New page in winter book tradition

Twenty years ago, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts unveiled its first winter book -- "Staggerford's Indian," a tale by Jon Hassler. It was produced in two limited editions, printed on handmade paper, and illustrated, designed and bound by local artists.

It was a stunning and respectful homage to all that a book can be, to all of the crafts that go into creating a book.

The tradition has continued, and tonight the center's 20th winter book will be unveiled in a celebration at Open Book. "Winter Ink," a series of 10 poems by Laotian-American poet Bryan Thao Worra, is illustrated by local artists, with woodblock prints and sumi-e ink drawings, and printed on handmade Japanese paper.

"We really had not done anything before that spoke to some of the oldest traditions in the book arts that came from Asia," said Jeff Rathermel, artistic director. "I had a number of really talented poets and authors to look at, but Bryan's work really spoke to me. He has a sense of humor in his work, a sincerity. It just seemed to fit everything that we were looking for."

Like all of the winter books, this one comes in several limited editions -- chapbook ($30), standard ($120 tonight, and $150 thereafter) and deluxe ($475).

"It's like a Russian nesting doll, where the chapbook presents the text beautifully in a handmade volume, and as you step up in editions there are more particular techniques, more materials, more original artwork," said Curt Lund, audience development manager for the center.

Worra has also written 26 additional poems and one will be included in each of the 26 deluxe editions. "He's an amazing guy," Rathermel said. "It really speaks to his enthusiasm, how much he's really been engaged in the process. He's been wonderful to work with."

But the winter book isn't solely about the writing. It's about the art of bookmaking, a celebration of all the crafts. Worra's book is letterpress printed on French-folded handmade paper, with prints by Cathy Ryan and sumi-e ink brushwork by Michael Waltz, all fitted into a hardcover slipcase.

Previous winter books were written by Bill Holm, Carol Bly, Robert Bly, Louis Jenkins, Patricia Hampl and other Minnesota writers.

The celebration begins at 6 p.m. today, with a reading at 7:30 p.m., at Open Book.

Laurie Hertzel • 612-673-7302