are the regulations for taking beautiful Jean Claude Roy artworks on planes, and b) design our calendar. The latter has become a popular gift item, being a handy-dandy year-at-a-glace-type of thing, and a way we can all take home at least a small part of that subscription prize. We've got a little bit more than a week to bring this together, and then you can count on seeing Team NQ flanking this gorgeous image - you won't really notice us, though, the landscape is so hypnotic. It really is - people get entranced, they can hardly take their eyes of it as they buy, renew or give a subscription*. If you care to test your own powers of resistance, you know where to find us.

(Image: Jean Claude Roy, Grand Bruit.)

*Deft embedding of subliminal message.

And if you can ID this you definitely know your 1970s

2010-10-25T09:05:00.003-02:30

Walking to the NQ office in the cool, metallic, askant sunshine of an autumn morning, thinking, always, of story possibilities and ideas for illustrations (and you should see the fabulous 1970s album covers Wayne Tucker has provided to run with his article on NL music), I thought, of course, of Orca (1977). This film, which as everyone knows was not an imitation of Jaws, because it was about a killer whale, not a killer shark, was filmed in Petty Harbour. Wayne Johnston wrote an hilarious piece on being an extra on the set, and the complete pandemonium at the local premiere. (I couldn't link to that piece, but here's another, just to give you a shot of Johnston's fine, wry humour.) Orcas were much in the news recently for their attacks on minke whales. These were thought to be rare, but several such lethal encounters were filmed; perhaps just a matter of witnesses being in the right place at the right time, though, as CBC's On the Go host Ted Blades says, it's hard to get away with anything if you're a killer whale.

(Image: mblog.hu.)

P.S. If you missed Andy Jones' four-night-run of To The Wall, he's staging it this Thursday, 6:30pm, in the Reid Theatre, MUN Campus.

Like Ford Prefect said

2010-10-18T09:59:00.004-02:30

So there we were, heading towards Vol. 103 no. 3 with all systems set to go - when not one, but two, of our computers went down. Of course this proved immediately and almost ridiculously disabling - but, we are managing. Fortunately, no material for our '70s issue has gone far astray, so we'll just take a deep breath, saddle up our borrowed machines, and, like the heros of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, we won't you-know-what.

(Image: wordpress.com.)

The Newfoundland renaissance

2010-10-12T09:59:00.003-02:30

This was the title of Sandra Gwyn's seminal article on the extraordinary energy of mid-'70s Newfoundland theatre, visual art and music, published April 1976 in Saturday Night magazine. Gwyn, who died in 2000 (the annual Winterset Festival and Award is founded in her honour) surveyed the scene and found "the freshest, brashest, most compelling art in the country." The evidence was undeniable: CODCO, The Mummer's Troupe, Gerry Squires' Boatmen series, Mary Pratt's foiled-wrapped domestic still lifes, Figgy Duff's rock-folk fusion, Elliott Leyton's immediately relevant anthropology that stepped from studies to stage. What caused all this? Gwyn, a smart, elegant and observant writer, had a few ideas: some comparisons to the Quebec culture, post-Quiet Revolution; an awareness of what Resettlement had wrought; an unflinching look at the ethics and ethos of the 'happy' province, one generation post-Confederation. On the To-Do list for this week: We hope to revisit this article, and some of the people she talked to, to feature in our Winter Issue.

(Image: www.cbc.ca/history.)

Next, we'll pick up a nice lava lamp

2010-10-04T10:09:00.004-02:30

An informal quiz at our launch party last Thursday produced the following suggestions for our 1970s theme: MUN Extension, Decks Awash, The Boatmen Series, CODCO, and, my personal favourite cultural hit of the time, the superb (and underrated) The Rowdyman.
Maybe we'll cast a wider net, and talk about The Me Decade (check out Tom Wolfe's article, from 1976, from whence the phrase), op art, Fleetwood Mac. The advent of the blockbuster film. The groundbreaking TV series a la All In The Family. (And H. R. Pufnstuf!) The sideburns and platforms.
In the meantime, we note that a folklorist who just happens to be a font of 1970s idea, Mekaela Mahoney, is giving a talk at The Rooms this Wednesday, 7pm: Coastal Women of Newfoundland and Labrador. (And I mentioned that Edvard Munch's Madonna is on display there, I think? Until Nov. 18.)

(Image: affordablehousinginstitute.org.)

