Russell Hoban Conventionblog

Arga Warga t-shirts despatched

2005-07-09T16:16:00.000+01:00

All orders for Arga Warga design t-shirts have now been despatched. If you ordered one but haven't received it yet, please tell us. Many thanks again for your orders.

Footage of Russell Hoban at the Some-Poasyum

2005-06-26T15:33:00.000+01:00

A short film, captured with a mobile phone, of Russell Hoban reading from Come Dance With Me is now available on the Nomad Books Evening page of the convention website. If you were there - relive the experience! If you weren't - now's your chance!

Merchandise update

2005-06-01T15:32:00.000+01:00

Thank you for all your "Arga Warga" t-shirt orders. We are no longer taking new orders for t-shirts or mugs. We do however have some "Trust Me With the Idea of You" t-shirts left and there are plenty of the superb and exclusive Celebratory Booklets still available!

Please send us your feedback!

2005-05-19T15:58:00.000+01:00

The organisers of the Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum have drawn up an online feedback form for participants to fill in, to let us know their experience of the convention. We're not fishing for compliments, but the information gathered will help us work out if we did the right thing in February and if not, how we (and/or future organisers) could do it better or differently next time.

As well as sections for rating and commenting on the individual activities, features, venues etc, there are also boxes where you can make suggestions for the content, location and date of any future convention or Kraken gathering.

There is also a second feedback form designed for Hoban fans who might have wanted to come to the Some-Poasyum but, for whatever reason, didn't. We're just as keen to hear from you, in case there was anything we did which made it difficult for you to attend or anything we didn't do that you might have wanted to see.

The forms should only take a few minutes to complete and will hopefully be a bit more fun than your average hotel/car rental/training course/airport questionnaire. All questions are optional and all information is submitted anonymously. Please leave blank any questions that are not applicable or which you don't wish to answer. The statistics gathered from the forms may be posted (in aggregated form to protect respondents' anonymity) on the website and/or The Kraken.

To send us your thoughts, please go to www.hoban2005.co.uk and click "Feedback" in the main menu.

Arga Warga tee-shirts are go

2005-05-16T12:34:00.000+01:00

Apologies to anyone still awaiting an Arga Warga tee-shirt! After some unavoidable delays we are now ready to roll with these (see http://www.hoban2005.co.uk/merchandise.htm) ... from the same manufacturers who supplied the excellent tee-shirts for the Hoban Convention in February. This was the design (based on p.a. morbid's graphic) that took the fancy of so many Riddley Walker fans at the Convention, but which we had not at that stage been able to print up.

There will be one printing only, to satisfy present demand: we won't be keeping any stock, so it's now or never! We'd like to be able to put in all the orders together: closing date will be 31 May. If you've already ordered, it would be a help if you'd drop us a reminder (stating whether or not you have already paid): this will be useful for cross-checking our records. If you haven't ordered, please do so before the end of the month. Remember to state the size you require, S, M, L or XL (of the previous designs, Large and Medium were favourite choices: small is effectively a child's size).

The shirts are 12.50 GBP, and postal rates per territory are specified on the merchandise page (link above). There you will also find a link to PayPal, our much-preferred means of payment.

Some-Poasyum website update

2005-03-20T14:18:00.000Z

The original 'agenda' pages for the three days of the convention have now been removed from the convention website and replaced by pages documenting the main activities: the Friend at Hand meeting, the Il Fornello dinner, the Tour of Hoban's London, the Nomad Books evening, the Canterbury trip and the Troubadour dinner. More photos have also been added to these pages, and the 'reports' and 'merchandise' pages have also been updated. Please note that we're still interested in receiving photos from the weekend, so if you have any please contact us. See the updated site at www.hoban2005.co.uk

Such a night...

2005-02-17T22:59:00.000Z

The convention was a great success! Our warmest thanks to the 50+ people who came along, many from hundreds or thousands of miles away, and made it all happen so well.

The website has now been updated to include photos from the weekend and recent cuttings from the national press mentioning the Some-Poasyum. More detailed reports on the weekend by the participants will also be posted soon.

