Stefan Themerson, Amazing Artist

Ready Steady Book just posted an essay by Sophie Lewis—manager of Dalkey Archive’s London operation—on Stefan Themerson—whose books Dalkey reprinted a couple years ago—that’s worth checking out.

There’s a lot more about Themerson that can—and should—be said, and there are a few resources online about him, including Nicholas Wadley’s article from CONTEXT and The Themerson Archive.

I was at Dalkey when Themerson’s works were reprinted, and absolutely love his writing. I also had the opportunity to visit Nick and Jasia at the Archive and see the film Sophie refers to. It’s an amazing experience, and Stefan’s and Franciszka’s art and collaborations are mind-blowing.

I may be misquoting, but my favorite moment in the documentary is the moment when Stefan explains that he named one of his books and characters Cardinal Pölätüo in hopes of overcoming his fear of umlauts.