{"id":2507,"date":"2013-02-01T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T06:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2507"},"modified":"2013-12-25T22:15:20","modified_gmt":"2013-12-26T04:15:20","slug":"what-i%e2%80%99m-up-to-at-kirkus-this-weekplus-what-i-did-last-weekfeaturing-a-chat-with-charles-r-smith-jr-and-artwork-fromandrea-cheng-bryan-collier-floyd-cooper-kadir-nelsonand-james-e-ran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=2507","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m Up To at Kirkus<\/em> This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week
(featuring a chat with Charles R. Smith Jr. and artwork from
Andrea Cheng, Bryan Collier, Floyd Cooper, Kadir Nelson,
and James E. Ransome)<\/font>"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n

“We line up the jars and jugs \/ by the road \/
for all of South Carolina \/ to come and see our wares. \/
Whoever buys the big one \/ will never know \/
I made that jar.”
— Illustration from Andrea Cheng’s<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>Etched in Clay:
The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet<\/a><\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

<\/a>
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“His children grew up. Relatives passed away. South Africa began to fall apart.
There were more protests, more rallies, and violence. The people needed a leader.
Nelson snuck a message to the people: ‘I will return.'”
— Spread from Kadir Nelson’s<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>Nelson Mandela<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
(Click to enlarge spread, sans text)<\/center> <\/p>\n

Yes, lots of folks are visiting today. <\/p>\n

First up, today over at Kirkus<\/em>, I write a bit about two Maurice Sendak<\/a><\/strong> reissues. That link is here<\/a><\/strong>. (Just yesterday a friend sent me this link<\/a><\/strong>, too. Wow.) <\/p>\n

* * *<\/center><\/p>\n

Last week at Kirkus<\/em> was “Going Beyond Black History Month.”<\/a><\/strong> Today, I share art from the books mentioned in that column, but I’ve got two added-extras: Author Charles R. Smith Jr.<\/a><\/strong> visits briefly to talk some about Brick by Brick<\/em>, and I’ve also got some woodcuts from Andrea Cheng’s Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet<\/em>. This is a collection of free verse poems about the life of the potter, which was just released last month by Lee & Low Books. The book is filled with Andrea’s stark, beautiful woodcuts. I’m still reading this one — and enjoying it. Here<\/a><\/strong> is Kirkus’<\/em> starred review of the book. <\/p>\n

Let’s get right to the art and the brief chat with Charles. You will see art below from the following books (illustrations from each book, followed by the book cover); all of these books were included in last week’s column, with the exception of Cheng’s: <\/p>\n