Some now-redundant pages have been removed, but keep an eye on the merchandise and booklet pages for updates and details of how to purchase more unique Some-Poasyum souvenirs.

Russell Hoban interview / Some-Poasyum mention in the Daily Telegraph

2005-02-02T22:04:00.000Z

Russell Hoban was the subject of a feature called A Writer's Life in last Saturday's Daily Telegraph newspaper. In it, among other things, he comments: "I am essentially an alone person, and alone people interest me." But, adjoins the journalist Alex Clark, "there won't be much chance for Hoban to be alone a couple of weeks from now, when a convention of fans, ominously named the Kraken, are planning to descend on London to celebrate his 80th birthday next month with a Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum (an echo of the broken-down pidgin of Riddley Walker). They will embark on a programme of visiting sacred sites that range from an Italian restaurant in Bloomsbury to the No 14 bus route. The thought clearly tickles Hoban, who plans to give a reading during an evening that will also include a Punch and Judy show. It's the kind of intimate, fervent recognition that most suits Hoban, a writer who revels in wandering off the beaten track. "It has been my aim to be as strange as I can be," he remarks, "and I've never been as strange as I'd like to be."

Be strange! Come dance with Russ at www.hoban2005.co.uk

Order your Some-Poasyum souvenirs now!

2005-01-30T16:57:00.000Z

The Merchandise page associated with next month's Russell Hoban Some Poasyum is now ready at www.hoban2005.co.uk ... you'll find it in the menu on the left-hand side.

There are just 25 coffee-mugs with a delightful Riddley Walker design - these are individually-numbered and limited to one per purchaser: you can specify a favourite number and we'll try to send you that. You can also order a limited-edition print of the design.

There are two designs of t-shirt, in good quality cotton, which come in four sizes: they bear the slogans that Krakenites voted for in the website's recent poll. You can see the designs on the webpage by clicking on our models' chests (and if you also like the third design, lower down, send us a message by clicking the link).

At the foot of the webpage there's a table showing postage prices, and a PayPal button enabling you to complete your order: include a memo of exactly what you require. If you need any help, just send a mail to merchandise@hoban2005.co.uk and we'll be pleased to advise. Please note that shirts and mugs will be sent separately; there's a photo showing how the mugs will be packed for safe transit.

If you're coming to the Convention, order by 2 February and we'll hand the shirts / mug to you in London, postage free. (You may remember placing a preliminary shirt-order when you registered, but you do need to visit the page and place a firm order now that we know sizes, designs and prices.)

If you're not coming to London, we'd still like your order by 2 February, and the shirts will be sent to you as soon as they're ready. Mugs are ready for immediate despatch, or dispatch.

We hope these specially-designed items will either act as souvenirs of the London weekend, or as a kind of compensation to those who can't make it: and of course they will help you get into fascinating conversations about your favourite novelist each time you use them!

All the detail you need is at at www.hoban2005.co.uk/merchandise.htm

Best wishes,
The Tentacle

Convention update - 4th February registration deadline, website extras, and weather

2005-01-23T22:30:00.000Z

The Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum is now less than three weeks away! Thirty Hoban fans from as far as South Africa, New Zealand and the US have so far signed up to come to London for what is shaping up to be an unforgettable party to celebrate Russell Hoban's work and 80th birthday.

We hadn't previously set any registration deadlines, but it has become clear in the past few days that we will need to have final numbers by Friday 4th February - just under two weeks' time, and an easy date to remember as it is, of course, Russ's birthday (and also SA4QE day).

If you still haven't booked to come to the Convention and don't want to miss the event, please register by 4th February at www.hoban2005.co.uk/register.htm Although it's unlikely we'll turn you away after that date, we won't be able to guarantee your menu choices at Il Fornello, nor that you'll be able to take the same coach as everyone else for the group trip to Canterbury, etc.

Some London- and UK-based Hoban fans have asked if they can come only to the Nomad Books event on Saturday 12th February - the answer is yes, but there will be a pro-rata entry fee, and some items that will be complimentary to full ticket holders may not be available or will be charged. Please email enquiries@hoban2005.co.uk for more details.

