I was so happy to see the positive responses on the social platforms to my last excerpt of rhyming verse from Gingerland!
Today, we’re seeing many things considered “lost to time” brought to life by contemporary artists. It’s apparent that people can still discern and appreciate beautiful things that require a great deal of thought and time in their making. And they miss those things.
I know I do.
When Zelda and I first started discussions regarding her illustrations, we shared dozens of reference images from vintage chapter-books, works by Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter, Johnny Gruelle and others.
At one point, she said (with bubbling, giddy excitement, as Zelda is wont to do), “Screw it! I’m gonna unplug my laptop, bust out my watercolors and PAINT these things!”
Yes, it took more time, and watercolors are the most unforgiving medium on earth. Likewise, writing rhyming verse is an immense challenge that required every scintilla of my craft.
And that’s good! Art should take time. It should be demanding.
Every one of Zelda’s images has a depth and joy that can only realized with the investment of a significant amount of her time, thought and care.
And in order to embed lyricism into the prose of Gingerland, I obsessively read every single passage aloud as I revised each of its 9 drafts over the course of a year.
So to thank you, here’s another piece of excerpted rhyming verse, care of Part Three, Chapter 13:
What Do Villains Get For Christmas?
What do villains get for Christmas?
What do baddies find under the tree?
Boxes full of spiders and stockings full of tacks
Balls of stinky toe-jam from a guy named Max.
Socks that sag and underwear too tight
Pimples on their bottoms and bedbug bites.
That’s what villains get for Christmas.
That’s what scoundrels find under the tree.
A hamster that bites; a kitten that scratches.
Styes in both their eyes and mysterious rashes.
Lemon juice on paper cuts; a punch in the nose.
Hangnails and earaches and gruesome stubbed toes.
Bikes with crooked wheels with brakes that fail.
Dead sea-monkeys arriving in the mail.
Dust-bunny cupcakes and ear-wax pies.
A spooky, dirty doll with a lazy eye.
That’s what villains get for Christmas.
That’s what baddies find under the tree.
Best you repent or you will see
JUST WHAT BADDIES FIND UNDER THE TREE!!!