Posted by League Commissioner on November 12, 2011 0 Comments
At Novel-T, we like to think of our shirts as "literary t-shirts" or "literary t-shirt jerseys" or "literary jerseys." But there are many who prefer a simpler a name: "book t-shirts"--or even the super-succinct "book shirts."
The appellation "book t-shirts" has its merits. It's simple in just the way that the best writing is: straightforward and succinct. There's no haughtiness there.
But some of our shirts are not "about books" so much as they're about authors. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn each appear in two books each. Still, we suppose they are book t-shirts. But our Poe shirts are about a poem and short-story. And our William Blake t-shirt features artwork by Blake himself that's not closely connected with a specific book.
Maybe they're "author t-shirts" or "poet t-shirts" or just "writer t-shirts." Ehh, not quite the clear, clarion ring to those phrases that we're looking for...
So we think we're going to stick with literary t-shirts for now. But feel free to call them book t-shirts, or book shirts, or book-lovers t-shirts, or t-shirts for book-lovers. Because a Novel-T by any other name would still feel as soft.
Posted by League Commissioner on November 11, 2011 0 Comments
It's nearly Thanksgiving, and as our thoughts turn to pilgrims and American Indians, we also think of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
It's true that Hester Prynne's story is in many ways a symbol of the problematic nature of a rigidly moralistic society--particularly as becomes subject to its own myriad hypocrisies, inspired by collective feelings of guilt and moral superiority. But Prynne's story seems to us as also a richly nuanced and complicated fable of the birth of the United States, a kind of unruly bastard child born of romantic rule-breaking, manifested as defiant passions. (How much does that "A" stand for "America," anyway?) The US is, in a way, Pearl. And one could even see Pearl, we suppose as a kind of model for Twain's naturally moral (but far from moralistic) young hero, Huck Finn.
But one aspect that we often forget is that Roger Chillingworth's delay in making it to the village was in part due to being imprisoned by Native Americans. Maybe they already had a sense of his malevolence. Either way, we like the idea of imagining an early Thanksgiving with Chillingworth chowing down on maize and turkey with a bunch of Wampanoag Indians, whining to them about missing his young, hot, wife.
Posted by League Commissioner on November 10, 2011 0 Comments
One of our personal favorite Novel-T's is the Henry David Thoreau t-shirt jersey with a drawing of Thoreau's cabin from Walden Pond on it.
We hope simple, naturalistic design reflects well some of Thoreau's guiding principles, even as overhanging leaves cast their shadow against the bright sunlight on the cabin.
We heartily recommend a trip up to Walden, Mass, next time you have a little time on your hands. On the opposite side of the pond from where Thoreau's cabin once stood, a conservation society has erected a close replica of the original. While some of the details inside and out differ from Thoreau's cabin, the one standing now does provide a good sense of the original's size and proportions. For those unable to make the trip, here's a short tour that's been posted to YouTube.
Posted by League Commissioner on November 08, 2011 0 Comments
Novel-T couldn't be prouder to offer our Dave Eggers t-shirt, officially licensed by Dave. It features the illustration of a stapler that he drew for the introduction of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
A dollar from each shirt, as from almost every shirt we sell*, is donated to 826 NYC, a non-profit after-school creative-writing tutoring program based in Brooklyn, which Dave helped found. (Hence the 26 on the back of the Eggers shirt.)
The 826 project started in San Francisco with 826 Valencia, then 826 NYC opened, and since then tons more have cropped up all over the country. If you're unfamiliar with the program, have a look at Dave's inspirational TED Talk from a few years back when he described the idea.
*for the Vonnegut and Trout shirts, we donate the $1to Doctors Without Borders