THE CELEBRATORY BOOKLET

There is now a page on the website giving full details of the superb, exclusive Some-Poasyum Celebratory Book. Lovingly edited by Chris Bell and beautifully designed by Elisa Bowman, this high-quality 50-page limited-edition booklet features contributions from Hoban collaborators such as Glenda Jackson and Sir Harrison Birtwistle and "celebrity Hoban fans" including the Booker-shortlisted novelist David Mitchell, who has written an exclusive memoir of reading Riddley Walker in Hiroshima. Rubbing shoulders with these names of course are our very own Krakenites, several of whom have contributed memoirs, essays, articles and illustrations of their own.

A few pieces were submitted too late for our printing deadline, but rather than turn these away we have made them available on the site itself. Most excitingly, these include an exclusive interview with Russell Hoban which took place just before Christmas. For full details on the booklet and to read these articles, go to www.hoban2005.co.uk , navigate to the Celebratory Booklet page and scroll down.

If YOU have anything you'd like to contribute to the booklet section of the site, please email details to me off-list at richard@hoban2005.co.uk again preferably before 4th February - anything received after that time can't be guaranteed to go on the site before the convention.

T-SHIRTS AND OTHER MERCHANDISE

There is now a page on the site showing the proposed t-shirt designs - more information will follow soon from t-shirt-tsar Roland. There are also various views of the exclusive Riddley Walker coffee mug (a limited, numbered edition of 25, folks!) These will be available to purchase at the convention and also shortly via the site. Please send any enquiries to merchandise@hoban2005.co.uk

LONDON WEATHER

There's now a link on the "Location & Date" page of the convention site to the Yahoo weather forecast for London so that those coming to the Some-Poasyum can check in regularly and see what's happening on the climate front. Generally speaking, so far this winter it's been quite chilly but by no means arctic (we've had no snow yet, anyway), with a mixture of frosty mornings, a bit of rain and several unseasonably mild days (although I don't know if "unseasonably" really means much these days).

Roll on February!

Russell Hoban's gift to conventioneers

2005-01-07T15:43:00.000Z

We're delighted to announce that Russell Hoban will be making a personal gift to each and every participant in the Some-Poasyum - a signed copy of "A Russell Hoban Omnibus".

This 800-page hardback compendium from 1999, published by Indiana University Press, retails at up to 40USD or 27GBP, and contains The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz, Turtle Diary, Pilgermann and Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, as well as a number of rare and not-previously-released Hoban pieces. As summarised on definitive Hoban website The Head of Orpheus, the main contents are as follows: "For starters, along with the four classic Hoban novels with which Hoban fans are familiar, the Omnibus contains the never-before-published-in-book form Return of Manny Rat, the incomplete, fragmentary sequel to The Mouse and His Child which Mr. Hoban began but abandoned. The collection also contains a number of things never previously published in the US, like Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, stories and essays from The Moment Under the Moment, and poems from The Last of the Wallendas."

For the complete contents, go to www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/omnibus.html

Russell Hoban will be bringing the Omnibuses with him to Nomad Books, where he is making a personal appearance for the convention on the evening of Saturday 12th February, so he can personally sign copies for all who attend. (Signed copies of his other books will of course also be available to buy from the bookshop on that evening.)

The Russell Hoban Omnibus offer is limited to one copy per registered convention participant, while stocks last.

To register now for the convention, please go to www.hoban2005.co.uk

Convention T-shirt slogan poll opens

2004-12-19T20:46:00.000Z

Attention all the undesigned! The Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum T-Shirt Slogan Poll is now open.

Huge thanks to the members of The Kraken and the convention participants who proposed a total of 54(!) slogans to adorn the official convention t-shirt.

Before you vote, please note the following:

- Most of the slogan suggestions are original quotes from Russell Hoban books and it is understood that we have permission to use any of these for the purpose stated. However, some of the Amaryllis Night and Day slogans are quotes from other authors' works (Tom Waits, Walter de la Mere etc), so please bear in mind that it may not be possible or economical to obtain permission from those authors or their estates to reproduce the quotes.

