The happy gathering at Gaspereau Press, Nova Scotia. Photo by the amazing Thaddeus Holownia .
Hello and Happy Autumn, dear Friends of the Press!
Have you ever heard of a Wayzgoose?? Me either, at least until I entered the world of traditional printing. (FYI, it does not involve a real goose.) Well, I just got back from Canada a couple of weeks ago, having attended my very first Wayzgoose!
This strange, centuries-old word (with an uncertain derivation, possibly Dutch) originally described a yearly gathering of printing-house workmen to celebrate the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn (the season of working by candlelight; can you imagine? setting tiny type by the wavering flame of a candle?!). The modern Wayzgoose is still a celebration of letterpress printing and traditional book-making, an event for folks who practice and/or just love this craft to gather, share experiences and encouragement, and PRINT together! (In well-lighted spaces ;-)
At the invitation of my friend Andrew Steeves of Gaspereau Press in Kentville, Nova Scotia, I attended their annual Wayzgoose on the third weekend of October. What a marvelous, energetic, generous, convivial, diverse, and inspiring group of folk! Truly, it was a life-highlight for me.
In the above photo, Andrew Steeves (right), who is the co-owner of Gaspereau Press, the Wayzgoose host, and an outstanding letterpress printer and book publisher, taking a photo of the remarkable Amos Kennedy, Jr., brilliant letterpress printer and community activist from Detroit, Michigan. Soon we were joined by Toronto’s Phoebe Todd-Parrish, a wonderful linocut artist, printer, and human being.
Folks from here and yon gathered to engage with the printer-presenters before the open-house at Gaspereau. A generative mix of poets, curators, general public, architects, photographers, and more.
I was honored to be one of three presenters during the morning session, along with Phoebe Todd-Parrish of Flycatcher Press in Toronto and Amos Kennedy of Kennedy Prints in Detroit. Each of us talked about our print shops, process, and work.
After lunch, Gaspereau Press opened its doors to the public, and several of us held printing demonstrations on various of Andrew’s letterpress equipment. What an absolute joy to help someone print something for the very first time — from seniors to six-year-olds, I watched so many faces brighten with the delight of printing! Which, of course, delighted me.
That joy was infectious, and suffused the whole event. Including in the evening, when a number of poets (those whom Andrew had published during the past year) read from their outstanding work, and then when three literary critics and curators held a round-table discussion with Andrew. From dawn ’til way past dusk, the Wayzgoose catalyzed connections, new- and old-friendships, discovery, inspiration, and, yes again, joy.
Phoebe Todd-Parrish (left) is an awesom printmaker and teacher from Toronto. She and I had the pleasure of collaborating on the demonstration print during the open house portion of the Wayzgoose. She created a linocut image to go with a quote by Henry David Thoreau, and we guided participants in the actual printing of this keepsake. What fun!
“I believe in the forest and in the meadow and in the night in which the corn grows.”
— Thoreau (from “Walking”)
Klara du Plessis is a poet, literary curator, and artist-scholar from Montreal. And she was my most excellent assistant during the open house. We often had a long line of folks waiting to try their hand at printing at the press, and Klara was simultaneously traffic director, printing technique explainer, community engager, and all around joyful presence.
Though I was sad to leave, I was also eager to get home and get back to work in the print shop! During the long drive homeward, I made pages of notes about ideas and projects to come, and will share more about those as they ripen.
Thank you so much for sharing this inky journey with me, dear friends!
With all best wishes,
Emily
Emily Hancock
St Brigid Press
Afton, Virginia
stbrigidpress.net
Amos (L) and Andrew (R) talkin’ shop in the Gaspereau Press print shop. Andrew is leaning on the Linotype, while Amos is rummaging through the cases of wood type.