Wednesday, November 28, 2007

HibbingTown in Minnesota where Robert Zimmerman grew up.s
Bruce Weber's article about Hibbing.
Pictures from Hibbing.
Subject: Re: Jeopardy question
From: Ronnie Schreiber (ronnies@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 00:59:21 GMT
Organization: Netcom
X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.0.82
Joseph Trum (jtrum@mail.utexas.edu) wrote:
>What about today's Jeopardy when there was a question about some museum in
>Hibbing, Minnesota.
Must have been talking about the Greyhound bus museum there. The
Greyhound system was started in Hibbing.
>This question (or should I say answer) was immediately followed by one
>that included the word Subterranean. Coincidence?
Actually, the coincidence goes another way. Hibbing is the site of one
of thelargest iron mines in the world. The entire north side of town
is a huge hole in the ground. Subterranean indeed. Actually between
the Rust mine pit and the mountains of iron tailings surrounding the
town, it's a pretty surreal site. The high school there was built
during the WWI era and is pretty remarkable. It was built by the
mining company when they decided to move the town to make access to
the ore deposits easier. To make up for the inconvenience, they built
what is arguably the most elegant hs in the US. Marble floors, carved
bas relief mouldings and an auditorium as elegant as most cities'
fanciest theatres or orchestra halls. Sadly, however, the tour of the
hs makes no mention of their most famous graduate (nor do they have
any record of which locker was his).
In the high school auditorium I tried to visualize Bobby Zimmerman
pounding out Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis on the piano at talent
shows while the poodle skirt/pat boone set looked on in horror.
It must have been real cold up in the iron range.
It seems as though Hibbing is a bit chagrined by Dylan's origins
there. I think they still don't understand his appeal (or greatness).
The locals seem prouder of local natives Roger Maris and Kevin McHale.
Athletics may be more accessible than poetics.
Expecting Rain
North Country, theThe area Minnesota way, where Bob Dylan grew up. See also Hibbing.
From: Tiernan Henry (HENRY.TIERNAN@UCG.IE)
Subject: nature/nuture
(April 96)
bruce weber did a series of articles in the new york times a couple of years ago, which he filed as he cycled his way from the pacific to the atlantic coasts. one was filed from duluth, and was a delightful pen-portrait of the iron range as seen from a cyclists point of view (ie that the roads are terrible and your ass will be sore for a couple of states), and weber took in hibbing, ely and other range towns. remember, judy garland, roger maris, and kevin mchale are all rangers too.
as is rudy perpich.
track it down in the nytimes records. i have it clipped somewhere, and will post it here next week.
i arrived in duluth, if not quite off the potato boat, not long after leaving ireland. i moved from st. paul to the twin ports in the spring of 1989, and had soon found the house where the zimmermans had lived (on 6th i think, i have photos somewhere). needless to say i was in hibbing as soon as possible, and have more photos of that house. also, for anyone in the region, check out "zimmy's sports bar" -- i kid you not -- and get yerselves a t-shirt, featuring drawings of maris, and high-school-era bob on the front.
friends who worked for mpr played me tapes of interviews with dylan's high-school friends (they were done for a planned, but not developed, story) ad had a great local perspective. (mpr-duluth producer jim neumann did a great piece which may have gotten npr broadcast on bob's 50th birthday, with interviews with john bauldie, some dylan school friends, and a pile of folks drinking in "zimmy's", worth checking out. and not just cause jim is a friend!)
despite what is sometimes printed about it, duluth and hibbing folks are quietly proud of bob, and retain a certain pride that one of their own has done so well. i certainly met few people who bore any illwill towards him, and i met many who did remember him. it is odd how it would crop up; again, my peripheral involvement with mpr-duluth and with the duluth news tribune meant that i met a lot of folks involved in the arts and in politics in the area, and there were a few um-minneapolis friends who were also rangers who remembered him, and who ran into him on occasion. a friend of jim's told me that she knew bob from hibbing, and that they were at the u at roughly the same time. when he was getting ready to leave for new york he told her that he'd see her there sometime. years later, in the 80s, she was in new york and ran into bob on 5th avenue. they chatted about family she said, and that as they parted, he said, "i told you i'd see you in new york".
it is a very tough place to live. not violent tough though. economically the region has never recovered from the downturn in ore demand, and it is a darned cold place to live during the winter, especially so for a paddy used to mild winters. my first winter there, a mild one by local standards, shocked me. it just got colder every day, and everyone else didn't seem to notice. by winter two i was an old hand and when i caught myself remarking that a february day that had reached -10 was "springlike" i knew that i was becoming a neo-ranger.
it is astonishingly beautiful and affective country. the geology alone would make you drool (the canadian shield makes an appearance, and some of the oldest exposed rocks in the us are to be found near duluth), if drooling at geology is your thing (guilty, m'lud). the winter light has a metallic clarity and sharpness that is unlike anything i've seen anyhwere else in the midwest, and the sight and sound of that big lake heaving and stretching is truly wondrous. when the ice cracks and snaps the sound is like gunfire, and the ice reared up and random-packed on the beach looks for all the world like freeze-framed storm waves.
moving north along the shore, the signs of the iron industry -- the huge rusting loaders and docks and the boarded-up buildings -- are a reminder of what came from the mesabi range. cut overland to hibbing and the scar of the mine is colossal. everything is magnetic there.
that country doesn't let you go quickly.
take a trip. go see it in the fall, and go inland and wander the backroads. go in winter and bring yer cross-country skis. watch that sky, that almost tidal lake, the hanging curtains of the northern lights, the reminders of a place where ore older than most of the rest of that big country was extracted to build that new country, and then see if you can rent "highway 61", a delightfully quirky film with some interesting thoughts to share about baby-bob dylan.
if you can't get there don't worry. listen to all those records; it's all over them and shot through them like diamond pipes. drive up i-35 some winter's night well after midnight, heading from the cities to duluth and listen to "shooting star", under a green-lit sky of cascading light.
and see a shooting star.
it's still with me.
tiernan