- The t-shirt price of £12 (12GBP) quoted on the convention website only takes into account designs for the front of the t-shirt. Our t-shirt manufacturer advises that putting designs on both front and back will cost more, so please bear in mind when casting your vote that these slogans may put up the price of the t-shirt.

- Some suggestions include ideas for graphics to illustrate the quotes. Please bear in mind that it may not be possible to reproduce such graphics, but if one of those suggestions wins the poll we will do our best to put this into effect.

- All votes are anonymous and don't require any personal information whatsoever. Just go to the page, click the radio button to the left of your desired slogan, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Vote now". Your choice will be counted and you will be taken to the results page where you can see which slogan is winning so far.

- You can if you wish view the current status of the results before casting your vote by clicking the "view results" button at the bottom of the page.

- You may only vote once, so please read all the suggestions carefully before making your choice!

- If you don't like any of the suggestions, at the bottom of the list is a button where you can vote for NO SLOGAN.

- You shouldn't experience any technical problems using the polling system, but if you do, please email richard@hoban2005.co.uk with your vote and I will cast it on your behalf.

- The most popular quote will be printed on the t-shirt. In the event of a tie, er... we'll cross that brudge when we come to it.

To cast your vote for the slogan YOU feel should adorn the official convention t-shirt, head off to www.hoban2005.co.uk and click "Polls" in the menu.

Best wishes and happy polling!

Bloomsbury's Fabulous Hoban Book Giveaway

2004-12-11T07:50:00.000Z

Bloomsbury (Russell Hoban's publisher) are promoting the Some-Poasyum as one of their key author events of 2005. Now, their fabulous publicity department have donated to the convention a COMPLETE SET OF SIGNED BLOOMSBURY EDITIONS OF RUSSELL HOBAN'S NOVELS, which we will be awarding to the winner of the "Mastermind: The Gap" quiz!

That's right! Lovingly (re)designed and autographed editions of all of these classic Hoban works could be yours: The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz, Kleinzeit, Turtle Diary, Riddley Walker (20th Anniversary Edition), Pilgermann, The Medusa Frequency, Fremder, Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, Angelica's Grotto, Amaryllis Night and Day, The Bat Tattoo, Her Name Was Lola... and as if all that weren't enough, the collection also includes a hardback of the brand-new novel Come Dance With Me, due out in February 2005.

The complete collection of the paperback reissues from Lion to Rinyo-Clacton and the original Bloomsbury imprints from Angelica to Lola can be viewed here. Bloomsbury's page for Come Dance With Me is here.

The quiz will consist of questions, set by convention organisers, on Russell Hoban's life and writings. The competition will be open only to convention participants. Quiz sheets will be given out at the Il Fornello dinner on Friday 11th February and in order to stand a chance of winning must be handed in by the end of the Nomad Books evening on Saturday 12th February. The correct answers will be announced and the prizes presented at The Troubadour dinner on the evening of Sunday 13th February.

If you haven't already signed up for this increasingly essential event, zip along right away to www.hoban2005.co.uk

The Commemorative Booklet - An Update

2004-12-08T20:45:00.000Z

Hoban fans,

Yet another update on celebrity contributions to our very exciting Convention Commemorative Booklet (or "the Absolutely-Indispensable", as we're now calling it):

- Glenda Jackson MP, who co-starred in Turtle Diary;
- David Mitchell, twice Man Booker Prize-nominated novelist for his books Number 9 Dream and Cloud Atlas;
- Braham Murray, Artistic Director for the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, and director of the premiere stage production of Riddley Walker;
- Andrew Davies, novelist and screenwriter, author of Getting Hurt and B Monkey;
- Will Self, novelist, who wrote the introduction to the excellent Bloomsbury 20th Anniversary Edition of Riddley Walker.

More to follow - watch this space!

