God or Monster? - by Deborah Coffey

Hi,

All the way from Boston, a short story by Deborah Coffey for our project...
I love how each writer approached the theme from a different angle. It is going to be a great book. I can't wait to see the illustrations!
If anybody is up for it, please, let us know and illustrate this story...
:]
elida.
___

God or Monster?

Edward was a smart boy. As the third child of six he knew how to keep his head down and stay out of the spotlight. He did his homework without incident and even kept his youngest brother out from underfoot. Yes, Edward was a clever boy. He knew how not to get caught in the act of whatever neighborhood scheme he had arranged for the gang. This talent he had inherited from his father.

Edward was tall for his age, with light brown hair. Nerdy glasses slid down his unpresuming nose. There wasn’t much to do in his small town and so he passed the summer in the same way boys have always done in small towns everywhere. He wrestled with his brothers. He came up with elaborate plans designed to make his sisters cry. He caught insects and removed their wings. He set as many things as possible on fire. And he waited for the school year to begin.

Deborah Coffey

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dublin zine fair was fantastic in SO many ways

Dublin Zine Fair was organized by the brilliant and talented Sarah Bracken of Baby Beef Press .

Thank you Sarah :)
elidas brilliantly clever zine tea matters that she specially made to make funds for the upcoming gods and monsters publication as seen on her blog today
tinderbox members jane o sullivan* samuel carroll maiques *elida maiques *and eoghan carroll*at the zine fair on saturday.

part of the tinderbox stall at the zine fair

above photo from here

© kate horgan

a big thank you to everyone who called by to say hi at the tinderbox stall last saturday .

It was lovely to meet marianne ,a new member and thanks emma rowe ,whose cheese stall duties came second on saturday as she made time to get down to see us in her lunch break ! xx

Also thank you to coilin of the dublin story tellers for dropping by and buying one of the last of the heartstrings song drawing zines.

There is only one left of the limited edish of 20 ....never to be repeated zine (will you be the lucky owner ?)

You can rest assured that the whole tinderbox collectives best interests were well looked after by the stall holders (see above photo) who stayed all day from 12-5pm !!

Samuel Carroll Maiques made the most money , in fact he couldnt keep up with the sales of his talented mothers exclusive zine tea matters.....it was a sell out .

As I mentioned , I had my own little space beside the mothership and I have to say it was definately worth it .....there is a very good chance that the brilliant anto dillon of loserdom zine+ a good few others will organize the independants day shindig again for this november...............

*watch this space

*get your work ready

*lets make a really big effort to attend in the style we are so capable of

*add your voice to the blog now this minute :)

Do Not Ask for Gods and Monsters

More fantastic writing from Fighting Words this time from Clodagh O'Brien, if you wish to illustrate please let us know, come on you artists, illustrator, designers et al we have had some great written submissions lets get the art work going

Do Not Ask

Camouflaged by layers
the weight of soil and snow,
guilt and expectation.
Built to last
the promise of decades;
our alibi of power,
an irradiated legacy.

Time wields a sickle,
hacks a crack, a pore,
turns earth’s heartbeat sluggish,
strangles with poisoned hands.

Generations tainted,
misshapen twisted strands
missing letters, switching sides,
exchanging C for T,
replacing G with A.

Atomic static
the deafening crackle,
leaches life and its colours.

All that’s left is white.

Second Hand

Second Hand from Isaac King on Vimeo.

Missed Connections

Missed Connections by Sarah Blackall

"Our poor hearts are delicate little things, consumed, more often than not, by hope. Proof lies in Craigslist Missed Connections pages – digital message boards heaving with missed opportunity and consequential longing. New York-based illustrator Sarah Blackall has spent the last few years delicately rendering these fleeting love stories in Chinese ink and watercolour, and the results now exist in book form – proof that love, or at least the hope it provides, still exists."

zine fair news ...

above image are live feed of my zine/book making...live as in I ought to be doing it now !

guys did you see the article about the zine fair in the irish times on tuesday ?

also its great to see the new header and the call for gods and monsters...I have such a strong feeling about this work , the curators of the project miss emma rowe and miss elida maiques will be at the tinderbox stall on saturday ,if you want to jam the theme or just leave some submissions etc.......

ALSO guys ....this is a little delicate , but , why oh why is there no more support from the 130 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY members of tinderbox for the upcoming tinderbox stall ??, this saturday in the ranelagh arts centre.....12-5pm

collaboration , it needs collaborants , not just cormorants.

Work can be mailed , emailed , discussed here on the blog .

As it is , we will be fine, just about, (the stall will show our existing work + the remaining 5 heartstrings song drawings zines) that I made with elida last year in an edition of 20.

The stall will be an honest picture of tinderbox till now, its just a shame as there will be a lot of people coming who really like the whole scene of original artists books and zines and want to buy them.