Interesting Climate + Approaching Copy Deadline = Fall

2010-09-27T10:05:00.003-02:30

Well, that's the last time I get flippant about the weather. Hurricane Igor was a bit much, I must say. And lots of people still in dire straits, which is awful. And the army called in. Here's hoping everyone gets clear of this soon.
On the NQ front, we're starting to make some travel plans. First stop, the NLCDA Christmas Craft Fair in Corner Brook (Nov. 26-28). We missed out on this last year, because of the HINI pandemic (remember the HINI pandemic?), but we're on track for 2010 and we'll have our gorgeous subscription prize, Jean Claude Roy's Grand Bruit, on display. We're hoping to bring the painting to a couple more cities before the contest closes. When we have definite plans we'll be letting you know, right here.
And it's a month and a bit until our next copy deadline. Time to start building the new issue. Theme: The 1970s. This is going to be fun.

(Image: www.todayscampus.com.)

Launch par-tay invite

2010-09-20T12:03:00.004-02:30

According to the weather reports it's time for some hatch-battening - 150 mm of rain? C'est un deluge!* - but we're engaged in a different kind of prepwork here at the office. Seeing as we're in some new digs here in the Education Building, and further seeing as we have a new issue to promote and a new painting by Jean Claude Roy to show off, we're planning a little 'do, next Thursday, Sept. 30, 4 - 5pm. So if you are in the neighbourhood please do drop by, we'll have coffee and tea and treats for all. And, and, Jean Claude Roy himself will be here.

(Image: farm4.static.flickr.com.)

*Practising for France where they speak French and I hope to visit next year.

103.2 distribution countdown

2010-09-13T10:40:00.006-02:30

The Fall issue launch is a go, the magazines soon to be in reader's hands and on their coffee tables all over the province, all over the country, and all over the world.* And speaking of stuff from Newfoundland turning up in potentially unexpected places, have you seen this intriguing website, newfoundlanders aboard? A great way to keep updated on who's where and doing what. Back on the home front, there's a new reading series launched at RCA's Second Space, and I caught Dave Sullivan's** brilliant Bed, Breakfast & Beyond there yesterday. Another dozen or so events are planned; what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon if you're in downtown St. John's? (And it only costs $5.)
This week we'll be doing our retail distribution, an ever-growing network. If you're in Twillingate, we're at the Iceberg Shop and the Museum.If you're in Halifax, check out Atlantic News (great spot; it's also a cafe and they have music performances, too.) Strolling down Bloor Street in Toronto's Annex? Passing by Book City? Why, just turn your head and look in the window and - hey - could it be - the Newfoundland Quarterly, as I live and breathe!

(Image: vintage magazine stand, wordpress.com.)

*Once you see the gorgeous cover you're going to want to view more of Jean Claude Roy's work; he has a show opening at Emma Butler Gallery this week and you can see works online as well.

**No relation, although I do have a brother Dave, and would have no objection to being related to this playwrighting Dave Sullivan also.

Hello again

2010-09-07T11:56:00.003-02:30

And we are well met in September, Labour Day weekend behind us and fresh opportunities ahead. The sunlight is taking on that lovely askant, metallic sheen, and sunset is beginning to coincide with a late evening return home. Our plans at the office are gearing up - we're already blocking our plans for our Christmas Fairs, let alone gathering bins and preparing labels for our Fall Issue mailout this Thursday. We can't wait to see the new issues, and especially the new cover, with our latest gift from Jean Claude Roy, going out to some lucky winner in the Spring. If you're near a radio this afternoon, Ted Blades has me as a guest for On the Go, and we'll be chatting about the magazine's theme (Myths of Newfoundland and Labrador history) and Ted's favourite articles (ie. Bert Riggs' Top 10 of same).
Meanwhile I'm recharging the blog, but with a few changes. I'm hoping to post longer pieces, on a weekly basis. Keep you up to speed on the NQ, and maybe a few other events besides. (Did you know you can see Edvard Munch's Madonna at The Rooms until November 28? That the Neighbourhood Dance Works Festival starts arabesque-ing around next week? It's all going on, I tell you.)

(Image: from cache2allposters.com. Some tips for all us writers, and everyone heading back to school.)

Our Subscription Prize: an advance peek

2010-08-10T15:18:00.004-02:30

Jean Claude Roy, whose generousity is as large as talent, and that's saying something, has given us this stunning work for our subscription prize this year. It will be featured on our cover and you'll get the chance to see the real thing at our Craft Fair booths and other selected sites.
Work on the issue continues, with copy deadline approaching and design and edits scheduled over the next few weeks. Between these tasks I hope to make at least a few short road trips, to Grand Bank and Trinity. So I'm signing off on this blog for the latter part of August, and I hope you, too, get a bit of a break and a chance to truly enjoy this last bit of summer. See you back here in September, when we'll be launching Vol. 103. no 2!

