Deborah Brown English is the creator of the new book Time's Breath: An Odyssey in Words and Pictures. She is an artist, and she is based in Baltimore.
Q: What inspired you to create Time’s Breath, and how was the book's title chosen?
A: The book evolved over several years. I had been planning a solo exhibition of works about a mysterious place. It developed that the paintings were related to each other, and showing that a tour was given to a visitor. I became interested in who the characters were, and the project slowly became a very long short story.
The title was chosen by happenstance. One of the main characters (Thomas) had been studying Lucretius the philosopher, who opined, among other things, that there was flexibility about everything in the universe, including time.
One of the most mysterious events in the story is when Ismitta, the “guide,” recalls that Time seemed to have spoken to her in a cave. She recalls this in hindsight, along with the observation that Lucretius said that the universe had breath…
Q: Did you work on the text first or the art first--or both simultaneously?
A: I started with imagery but recognized that explanation would be needed for the viewer to understand the project. After that, I’d work one day on images; another on writing. The decision was slowly made over several months.
Q: Did you need to do any research to create the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: I did a lot of research on volcanoes, and about sea lanes in the North Atlantic (in the late 18th century), as well as a little bit about the slave trade as it might have pertained to some of the characters.
I tried to learn what I could about the culture the enslaved people left behind, though it’s not the central theme of the story…only a kind of book mark. Disappointingly, there wasn’t a lot of information easily found.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope the readers take away the idea that image and text can be used in conjunction with each other to make a fuller sensory experience.
As for themes, I guess the value of history is important to me and to the characters. The idea that history is an ever-evolving exercise is really valuable, I think.
Storytelling is important…. particularly the “BIG” stories. Nothing is as it was a minute ago. The phrase, “Everything breathes. Even Time,” is mentioned.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on another, somewhat similar project. It takes place in the late 20th century in Sicily, so its construction is quite different from Time’s Breath. Its working title is The Muses of Agrigento.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The book launch will be at the Ivy Bookshop on September 18, and I'll be in conversation with Martha Anne Toll.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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