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

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Information from Lake Superior Writers (This is a group worth joining)

Lake Superior Writers
2008-2010 Duluth Poet Laureate
The Duluth Poet Laureate The 2006-2008 Poet Laureate 2008-2010 Poet Laureate
Application Guidelines Application Q & A More Information Suggested Duties Download Application Form pdf
2008-2010 Application Guidelines
Application and Selection Processes:A Poet Laureate Selection Committee will review all applications and will select the Duluth Poet Laureate, whose term will be for two years from date of appointment. The Selection Committee is composed of representatives from Duluth’s literary community, related business and organizations, local colleges and/or universities, and other individuals interested in the field of poetry. The Duluth Poet Laureate Committee is organized and administered by Lake Superior Writers, a nonprofit organization based in Duluth, Minnesota.
Application Qualifications:1. Must be a legal resident of Minnesota and have lived and/or worked in the Duluth city area for at least five of the last ten years;2. Has made significant contributions to the literary community;3. A willingness and ability to participate in poet laureate responsibilities, and the intent to live in Duluth or the Duluth city area for the duration of the appointment.
A Complete Application Must Contain:1. A completed Duluth Poet Laureate Application Form; signed by the applying poet; 2. A signed cover letter from the applicant (no more than two single-sided pages), stating why you are interested in the post of Duluth Poet Laureate and what activities you are interested in helping organize;3. A brief biography (one page maximum);4. A full or partial list of your published literary work from the last ten years. Please include publishers, dates of publication, and number of pages of each of the works listed, including self-published or vanity publications;5. Ten pages of poems by the applying poet. Each poem must be typed or printed on 8.5” x 11” paper, single-sided, with at least half inch margins and 12 point typeface;6. A VHS tape or DVD of the poet reading one or two of his or her poems is optional. The application process will take place in two parts: 1.) review of submitted materials and selection of finalists and 2.) the opportunity for the finalists to speak with the selection committee.
INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Deadline for Completed Applications: Postmarked by February 15, 2008, or hand-delivered to the Lake Superior Writers office (1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth) by 4 pm., Monday, February 18, 2008.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Duluth Poet Laureate Application Q & A
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1. What is a Poet Laureate?Traditionally, the Poet Laureate is an honorary title given to a person who has demonstrated excellence in the literary arts. Currently, there are thirty-seven states states (Minnesota will be the thirty-eighth, in January, 2008), several cities and boroughs that have an official poet laureate. There are now two more Minnesota cities with poet laureates: Winona (James Armstrong) and Red Wing (Robert Hedin).
2. What Does the Poet Laureate Do?The Poet Laureate will work with cultural, educational and other organizations to encourage the public to express their literary creativity, through appearances, readings, workshops, and other public displays of poetry.
3. What is the duration of service for the Duluth Poet Laureate?The Duluth Poet Laureate will serve for two years in that capacity. In the case that the Laureate cannot serve for that duration of time because of extended illness, relocation, job situation, or inability to perform, the selection committee will solicit applications once again from the public. A Poet Laureate may reapply for this position at the end of their term or at any time in the future.
4. Can a poet be nominated by an individual, group of individuals, or an organization or institution?No. Individuals and organizations may encourage and/or support the application of a poet; however, the application form must be signed by the poet and be accompanied by a signed cover letter from the poet, stating why he or she is interested in the post of Duluth Poet Laureate.
5. For qualification purposes, how does the program define the Duluth, Minnesota Area?It is the area that includes Duluth, Hermantown, and Proctor.
6. Are any dates of publication acceptable?No. Only works published within the last ten years will be considered for qualification purposes. As outlined in the program guidelines, a full or partial list of works published in the last ten years must be included with the application. Forthcoming publications will not be considered and should not be included.
7. Are collaborative and/or mixed media works acceptable?Yes. Both collaborative and mixed media works will be considered.
8. Will poems that have been only published online be considered?Yes. Such poems may be included in the application if the publishing site(s) utilizes a competitive review and acceptance process and includes a diverse list of poets, i.e. not restricted to only one poet or poets from a particular group or organization.
More Information about the Poet Laureate
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Deadline for Completed Applications: Postmarked by February 15, 2008, or hand-delivered to the Lake Superior Writers office (1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth) by 4 pm., Monday, February 18, 2008.
Honorarium for April 2008 - March 2010 term: $3,000
Poet laureate crowning ceremony, April 12, 2008 at the Sacred Heart Music Center.

Suggested Duties the Duluth Poet Laureate
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These are not requirements, but intended to stimulate thought. The poet laureate may choose to devise his or her own initiatives.1. to raise public awareness of poetry through readings, appearances, workshops, and other public displays of poetry.2. to arrange for poet in the school appearances/readings in middle, junior and senior high schools3. to write a monthly poetry column, in which reviews of recent poetry books, individual poems, or other poetry issues are explored. 4. organize poetry workshops at local libraries5. create poems for specific occasions6. help organize an annual city-wide poetry event7. select poems for display on local city buses, billboards and/or on postcards8. be available for a “meal-a-month,” sponsored by a local restaurant
Note: The Poet Laureate may also contract for his services (such as for public and private appearances, poetry readings, teaching residences, speaking engagements, et al.) independent of the oversight and participation of Lake Superior Writers. Compensation will go to the Poet Laureate and should be negotiated with the Poet Laureate directly.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Lake Superior Writers
1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth, Minnesota 55811. 218-722-3094 http://www.lakesuperiorwriters.orgwriters@lakesuperiorwriters.org
To send items including calls for submissions, publication announcements, and area literary events, e-mail calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org
MAP to LSW Office and Meeting Room
Lake Superior Writers is a non-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status.

