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WTM: visual moons - reply
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From: SRigg37889 at aol.com <SRigg37889>
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 21:08:19 -0400
I loved Ginny's question about the pair of 'visual moons' on the last page of WTM and also on p. 149. (I thought they appeared at least one other place, but I can't locate any more--has anyone else found others?)
No, these were not my idea--I first saw them in the galley proofs, I think, and thought they were brilliant! The final ones (on the last page) suggest so much to me: they echo all the 'pairs' and couplings in the book; they echo the two moons of the title; they compliment the final two words (huzza, huzza); and I love that they are 'new' moons, suggesting a new cycle, a beginning . . .
I also thought the ones on p.. 149 were beautifully placed (though I think they were for technical reasons, which I'll explain in a minute...). Coming where they do, after the passage about the stillborn baby, they seemed to suggest to me two infant feet, two small moccasin imprints almost, even though they are obviously moons. I'm not explaining this very well, but do you know what I mean? The moons-and- moccasins of the title blur for me here, ironically, sadly--in that those two moons/feet will not complete their cycle/continue on their way, unless, of course, Sal will, in her mind,
'reincarnate' that baby's spirit. This is her attempt, I think, in naming the baby Tulip--with all that flower's associations of blooming again ('Oh meet me, in the Tulips, when the tulips do blooooom...').
Well...those are my mind's wanderings at least...
As for who is responsible for those lovely visual moons--good question!
I'll ask my editor--it may have been her suggestion, or it may have been the book designer's (Alicia Mickles). I suspect that the final moons offered a perfect design closure. As for the ones on p 149--these mark a break in the text--in my ms., this was represented by extra white space, but in the galleys, because the passage ran so close to the end of the page, it would have been hard to emphasize that gap without a visual aid (thus, I think, the moons). But I'll find out for sure..
Like Ginny, I'd love to hear what other readers made (make) of those visual moons... Sharon Creech
Received on Sun 30 Jul 1995 08:08:19 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 21:08:19 -0400
I loved Ginny's question about the pair of 'visual moons' on the last page of WTM and also on p. 149. (I thought they appeared at least one other place, but I can't locate any more--has anyone else found others?)
No, these were not my idea--I first saw them in the galley proofs, I think, and thought they were brilliant! The final ones (on the last page) suggest so much to me: they echo all the 'pairs' and couplings in the book; they echo the two moons of the title; they compliment the final two words (huzza, huzza); and I love that they are 'new' moons, suggesting a new cycle, a beginning . . .
I also thought the ones on p.. 149 were beautifully placed (though I think they were for technical reasons, which I'll explain in a minute...). Coming where they do, after the passage about the stillborn baby, they seemed to suggest to me two infant feet, two small moccasin imprints almost, even though they are obviously moons. I'm not explaining this very well, but do you know what I mean? The moons-and- moccasins of the title blur for me here, ironically, sadly--in that those two moons/feet will not complete their cycle/continue on their way, unless, of course, Sal will, in her mind,
'reincarnate' that baby's spirit. This is her attempt, I think, in naming the baby Tulip--with all that flower's associations of blooming again ('Oh meet me, in the Tulips, when the tulips do blooooom...').
Well...those are my mind's wanderings at least...
As for who is responsible for those lovely visual moons--good question!
I'll ask my editor--it may have been her suggestion, or it may have been the book designer's (Alicia Mickles). I suspect that the final moons offered a perfect design closure. As for the ones on p 149--these mark a break in the text--in my ms., this was represented by extra white space, but in the galleys, because the passage ran so close to the end of the page, it would have been hard to emphasize that gap without a visual aid (thus, I think, the moons). But I'll find out for sure..
Like Ginny, I'd love to hear what other readers made (make) of those visual moons... Sharon Creech
Received on Sun 30 Jul 1995 08:08:19 PM CDT
