Poetry Month-Walking Haiku by Ann McCrea

I have done several books of haiku with poet friends related to a workshop I teach, Keepsake Books: DIY Bookmaking for Writers, Poets, and Graphic Novelists. The binding—punched holes, small sticks, and crochet cotton—was straightforward,

but the layout was complicated. I started by hand-lettering the words

and then scanned in the images. The book was made from two sheets of copy paper. Because we were printing on a color copier, I needed to leave a 1/4" border all around and cut the paper after. I worked in indesign and put the poem on the verso (left ) page with a pale reverse version of the collage as a background and the collage image on the recto (right) page. I always make paper mock-ups of the books. There is no way I could keep track of the placement in indesign.

Here are the pages:

Ann assembled some friends for a binding party and we bound 100 copies in a morning. I believe Ann still has some copies for sale. If you are interested in purchasing one, contact Ann McCrea.

This is the last post for Poetry Month. Studio Sunday will be on vacation for a few weeks and return on May 21. You'll hear from me before then. I have some event info to share.