About the Duluth Poet Laureate
Lake Superior Writers established the position of Duluth Poet Laureate in April, 2006 as a way of honoring our area poets and encouraging the enjoyment of poetry. Duluth was the first city in Minnesota to name a Poet Laureate. There are now two more Minnesota cities with poet laureates: Winona (James Armstrong) and Red Wing (Robert Hedin). LSW and the Duluth Poet Laureate organize and host two to three public events in the Duluth, Minnesota area each year.
The honorary title of Poet Laureate was first used in England during the Middle Ages; it was given to a poet appointed for life. King Henry III appointed a poet laureate and Geoffrey Chaucer was England's Poet Laureate until his death in 1400.
Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.
Duluth Poet Laureate Application

Sponsoring Organizations
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Sponsoring organizations for the 2008-2010 Duluth poet laureate project will be announced soon. Sponsoring organizations for the 2006-2008 Duluth poet laureate project included Lake Superior Writers, the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, the Duluth Public Arts Commission, UMD English Department, UMD Academic Affairs, UMD College of Liberal Arts, the College of St. Scholastica English Department, Lake Superior College, Friends of the Duluth Public Library, Northern Lights Books & Gifts, Arrowhead Reading Council, and Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
For Information
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Need info? Contact pl@lakesuperiorwriters.org or call 218-722-3094. Please allow 7 - 10 days to receive a reply.

Lake Superior Writers
1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 132, Duluth, Minnesota 55811. 218-722-3094 http://www.lakesuperiorwriters.orgwriters@lakesuperiorwriters.org
To send items including calls for submissions, publication announcements, and area literary events, e-mail calendar@lakesuperiorwriters.org
MAP to LSW Office and Meeting Room
Lake Superior Writers is a non-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status.
From BusinessNorth.com
Special FocusWriting groups provide authors support
11/19/2007by Julia Durst