To get your own copy of the Absolutely-Indispensable, simply register for the Convention at www.hoban2005.co.uk.

Those who are unable to attend the Convention will be able to purchase a copy of this unique, professionally designed and printed collectible after the event.

Convention mentions update

2004-12-03T22:10:00.000Z

www.e-poets.net, a fine Chicago-based website established in 1995 for "poets, artists, writers, and performers who embrace the electronic media as a venue and home for their art", has posted an item on its December newswire page about the Some-Poasyum. Many thanks to Kurt Heintz for the link, which is at www.e-poets.net/newswire

Hoban2005 becomes a Bloomsbury Author Event

2004-12-01T20:07:00.000Z

The Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum is indebted to Bloomsbury, Russell Hoban's publisher, for enthusiastically joining up with the convention organisers to realise some of the weekend's activities. Bloomsbury has also advertised the full programme on the Author Events page of their excellent website.

No Hoban event would be complete without the involvement of Bloomsbury, who in recent years have been instrumental in both returning RH's back catalogue to high-street bookstores and allowing him to carry on making his unique contribution to modern literature at the rate of a new novel every year since the early 1990s. All being well, convention participants will have the rare opportunity to buy the whole of Russell Hoban's Bloomsbury catalogue signed by the man himself at the Nomad Books event on Saturday 12th February. There's still time to sign up! For more information see www.hoban2005.co.uk

Convention mentions

2004-11-23T19:17:00.000Z

The Hoban convention organising committee is lucky to have on board Chris Bell, a New Zealand-based British writer, who has just won the PABD/UKAuthors "Search for the Great Reads" competition for his novel Liquidambar. Quite a few NZ magazines have been in touch with Chris following his win, such as Leaf Salon, who also here kindly give a mention to the convention.

The New Zealand Society of Authors have also picked up Chris's win and mentioned the Some-Poasyum in their latest email newsletter.

So thanks to Kathy at Leaf Salon and Liz Allen at NZSA, and well done Chris!

80 at 80

2004-11-21T21:31:00.000Z

When Bob Dylan turned 50 a few years ago, to celebrate the great man's half-century Bono from U2 (is there any other Bono?) drew up a list of "50 reasons why I love Bob Dylan". Among these "reasons" were his favourite Dylan songs, treasured quotes, cultural and biographical details and a few silly things. As one of the organisers of The Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum, celebrating Hoban's 80 years on this planet next February, I would like to invite all Hoban fans to help compile a list of "80 reasons why we love Russell Hoban", or, if that sounds a bit sentimental to some, "80 reasons why we're celebrating Russell Hoban's 80th birthday". Whether you're able to come to London in February or not, ALL of these reasons will be printed (along with your name, unless you request anonymity) in the special limited-edition booklet to be published for the convention. The copy deadline for the booklet is around Christmas, so get thinking!

Apart from being a fun thing to do, I'd like to think that the list could be presented as a definitive explanation to those less familiar with Russell Hoban than we are exactly why people are so passionate about him and his books. Whether you have one reason or several, whether your reason is intensely personal or, er, whatever the opposite of intensely personal is, whether you've written a doctoral thesis on Hoban's novels or simply have happy memories of reading one of his children's books as a child (click here for a full list of these), please share your reason(s) on this blog by clicking on "comments" below this post. (Alternatively, you can email your reason(s) to me at richard@hoban2005.co.uk.)

Going back to Dylan, the only version of Bono's full list I can find online is this one, which for some reason is a translation from Dutch into English and at times reads a bit like one of those Babelfish translations of, well, something translated from English into Dutch and then into English again. But a few funny losses-in-translation apart, it makes sense - and as Russell Hoban once said, "When you come right down to it, how many people speak the same language even when they speak the same language?" Which I think could go down as the first "reason".

For more information on all the ways we're celebrating Russell Hoban's 80th birthday in 2005 please see www.hoban2005.co.uk

Hoban in 3-D

2004-11-21T09:49:00.000Z

At the beginning of Russell Hoban's short story "The Man with the Dagger", the first-person narrator enters the story "The South" by Borges to talk to its protagonist Dahlmann. He doesn't suspect that what he meant to be a harmless chat about the outcome of a story will turn into a matter of life and death for himself.

