Kelly M. Houle - The Making of "A Dream" - International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Channel: Department of English, Arizona State University
Date: 2019-03-01

Skip to the talk: 9:49 
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the ASU Library commemorates the recent acquisition of artist books of Kelly M. Houle, made possible by the ASU Department of English’s Lamberts Memorial Rare Book Fund.

Houle conceived, designed and illustrated the first English translation of poetry by the young Polish writer and Holocaust victim Abramek Koplowicz, who lived with his family in the Łódź ghetto during World War II. Forced to work in a shoe factory, Koplowicz entertained himself and those around him with storytelling. His writings, mostly poems and plays, would outlive the young writer, who died in Auschwitz, along with his mother, when he was 14 years old. His work has been saved by family members and later translated so that it can be read around the world for generations to come.

One of Koplowicz’s poems – “A Dream” – serves as the title of this volume. Houle collaborated with translators Sarah Lawson and Małgorzata Koraszewska to complete the English limited edition, which was letterpress printed at Skyline Type Foundry in Prescott, AZ. It is the latest in a series of artist’s books created by Houle. ASU Library has acquired many of these unique volumes, most of which are in miniature.

Houle, a graduate of Arizona State University where she received her MFA in creative writing, will discuss the process of bookmaking and the translation of “A Dream.” Readings of Koplowicz’s work in English and Polish and light refreshments to follow. 

This event was hosted by ASU Library with support from the Department of English and the School of International Letters and Cultures.

Jan. 29, 2019
ASU Tempe campus