(Photo: Author Donna Schilling reviews galley sheets with Tony Dierckins at X-communication.)
From the region’s sparsely populated north woods to Duluth/Superior, many authors work with little contact with their peers.
They have resolved this conundrum by forming community-based writing groups, meeting regularly and providing members a supportive venue for sharing their work with fellow writers. Members benefit from advice, critique and friendship.
Author Donna Schilling attributes much of her success to Lake Superior Writers, a literary nonprofit based in Duluth. Schilling joined the group in 1999, when it had about 20 members. (It’s grown to about 150.)
Schilling began attending one of its genre-specific writing groups and focused on writing her memoirs. With her group’s advice and encouragement she self-published Slices of Life: A Minnesota Memoir in 2006. “Without them, I wouldn’t have had the impetus to do it,” she says.
In her book Schilling recounts the challenges and blessings of her 70-plus years in Minnesota. She worked with Tony Dierckins of X-presso, the self-publishing division of Dierckins’ X-communication publishing house. She raves about his talent, experience, and efficiency in moving her through the formatting, design and proofing processes.
Schilling predicted only her family and friends would enjoy the book. But a favorable book review ignited interest and the author found herself selling at local bookstores. She says she initially was going to have 500 books printed but opted instead for the next step up in the offset printing process, ordering 1000 copies. Slices is for sale on consignment at local independent retailers, including Northern Lights Bookstore and Art Dock. Schilling says an author needs a distributor to sell to national book chains, such as Barnes and Noble.
The author hopes to have her second book out by Christmas. Lake Effect Memories will explore how Lake Superior has influenced the lives of its shoreline inhabitants through stories of Schilling and friends.
Like other longtime members, Schilling has witnessed the transformation of the literary organization from a small writers club to a group with a major community presence. In recent years, Lake Superior Writers has paired with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra and Northern Prints Gallery for collaborative projects. It led an effort to establish a Duluth poet laureate after Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill that would have established a Minnesota state poet laureate system.
The group also hosted the wildly successful “Festival of Words” last April, featuring National Public Radio host Terry Gross and Duluth’s first poet laureate, Barton Sutter. In October the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation recognized the event with a Touchstone Award.
Among its 150 members (who pay a $25 annual fee), many are non-writer supporters of local literature. Schilling sees that enthusiasm in the community. “The arts are up and kicking in Duluth,” she says.
In Wisconsin
The arts also are thriving in northern Wisconsin, which hosts its share of writing groups. According to the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Association, groups exist in towns as remote as Dresser, Amery and Frederic.
In Solon Springs, the St. Croix Writers Club has been going strong for 17 years. Started by a local Presbyterian pastor, the group initially met at the church. Growth necessitated a move to the Solon Springs Community Center.
Membership fluctuates seasonally, from seven or eight people during winter to more than 40 in summer. The weekly Tuesday morning meetings are totally committed to reading aloud. Writers take a number as they enter; each has six minutes in front of the group. Discussion and socializing follow, usually over lunch at KD’s Family Restaurant.
