Bloch Party
July 15th, 2009 by jules
This is an illustration from French illustrator Serge Bloch (well, originally from France, but evidently he lives in New York City now). It is paired with a poem from J. Patrick Lewis, and it appears in The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse, released by Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum in March. In this poetry collection, Lewis gives us his poet’s-perspective on more than fifty jobs—from Belly Dancer to Philosopher and all kinds of occupations in between—in all kinds of poetic forms, such as haikus, acrostics, shape poems, and much more. Here’s Serge’s rendition of the Ice Sculptor (whose motto, don’t you know, is ALWAYS REFRIGERATE):
I saw Serge’s work in The Underwear Salesman right after I saw his illustrations from Davide Cali’s The Enemy: A Book About Peace (Schwartz & Wade Books, April 2009), rendered in China ink on paper and photography. (His illustrations for The Underwear Salesman, as you can see in the illustrations here today, are done via digital collage.) I tried to snag a breakfast illustrator interview with Serge, since I am taken with his style, but it’s not a good time for him. Bummer. Maybe another day. But I did manage to get some illustrations to show you today. Serge’s work appears regularly in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Times, and he’s been many times acclaimed and awarded and honored and all that good stuff across the pond (France’s Baobab Award for best children’s book of the year, for one).
The Enemy tells the simple story of two enemy soldiers in their separate holes, waiting to destroy one another. Publishers Weekly wrote that the story is “an absurd waiting game worthy of Beckett,” Cali making the case for what he believes to be the senselessness of war:
(Click to enlarge.)
So, in my effort to show you as much Serge art as I can today, though I can’t deliver on an interview right now, I have a few more spreads here from The Enemy, as well as The Underwear Salesman. And the very talented J. Patrick Lewis (who himself promises to stop by for a chat some time soon) gave me permission to post some of the poems that go with the illustrations for the latter title.
I hope you enjoy Serge’s art—and today’s poetry—-as much as I do. (If you want to pore over and gaze at Serge’s work in The Enemy, you’ll just have to click those spreads to enlarge them. I know they’re small, yo.)
But sometimes I am so hungry I light my fire. As soon as I do, the enemy lights his.”
And what’s this? A manual just like mine. But there is a difference: in this one, the enemy has my face. This manual is full of lies—I am a man, not a monster. I am not the one who started this war.”
{Okay, so switching gears dramatically here, let’s close with Lewis’ poems and some more of Serge’s art from the poetry collection. As for the final poem, my apologies in advance if you’re chomping down on, say, a ham-and-biscuit while reading. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.}
THE UNDERWEAR SALESMAN: AND OTHER JOBS FOR BETTER OR VERSE copyright © 2009 by J. Patrick Lewis. Illustration © 2009 by Serge Bloch. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Ginee Seo Books, an imprint of Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, NY.
THE ENEMY: A BOOK ABOUT PEACE copyright © 2009 by J. Patrick Lewis. Illustration © 2009 by Serge Bloch. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Schwartz & Wade Books, New York, NY.
I think it is a great privilege to be a librarian or a teacher. I would press copies of The Enemy into the hands of children and adults. It’s truly, amazingly lovely.
And I just love J. Patrick Lewis on any day of the week. And I shall leave you to your ham. And go back to my high-fat adjectives.
Hee! Fun to read JPL poems and see more of Serge’s art. Love the butcher, poet and ice sculptor. “Always refrigerate!” Love the librarian poem too. THE ENEMY looks awesome.
With regard to David Cali’s book The Enemy I believe Mark Twain said it best, (not an exact quote) “If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny.”
Liz
I’d buy that book just for the librarian poem!
Loving this art. The spreads (and the concept) of The Enemy remind me a bit of Umberto Eco’s Three Astronauts, illustrated by Eugenio Carmi. Good stuff, and a great message.
Mr. Lewis’s poetry is sublime, as always. I especially like the Librarian and the Poet.
How fun! i must get the book – the poems, the art? I buy it for both!
Wonderful! And I have loved Serge Bloch’s work for years. To be able to say so much with so little. I can dream.
[…] here is from Flaubert’s Le dictionnaire des idées reçues with illustrations from Serge Bloch and Lemaitre, 2006}: If you could have three (living) illustrators—whom you have not yet […]
[…] about war for very young child readers are such. (Think Davide Cali’s and Serge Bloch’s The Enemy: A Book about Peace.) The point, very obviously, as the publisher likes to point out, is that it’s a […]
Oh, another book to order for the store. You are killing my cash flow!
sorry
it was grazy time when you tried to do the interview
Hoping you’re not upset
best
s
[…] with Davide Cali’s The Enemy: A Book About Peace, illustrated by Serge Bloch, which I covered here at 7-Imp and which Publishers Weekly described as “an absurd waiting game worthy of […]