ED. NOTE: The RAG rarely publishes press releases, but the one below is definitely different, describing an innovative way to present the story of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden. We don't plan to run a review of this book but thought readers would find the concept interesting. We find samples of the images intriguing and haunting. 

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LET THE BAD AIR OUT by Stefan Berg

Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- The Porcupine's Quill is pleased to announce the publication of Let That Bad Air Out: Buddy Bolden's Last Parade, a wordless graphic novel by first-time author Stefan Berg.

Stefan Berg revives the wordless graphic novel in his portrait of the "first man of jazz" Buddy Bolden. Very little is known of Buddy Bolden, his music was never recorded, and there is only one existing photograph, yet he is considered to be the first bandleader to play the improvised music that has since become known as jazz.

This book is available through www.amazon.com.

In his new book, Berg portrays the culture of New Orleans parade music through the narrative of Buddy Bolden's final parade. The novel consists of 70 images cut from linoleum. Stories told in pictures have a universality that transcends the boundaries of any spoken or written language providing the reader with a unique experience of a narrative akin to a silent film.

Let That Bad Air Out is the first in a series of wordless novels to be published by The Porcupine's Quill. Author Stefan Berg, born in 1985 in Toronto, is currently completing a BFA in fine art at The Ontario College of Art and Design.

The Porcupine's Quill: "Imagine a small publisher that not only cares about good writing but also goes to immense lengths to make that writing accessible in permanent, beautiful form. Imagine a small publisher that, instead of gluing its pages into the spines of books (thereby making it likely that the book will one day disintegrate), sews the pages together so that they'll never fall apart. Imagine a small publisher dedicated both to discovering new, young writers and to reprinting the best Canadian literature from the past...You're imagining The Porcupine's Quill."
--Mark Abbey, The Montreal Gazette

October 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.