“Many members come only in summer,” says longtime member Cathy Swanson. “Some come from as far away as Iron River, Two Harbors, Sarona and Shell Lake.”
Publication isn’t the ultimate goal for many of the writers. Some just seek a nonjudgmental, responsive arena in which to read. Members represent a spectrum of political, social and religious viewpoints. The group’s mission is to “encourage and foster creative talent and improve the writing skills of the group.”
Among current and past members who have published, some have seen great success. Swanson says David Schipper, author of the New York Times bestseller Sellout: the Inside Story of President Clinton’s Impeachment, sought feedback from the group. Other well-known members include Mike Savage, founder of Savage Press and Daily Telegram columnist, and the late Tony Jelich, retired game warden and author of “Stop and Smell the Cedars.”
“There is lots of stuff going on out in the country,” Swanson says. “More so than in town.”
One literary club that spans urban and rural areas is the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Since 1950, the statewide organization has labored to support poets in “perfecting their work” and encouraged the study of poetry in schools. Though the group is divided into eight regional sections, members don’t enjoy the intimacy and immediate feedback of a local close-knit group. While smaller groups nurture talent in a local setting, however, the Fellowship has a broader social purpose: promoting poetry.
It sponsors readings and contests and hosts two annual conferences. In 1999 it initiated the Wisconsin poet laureate project. The group has published a highly anticipated calendar filled with members’ poetry every year since 1986.
“We have a business manager who handles calendar sales, and each year there is a new editor who handles poem selection and publication,” says Jan Chronister of Maple, the Fellowship’s northwest regional vice-president. “Some years, because the job is very demanding, the duties are shared by co-editors.”
Anyone living or summering in Wisconsin can join for an annual cost of $25. Membership includes a quarterly “Museletter” and discounted rates for contests and events. It does not guarantee a coveted spot in the calendar. The 2008 calendar editors Richard Roe and Jeannie Bergmann chose 184 poems out of 366 submissions.
Most Fellowship poets have published work in anthologies or journals or authored their own books. Many have achieved a high degree of career success. “Many of our members have been published by prestigious presses, such as Parallel Press out of UW-Madison,” says Chronister.
“Self-publishing also is prevalent, although — I know I’m biased — most of our members have no trouble finding small presses to publish their work.”
The calendar provides a comprehensive sampling of verse from poets statewide. It is sold on consignment at area bookstores. Chronister delivers the calendars herself, driving to Spooner, Ashland, Duluth and many places in between.
While Schilling and Swanson have found friendship and advice in their groups, Chronister enjoys the perks of a larger organization that promotes and publishes poetry. Authors like Wayne Arntson of Rice Lake crave that support.
“I know of no writers’ group in Rice Lake, but I hope to start one,” Arntson says. The author is at work on a novel. “It’s centered around the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth during World War II. I lived on Park Point during that time.”
He hopes to complete the manuscript in the next few months. Maybe by then he’ll have the advice and support of a peer group as he starts down the path toward publishing.
Superior native Julia Durst is a Duluth-based freelance writer.
Useful Link: Lake Superior Writers
akela ely has sent you an article from .Doesn't this just take the cake!