(Image: Grand Bruit, by Jean Claude Roy.)

Sunday: a 'large' day, and same for the beach action

2010-08-09T11:54:00.004-02:30

Even a land-lubbing townie such as myself can't help but notice that our shoreline seems clogged with minke whales. Guess they are in after the caplin, but, whatever, gosh, they make for a gorgeous show.

(Image: tripadvisor.com.)

Peter Hart 1963-2010

2010-08-06T13:01:00.002-02:30

I have a feeling many readers of this blog knew him, or certainly knew of him. Here's a Globe piece that ran today.

Winterset in Summer 2010

2010-08-05T11:14:00.002-02:30

Anyone heading to this prestigious festival? (Attn fellow CBC Radio junkies: You're sure to catch Michael Enright there.) We're packing up some NQs for distribution - not that the event will be short on reading material, of course.

(Image: beachesheritagecentre.ca)

A time to read, and a time to watch tv series box sets

2010-08-03T15:05:00.003-02:30

Summer reading lists are a seasonal staple - Infinite Jest*, anyone? - and all the more reason to hie to the library. Usually I get there every couple of weeks, and I've been noticing - I'm late on the ball, I know - that our local excellent library also offers dvds and tv shows and docs and they are FREE yes FREE. Here's what I'm watching between the reruns of Republic of Doyle.

(Image: edopter.com.)

*This one I'm saving for an upcoming plane trip.

A Midsummer Night's Dream @ Cupids

2010-08-02T09:29:00.002-02:30

I was lucky enough to attend a special preview of this Rabbittown production - it opens August 5 in Cupids and it's going to be wonderful. Feel the need to brush up on the play before viewing? No problem, here's the text, makes for a great read in a midsummer garden on a midsummer evening.

(Image: The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania (1846) by Sir Joseph Noel Patton, wordpress.com.)

And it is Royal, no less

2010-07-30T12:48:00.004-02:30

Most of the country is headed towards the Civic (or Bank) Holiday, a lovely long weekend introduction to August. Round these part of course we await Regatta Day - the only civic holiday is North America to be determined by committee.

(Image: art1club.com.)

Hot dog

2010-07-29T12:24:00.002-02:30

On the grass outside the Education Building, a family is having a little picnic. The wind is a bit strong but they are holding their own and seem to be enjoying that most American summery of foods.

(Image: allpostersimages.com.)

Nouvelles Peintures @ Emma Butler Gallery

2010-07-28T14:44:00.002-02:30

Jean Claude Girardin's latest show begins this Saturday, and you can see works on line, too. (Just sit by your computer with a glass of sauvignon blanc; it will almost be like attending the opening.)

(Image: Migration, emmabutler.com.)

Answer to a deep blue riddle

2010-07-27T11:19:00.003-02:30

Were you also captivated by the story of the strange medallion 13-year-old Luke Myles found in the codfish in Fortune Bay? It appears the mystery has been solved.

(Image: allahazam.com.)

Fall issue editing stage 2

2010-07-26T12:00:00.002-02:30

We've got, oh, 20% of our copy in, nicely ahead of our deadline. Gives us lots of time to cover pages with little squiggly marks.

(Image: www.hsj.org.)

Republic hits the streets

2010-07-23T15:31:00.003-02:30

Lines of cube trucks on the corner of Bond and Colonial, guys in reflective vests directing cars away from Gower Street, a cluster of tourists at the foot of Holloway gathered in an observant knot around lighting boxes and a boom mike - must be the hit series Republic of Doyle is in lights! camera! sound! production.

(Image: cbc.ca)

Education en plein air

2010-07-22T14:38:00.002-02:30

Outside the NQ office windows, we can hear the voices of seminars and classes who have moved their scolastical business outside to conduct themselves on the green lawns in the sunshine. The summer semester has only about two weeks left, it seems to pass faster than the others, barely arcing from lilacs blooming to Regatta Day.

(Image: chem.mun.ca.)

Vacation H&G

2010-07-21T13:51:00.002-02:30

A 'staycation' used to mean holidaying at home because it was too expensive to go anywhere. But lots of people are taking staycations because they're too busy to go anywhere - they're working on the house. Maybe you're in the midst of a redesign - this might juice up your reno inspiration.

(Image: hostessblog.)

According to a friend of a friend of mine...

