CODE(x)+1 #13: Chasing the Ideal Book

by Carolee Campbell

“When I inaugurated Ninja Press in 1984 it never occurred to me that it would lead to the kind of investigative bookmaking that has become a steadfast companion in my approach to book design.”

“The Real World of Manuel Córdova is a long, single poem by W.S. Merwin consisting of forty-three fourteen-line stanzas. Upon reading it for the first time I knew I wanted to spend deep time working on it. The poem evokes the very essence of the mythological journey; of going for and coming back changed. It is an arduous journey, both through time and through terrain. The poem also describes an interior journey into the dream world. I flooded myself with information because what poetry does not impart—is information. Poetry is a door to the ineffable. My job, however, was to make a container to hold that ineffability.”

The Real World of Manuel Córdova is an iconic example of the contemporary book as a work of art. In the essay Chasing the Ideal Book Carolee Campbell reveals her methodical and brilliant approach to investigative book making.