Heading out to Texas for Making Sense: Handwriting and Print Symposium

Heading out Texas A&M for the symposium Making Sense: Handwriting and Print. It looks like a great program — we’ll start with some hands-on work with a hand press, and then

Hoping to snag a copy of this beautiful poster.

jump from Renaissance to 21st century, graphic novels to British detective novels, film to Japanese best sellers, and OCRing black letter. So cool! My talk, “Cut-and-Paste Pedagogy: Hand, Scissor, Pen, Scrapbook” is an offshoot from my book, and I get to be on a panel with Vera Camden talking about Alison Bechdel’s “autographics” — hmm. I wonder if she means all those meticulously rendered handwritten and printed passages in Bechdel’s memoirs? Will find out.

Evanston history in scrapbooks

Could this photo of Frances Willard show her making scrapbooks? (Frances Willard House Museum)

As I was putting together my talk for the Northwestern University exhibit on scrapbooks coming up Wednesday, November 13, 4 pm, I realized that two of the women whose scrapbooks I’d written about had lived in Evanston. Women’s rights activist, writer, and speaker Elizabeth Boynton Harbert,and Women’s Christian Temperance Union leader Frances Willard were both great makers and users of strategic scrapbooks,  so of course I’ll talk about them. I’m hoping to get in to see the Frances Willard House, but so far haven’t heard back from the volunteers there.  I’ll be speaking as well on Nov 14, at 12:30 — a somewhat different talk.

Interview on New England Public Radio

Helen Barrington is a smart and insightful interviewer — so great to talk about Writing with Scissors on her show on New England Public Radio.Interview with Helen Barrington on Writing with Scissors