2010-07-20T12:59:00.003-02:30

'Myth' tends to evoke classic stories and imagery, like Helen of Troy or Robin Hood. But urban legends are a kind of ongoing myth, too, much aided these days by the framework of the internet, Facebook and twitter. Here's a guide to today's most popular ones, and tips on how to spot them.

(Image: yesterland.com.)

Fall issue enters editing stage

2010-07-19T13:04:00.003-02:30

With our contributors working away, it's time to focus on the submissions we have already received, or produced on our own. Time to get out the red pen and start making squiggly marks in the margin. Time to edit.

"But editing, I believe, is something we all do, a fundamental human tendency. We correct ourselves all the time as we speak, going back to replace the wrong word with a better one, to fix a double negative, etc. We also do it collectively, often without even realizing it."

- Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post. Here's the whole article.

(Image: amazon.com.)

Just like Frankie Goes to Hollywood Used to Say

2010-07-16T12:08:00.004-02:30

A month to copy deadline, we've re-circulated our dates, our own material is coming together - but still, I can't stop worrying. In fact, my mind is clicking along a well-grooved worry loop. In fact, my own horoscope told me yesterday, "Stop worrying." Here are some tips that supposedly make that happen, to which I'd add: catch the occasional movie matinee.

(Image: tuesza.files.wordpress.com.)

Fall issue: Myths, the voice of

2010-07-15T15:20:00.003-02:30

The NQ has been conducting some intriguing interviews lately. We're researching myths of Newfoundland and Labrador History, so we're chatting about Sheila NaGueira, the Masterless Men, all kind of characters, symbols and metaphors from our past, and how they speak to us today. Maybe we'll even come across this guy: the title after all is Arthur in Avalon.

(Image: www.pbs.org. Painting by Sir Edward Burne Jones.)

Cool Beans

2010-07-14T13:29:00.002-02:30

Iced tea is lovely on a hot day, but coffee drinkers aren't without options. This makes a sweet, striking brew.

(Image: ineedcoffee.com.)

I scream, you scream, we all scream for - you know

2010-07-13T11:37:00.003-02:30

If you're like me, you've been eating a lot of ice cream lately. In fact, if you are really like me, you are eating so much ice cream that your daughter is threatening to take a picture of you holding a litre of ice cream, draw a red circle around it and a bar across it, and post it in all local grocery stores: do not sell any more chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to this woman. It is getting ridiculous, I admit, but the stuff is soooo good. Anyway, choclate chip cookie dough may not be your flavour of choice - but whatever you pick may say a lot about you.

(Image: saidaonline.com.)

And believe it or not it actually relates to our Winter Issue*

2010-07-12T15:00:00.003-02:30

Someone was blasting this as I walked to work this morning, reminding me it is the best video ever.

(Image: wordpress.com.)

*more on that later.

Three lovely words...

2010-07-09T13:44:00.002-02:30

...long summer weekend. Repeat as desired. (Perhaps you are planning a picnic?)

(Image: vintagelifenetwork.)

And it's down to the final

2010-07-08T11:00:00.002-02:30

A bit adrift without FIFA? Here's a bit of online fun, might help pass the time.

(Image: smart-kit.com.)

Here's to you

2010-07-07T13:51:00.003-02:30

Back in the office after a great chat on Crosstalk. One thing that surprised me was how many callers liked magazines first and foremost for their recipes. We don't include many recipes in the NQ, but I do link to the occasional one on this blog. Here's one for what might be the nicest of summertime drinks: white wine sangria.

(Image: drinks-recipe.us.)

NQ on CBC Crosstalk tomorrow

2010-07-06T15:10:00.002-02:30

In case you're in earshot of CBC Radio tomorrow, Wednesday July 7, the NQ will be on chatting with Radio Noon host Ramona Dearing* about magazines and so forth - so lend us your ears!

(Image: sunbelt-software.com.)

(*Incidentally she's a fabulous writer.)

Fall issue under construction

2010-07-05T12:32:00.002-02:30

It is summer, just look at the pots and baskets of flowers so colourfully available outside the supermarket of your choice. As nicely distracting as gardening can be, the NQ retains focus on the next issue, starting to get our beams aligned and riveted, ie. whatever it is these brave guys are at here.

(image: nfb.ca.)

And we're back...

2010-07-02T16:44:00.002-02:30

...from our gig on the lovely, foggy Burin Peninsula. Vol. 103. no. 2 ahead.
(Image: artandcarol.ca.)

2010-06-18T10:40:00.002-02:30

(Image: ioffer.com.)