design
Courier, DispatchedHow the U.S. State Department put the kibosh on the typewriter font.By Tom VanderbiltPosted Friday, Feb. 20, 2004, at 3:50 PM ET
In late January, an announcement from the U.S. State Department generated certain chatter along the generally indiscernible diplomatic-typographic axis. This was the news that as of Feb 1, the department was ditching Courier New 12 as its official font-in-residence and taking up with Times New Roman 14. Courier 12 had been put to pasture after several decades of honorable service, like an aging, elegant diplomat whose crisp, crem-colored linen suit and genteel demeanor now seem winningly old-fashioned. Times New Roman 14, as the State Department put it, "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12, while offering a crisper, cleaner, more modern look."
Courier New 12, created in 1955 by IBM, is perhaps the most recognizable typeface of the 20th century—a visual symbol of typewritten bureaucratic anonymity, the widespread dissemination of information (and a classification of documents), stark factuality, and streamlined efficiency. Designed by Howard "Bud" Kettler, a small-town printer and typographer hired by the company to create typefaces for its products, it became the country's reigning typewriter font almost immediately—not only because of IBM's dominance in the industry but because IBM failed to take a proprietary stake in the font. Soon adopted by other typewriter makers, Courier was an early version of shareware.
Compared to previous typewriter fonts, Courier looked streamlined, ational, efficient, a move away from the "Antique" past—the perfect face for IBM. With its "modern, progressive look," Courier exemplified the "trend toward the long, low and extended in an age of ranch houses and stretched-out cars," according to one ad. Kettler was a natural, innovative typographer, as one co-worker recounted: "One thing he did that no other font designer did was to rotate the mock-up page a full 180 degrees. I asked him why he did that. His answer was that he wanted to make sure that no one character stood out." In its prototype phase, Courier was called Messenger. But as Kettler later said in an interview, "A letter can be just an ordinary messenger, or it can be the courier, which radiates dignity, prestige, and stability." Kettler was successful in his mission. By the 1960s, Courier had become the herald of all stripes of dignified officialdom; indeed, it is still de rigueur for filing certain types of legal documents. It is not surprising, as Rick Poynor points out that Courier should play a starring role in Errol Morris' recent documentary The Fog of War about former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Anyone who has done Freedom of Information Act research will inevitably find black marker lines obscuring lines of Courier type.
But today, its design principles are little more than phantom limbs: Like any other typeface, it is whisked from the digital ether without regard for its original use. On the one hand, Courier New is the voice of raw clarity and transparency. It can be absorbed quickly, with little relative effort, which is why it is still the preferred font for screenplay drafts (many film festivals require copies of scripts in Courier 12). On the other hand, precisely because it has become the visual connoter of the kind of government doings executed by McNamara and his ilk, it has come to serve as blunt shorthand for secrecy or for the chilling revelation brought to light. Witness the appearance of Courier (or similar typewriter fonts) i places like the film poster for Costa-Gavras' Z, or the "X" in The X-Files, or any number of History Channel documentaries dealing with espionage.
What is most remarkable of all, of course, is that a typewriter font is still being used at all in a post-typewriter age. In technical terms, Courier New, like all typewriter fonts, is a "monospaced" typeface: Each letter takes up the same amount of space on a line, essential for tabular uniformity as well as, say, replacing an "i" with a "w" during the correcting process (no longer an issue, of course). In the early days of computer printing, courier made the jump simply because of its dominance as the official typewriter font. (One would not expect a visual style built up over a half-century to be eroded overnight, with legal documents suddenly flowering with Palatino or bristling with Big Caslon.) For most of Amerca (and for many fledgling typographers), Courier was the only font they had had access to in their daily lives. In the PC age, it still stands as some kind of ur-font, nervously invoked as default when something goes awry, such as, "Font not found, substituting Courier." In the 1990s, moreover, typographers who were now working in a thoroughly digital medium began crafting rigorous homages to typewriter fonts (e.g., "Trixie"). Rather than functional necessity, these were created as joyful pastiche, possessing a nostalgic, analog power, as well as visual freshness, in a world of frivolous, overexposed LaserWriter fonts (e.g., the dreaded Comic Sans).
