Book Revision and WAND Part II

Our poor blog – it’s been months since the last post. I doubt many people will read what I’m writing now, but I’ll share two updates anyway:

First, I received some fellowship money from my graduate school program to expand and revise The Walk Across North Dakota this summer. (Now that I think of it, I don’t think I ever posted that I completed the book – at least the first version of it – in January.) I will be reading significant works of travel literature (such as Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon and Henry David Thoreau’s essay “A Walk to Wachusett”), doing other research, and then drafting and revising new content. I may also solicit content from other people connected to the project.

The book cover, designed by Katie Falkenberg.

Second, the walk across the eastern half of North Dakota is tentatively set for the summer of 2013. I really want to make this happen, and I think it can. I’m not sure how many of our original crew will be able to join me, but my desire to walk across the entire state is growing increasingly strong. So it may be that I’ll expand and revise the book again in the future. Hey, I’m game.

Finishing the WAND Book

Just a quick update on the book that was supposed to be complete…a while ago. Richard and I will be working on the book during the next few weeks, probably with some final input from Jeremy and Tyler as well. Though I’ve said it before, I really think it will be done soon. I apologize that it has taken this long, but a little thing called grad school has been taking up most of my time for the past few months. I will put up another brief post when The WAND Chronicles (if that remains the title) is off to print.

The WAND Calendar

Looks amazing. If you think North Dakota ain’t much to look at, this calendar will prove you wrong.

Thanks Tyler, Jeremy, and Cambria for all your work!

 

We have ordered the calendars for all our $60 and above donors, but Gwen will be making at least one more order in the future.  Please contact her if you are interested in ordering one.

Progress on the Book

The bad news:

We did not meet the deadline we set for getting the WAND book to print (the end of September).

 

The good news:

1. We are steadily making progress on this project.

2. We’re on track to print by the end of October. Yesterday we were all able to meet by Skype (no small scheduling feat for 3 graduate students and 2 busy professionals), and we got a lot of questions answered about the format and content of the book. This week we’ll be giving the manuscript to a few of Gwen’s colleagues to look over,  Richard is working on some sketches, and Tyler is working on the route map.

3. We are more confident than ever that The WAND Chronicles is going to knock your socks off.

 

Hey, the good news totally outnumbers the bad news!

Hey There, Good Lookin’

How about some goofy close-up shots from the WAND? I’ll start with one of myself:

Gwen expelling the unwanted contents of her nose in the tent on Sentinel Butte.

Jeremy doing an impression of a housefly.

Tyler giving a well-known sign of appreciation for the A&B pizza at Crown Butte. Photo by Mary Hoberg.

Richard establishing his gravel road cred.

More Journal Excerpts

As I continue to weave five journals and my own prose into a seamless whole (that’s my goal, anyway), I am continually amazed at how many lovely, funny, and interesting things people wrote. This book is going to be killer, y’all. We still seem to be on track to get it done by the end of this month, so how about a few more excerpts to tide you over.

Day 1 – June 3 – Tyler

As the sun itself becomes visible, like a giant spotlight aimed directly at me, I’m reminded of the scale, the magnitude, of the mechanisms at work behind the profound yet quotidian event—sunrise. I think I can feel the earth turning, hurtling me eastward with rotational momentum.

Day 2 – June 4 – Richard

It was really nice to have a bed of clouds stacked on pillows stacked on kittens’ fur that night.

Day 5 – June 7 – Jeremy

Realizing that we couldn’t keep [the pancakes] warm to eat them all together, we took turns drizzling syrup onto the cake in our hands  and scarfing them down.

Day 7 – June 9 – Bruce

With my Procrustean, four-pound hiking clogs lashed to the top of my pack, and running shoes on my pulpy feet, I felt lighter than air.

lounging in light blue

From August 25, 2011, "Birds on a wire" by Jessie Veeder Scofield

lounging in light blue,
the wire’s eyes watch over all  –
time enough for change

—————–

The Nodaiku Project is a weekly series of North Dakota-themed haiku poetry, featuring a new haiku poem by Jeremy Bold based on one of Jessie Veeder Scofield’s photographs from her ranch in western North Dakota.  See more of Jessie’s photography at Meanwhile, back at the ranch: Daily Photos and find more of nodaiku poems by The Blank Rectangle here at The Blank Rectangle: Nodaiku or by following us on Twitter (@blankrectangle).  Click the “Sign me up!” button on the right to get email updates from The Blank Rectangle!

seeking summer shade

From August 22, 2011, "Horse in the early evening" by Jessie Veeder Scofield

seeking summer shade,
mites find a horse-shaped shadow –
sunset glows like snow

—————–

The Nodaiku Project is a weekly series of North Dakota-themed haiku poetry, featuring a new haiku poem by Jeremy Bold based on one of Jessie Veeder Scofield’s photographs from her ranch in western North Dakota.  See more of Jessie’s photography at Meanwhile, back at the ranch: Daily Photos and find more of nodaiku poems by The Blank Rectangle here at The Blank Rectangle: Nodaiku or by following us on Twitter (@blankrectangle).  Click the “Sign me up!” button on the right to get email updates from The Blank Rectangle!

WAND Chronicles Update

We’re hard at work putting together The WAND Chronicles, the book documenting our trip. We’re giving it to many of our donors, and it will eventually be available for sale through the blog as well. We don’t know exactly when we will finish, but we’re hoping to send it to the printer by the end of September. Jeremy and I have started to have regular editorial meetings, and Richard will be working on design. The book will probably be 60-70 pages long.

Here’s our table of contents (subject to change, of course):

Introduction

Sketch and profile for each participant

Maps

Day-by-day account with journal excerpts (the bulk of the book)

A few meditations/essays

Profiles of some of the people we met

Interview of an oil worker

WAND by the numbers (fun fact section)

List of animals we saw and heard

Acknowledgements

from high, ripe tables

From August 9, 2011, "On top of Table Butte" by Jessie Veeder Scofield

from high, ripe tables
the whole world seems edible –
rocks crunch under boot

—————–

The Nodaiku Project is a weekly series of North Dakota-themed haiku poetry, featuring a new haiku poem by Jeremy Bold based on one of Jessie Veeder Scofield’s photographs from her ranch in western North Dakota.  See more of Jessie’s photography at Meanwhile, back at the ranch: Daily Photos and find more of nodaiku poems by The Blank Rectangle here at The Blank Rectangle: Nodaiku or by following us on Twitter (@blankrectangle).  Click the “Sign me up!” button on the right to get email updates from The Blank Rectangle!