Key West Literary Seminar

1991: A Guidebook Devoid of Soufflé

| | Comments (0) |
1991pc.gif

1991 marked our first foray into full-color printing. Techniques had yet to attain today's precision, and the resulting promotional literature bore serendipitous irregularities. As in life, the sunset on each of these 5"x7" postcards varies widely— from an almost entirely chartreuse haze, to a nearly-complete spectrum that steps from red in the upper altitudes, to a flash of green, to deep blue sea. Our trusty logo was perhaps never more at home than it is against this unpredictable backdrop, where ingredients and intent are only suggestions toward a result.

John Malcolm Brinnin delivered the keynote address that year, "Travel and The Sense of Wonder," in which he said:

Some of the soupiest travel writing on record has been done by moonstruck impressionists aspiring to literature; some of the best by close observers aiming to convey no more than pertinent information, a credible economic or sociological overview, a guidebook devoid of Chamber of Commerce soufflé.

Touché, John Malcom. We've got a few of these cards lying around, reader. If you'd like to start a collection, email me with your mailing address, and I'll post one your way before sundown.

Leave a comment

LITTORAL is the year-round online voice of the Key West Literary Seminar. We write about literature, Key West, and the authors who have been or will be part of our annual Seminar. Throughout the year on LITTORAL, you'll find podcasts from our growing audio archives, interviews and book reviews, news about the Seminar, links, commentary, and arcana.
Arlo Haskell is editor-in-chief. Send email to arlohaskell [at] gmail [dot] com.

 Subscribe to LITTORAL.


-->
www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called New Voices 2008. Make your own badge here.

-->

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by A.H. published on May 7, 2008 3:10 PM.

Goldman, Cheuse, Hunt, Wray added for '09 was the previous entry in this blog.

Allan Gurganus on Marilynne Robinson is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Powered by Movable Type 4.01
Audio recordings on this page and elsewhere on www.kwls.org are being made available for educational and noncommmercial use only. All rights to the recorded  material belong to the author or authors speaking. © 2008.