It would be a bit bold to promise that going to the 2005 Hoban Some Poasyum will be as challenging and existential an experience as the one described in "The Man with the Dagger", but when you look at the paintings, ceramics, Klein bottles and sculptures or visit restaurants and pubs mentioned in various of Russell Hoban's novels, you will definitely feel as if you had entered one of the books.

I particularly look forward to seeing Mr Punch on Saturday and then moving on to Greanvine and the stone trees in Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday - and although there will probably be no dancing dogs or spectacular rebirths in the womb of the old cathedral (though who can tell "what does what" to people, to quote George Fairbairn, the Head Keeper of Turtle Diary?), I'm sure there is bound to be some kind of magic in a gathering of Hoban addicts in that holy place. So, hope to see a lot of you there in February.

Convention activity focus: IL FORNELLO

2004-11-19T13:02:00.000Z

Being the first of a series of focuses (focii?) on the activities planned for the convention...

Friday 11th February 2005, 7pm: Convene at Il Fornello, 150 Southampton Row (nearest tube Russell Square) for a three-course group dinner (half a bottle of house wine and coffee included) and a variety of other treats. This Italian family-run restaurant is a longtime favourite of Russell Hoban's and forms the scene of convivial dinners in several of his novels. Hoban also once wrote about his late contemporary and friend Leon Garfield: "We'd meet from time to time at Il Fornello near Russell Square to exchange current pages and encourage each other over pizza della casa and beer. We talked about money, reviews and the lack of them, the decline of Western culture, as manifested by writers who got bigger advances than we did, and in any pauses he'd talk Shakespeare and I'd listen."

At the dinner participants will be presented with a welcome pack which will include, among other items, a high quality limited-edition booklet specially produced for the event, comprising memoirs by fans on their first discovery of Hoban and why they love his books. Celebrity enthusiasts and collaborators of Russell Hoban including Will Self, Andrew Davies, the Booker-shortlisted David Mitchell and Professor Christine Wilkie-Stibbs have also been invited to contribute.

The booklet also promises a feature by Dave Awl, the founder of the international Hoban community (and Yahoo discussion forum) The Kraken, on the origins of the community and his definitive Hoban website, The Head of Orpheus. Also in the pipeline is a piece on the Slickman A4 Quotation Event (SA4QE) by Gombert Yawncher and a reproduction of a rare interview with Russell Hoban. If you would like to make a contribution to the booklet in the form of Hoban-inspired text or images, please email booklet@hoban2005.co.uk

The welcome packs will also include a quiz sheet on the life and work of Russell Hoban which you can enter for the prize draw on Sunday evening.

Watch this space for further news and updates on the convention, or visit the main site at www.hoban2005.co.uk

Hope to see you in February!

Registration update

2004-11-17T22:48:00.000Z

Three new participants have registered for the convention this week, one from the US and two from the UK, bringing the total so far to 15. The convention was officially launched to the unsuspecting public on Friday 5th November, so if take-up continues at this rate we'll be looking at one fine birthday party next February!

Participants in the London, UK convention have signed up from as far away as New Zealand, Switzerland and the US so far, giving a delightfully international flavour to the weekend.

To sign up go to
www.hoban2005.co.uk

Roll on the Some Poasyum

2004-11-16T19:29:00.000Z

The Some Poasyum will be an excellent opportunity for fans of Russell Hoban from around the world to meet and share their experiences. And the Convention Blog is the ideal place to share your ideas, make suggestions and ask questions of the Convention organisers.

So get blogging. And roll on February.

Welcome...

2004-11-16T14:37:00.000Z

...to the Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum Blog. Check in regularly to be entertained and updated by the organisers of the first Russell Hoban international fan convention, and to get the latest news and information on the event, which takes place in London, UK on 11-13 February 2005. For full details of the convention please go to the main Some-Poasyum website at www.hoban2005.co.uk