Oddly enough, though, the State Department's "more modern" Courier successor, Times New Roman, actually predates the font by more than two decades. Times New Roman was created by the esteemed British typographer Stanley Morison for the Times of London in 1932. Sir Cyril Burt, inhis 1959 work A Psychological Study of Typography, described Times New Roman as "a twentieth century type, equal in merit ... to those of the classical designers of the best periods." As a newspaper font, it was intended to fit more articles and more ads onto costly newsprint while still retaining maximum legibility.
According to Jonathan Hoefler, a New York typographer, the State Department is wrong when it says that Times New Roman 14 "takes up almost exactly the same area on the page as Courier New 12." In fact, it takes up much less space, as he showed me in a comparative sampling. It should be stressed, too, that the State Department is not simply switching type styles but point size. This, as Stanley Morison argued, does not necessarily engender further clarity, however: The larger the type, the fewer letters the eye can absorb at once; the eye has to work more to read than it would at a smaller (but not too small) font. Times New Roman 14 may take up less space than Courier 12 but it is a rather large font. (As Hoefler notes, 14 point is generally reserved for children's books.) Will U.S. diplomacy improve as the visual signal-to-noise ratio along the chain of affairs of state is reduced, or will ambassadors actually suffer from eye-strain as they absorb the larger characters of official correspondence? History, by the way, from Charlemagne to Hitler, shows that government edicts in favor of standardized typefaces are often one of the first steps in creating an empire: Is there something that the State Department isn't telling us?Tom Vanderbilt is the Brooklyn-based author of Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America and writes for many publications including the New York Times, Nest, the London Review of Books, and I.D. Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2095809/
Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC
Dylan Days announces 2008 writing contest
Hibbing Arts Council 11/27/2007
HIBBING, Minn. (Nov. 27, 2007) - The Dylan Days committee is calling for new entries for the 2008 Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. The contest will accept poetry, short stories and, new for this year, one-act plays. The deadline is Feb. 28, 2008 and instructions for entering online are at www.dylandays.com/writers.htm.
The poetry and short fiction categories return for 2008 with both an open division for all writers and a student division for anyone currently enrolled in high school or an undergraduate college or university. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in these categories with possible honorable mentions. Winners receive $100, $50 and $25 respectively and publication in the Dylan Days program and journal, "Talkin' Blues." All winners are invited to read their poems or stories at the Dylan Days Literary Showcase on May 24, 2008.
In the new one-act playwright competition, all playwrights enter one division with one winner selected. The winning play will be presented on stage during the 2008 Dylan Days Literary Showcase under the direction of award-winning Hibbing Community College theatre director Michael Ricci.
Playwrights only are asked to mail their entries to Ricci at HCC, 1515 E. 25th St., Hibbing, MN 55746. (Poems and stories must be submitted online).
The Dylan Days Creative Writing contest now enters its seventh year. Last year entries came from writers all over the globe, including all populated continents.
"We've grown a lot, but we still pride ourselves on being an excellent opportunity for up-and coming writers and students," said Aaron Brown, Dylan Days co-chair. "Many writers can claim Dylan Days as their first publication credit. We hope to provide a spark to the great writers and poets of the future."
Dylan Days, running May 22-25, 2008, is an annual event honoring Hibbing's famous son Bob Dylan and the arts community of the Iron Range. Features
include the writing contest and literary showcase, singer/songwriter contest, visual arts contests, youth talent shows, and live music throughout the long weekend. Special events for 2008 include the premiere of a Bob Dylan historical exhibit at Ironworld Discovery Center in nearby Chisholm that documents Dylan's years in Hibbing and the Iron Range's possible influence on his career. More details are available at www.dylandays.com
.
Dylan Days, presented by the nonprofit Hibbing Arts Council, is operated by a volunteer committee.
CONTACT: Aaron J. Brown, Dylan Days media coordinator
218-262-7213 (office) or 218-969-9663 (cell)
aaronbrown@hibbing.edu
Sheraton Duluth Hotel announces

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Bessemer Band Shell Benefit

The Bessemer Band Shell Benefit went off without a hitch. Thanks to my alma mater -- A.D. Johnston H.S. -- for letting us play there.

And thank you Deja Bleu for coming and spending the day.