Please message if you are able to contribute , we have to meet at 11am ,to get set up .

zines*artists books*cards*small postcard size work.......

really hope there is going to be more support . no worries esther and those who are unable due to distance etc ....

see you saturday

Hello, I'm new to Tinderbox...

I'm Yvonne, love pen and ink, but also work in vector. The above illustration is unpublished. I was exploring textures and tones in black and white. I had just come back from a holiday in Bali, where they are chess mad so perhaps was inspired by this. I work in old style dip pen and indian ink as much as possible, its much more tactile than the computer. I produce prints and greeting cards using both techniques. I love the Tinderbox blog and ethos, its refreshing and inspiring and I'm delighted to be on board.

www.yvonnekennedy.com

a banner!

"Half-Life" by Niall O'Connor for Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow

Half-Life

Once upon a time, a young man asked his King for a spoonful of good earth on the first square of the King’s chess board, and two spoonfuls on the second, and double again on the third, and so on until the chessboard was completed. The King laughed at this foolishness, but eventually agreed. He ordered that it be so. After a day, his fearful overseer returned, and reported that it could not be done, and the King realised he had been fooled. He called the young man back into his presence, and apologised for his arrogance, while requesting that the young man stay in the palace, as his advisor. Their wisdom became famous, far and near, and it was with great sadness, after many years, his subjects learned that the King had passed away. In his place, his young son, was now to reign.

Some time later, the young King’s advisors were called together, so they could help decide on a great opportunity, that was being offered the Kingdom. They were to become the storehouse of the world’s nuclear waste, and would grow wealthy from the proceeds. The people would never be short of work, and never be hungry again.

The advisors told the young King that it was too dangerous, because this waste had a half life of 24,400 years or 12,000 human generations. As it decayed, uranium-235 would be generated. This had a half-life of 710,000 years. And so the young king became angry, because he thought he knew the rule of halves, and that all these advisors were trying to make him look stupid.

Finally, he dismissed them all, and had a great hole dug, where he put all the nuclear waste he could find. Then, he and his people waited for it to turn to gold. It never did, and all the people died, and the land also, in dying, was forever cursed.

Niall O'Connor

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Wanna illustrate this one?

A short story for Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow- who wants to illustrate this one?

Hi again,

The great Jane Burns, one of the writers volunteering at Fighting Words has written this story especially for us. Who wants to illustrate it? Please comment!

elida.

PS Emma, please, do post this on Facebook too... Thank you!

PS A few more stories to come. Pick your story, sharpen your pencils.
___________

A Song for William:

A message to my Great Grandson

Once upon a time in the very place where you now leave your footprints was a world with green trees and blue skies. Fresh water was everywhere and the world was safe haven. I barely knew this world for my arrival on this planet took place after man had discovered the atom bomb, the petrol driven car and nuclear energy.

Oh William, my distanced child I am afraid I made things worse. I was arrogant, I did not care for the earth beyond my time, I was too involved in the present, and at most only considered the near future. I did not truly believe the earth was dying. How could anyone have understood that, it would be like your mother dying while you grew in her womb, it does happen William but people do not dare to believe it.

We were too frightened to spend our money, the world was in economic crises, we were too frightened to plan for a future that in a second could be taken away by the callous acts of a terrorist. Oh William, we were too selfish to think of your tomorrow.

I hope for you, dear William that all the damage I have inflicted upon the earth, the disregard I had for nature that I left you something. Something so valuable that you alone can lift your heart, that you alone can achieve salvation. Oh William, dear William do you hear my song? My song of hope for a better world that belongs to you?

Take care of the earth, the life left within it, it is your turn now dear William to right the wrongs, to look to the future. Oh William, dear William dear you hear my song, my song of hope for a better world that belongs to you?

Jane Burns

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A poem for Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow- who will illustrate it?

Hello!

Evelyn Walsh, one of the great writers volunteering at Fighting Words has offered us this poem to be illustrated by you, Tinderboxers, and published in our upcoming Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow.

If any of you is interested in illustrating it, please say so here!

Emma, please, would you post this over in facebook?

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His Ladder                                              

 

He always asked for a ladder

Year after year

A

six-

stepped

sturdy wooden

one,  if he had a ladder

he could look over the wall

to see the horses

Silly boy, they laughed

And gave him

A hurl

A ball

A gun

And once

An apple and an orange and

a thrupenny bit to buy a fistful

of gobstoppers.

He never got the ladder.

He never looked over the wall.

He never saw the horses.

He grew and grew

Sank and got stuck

At the bottom of a great big hole

He didn’t know

You don’t always need a ladder.

Evelyn Walsh

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Fundraising for Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow

Meet Mr. Richie Smith,
proud sponsor of our upcoming publication Gods and Monsters of Tomorrow.
He asked me to do a portrait/caricature of him. In exchange, he will contribute with 5% of our printing budget of 500EUR. Mr. Richie Smith, thank you!