September 27, 2011
Dear Reader:
This week I feature Page 27 of Goatwater, entitled, “What World is This,” and I address another reader's question. You will find a transcript of this page at the end of this letter. Make sure you Zoom in to see the lettering and/or read the transcript, below. Next Tuesday, I post page 28.
Remember, if you don't dream any other day of the week, dream with me on Tuesdays.
You can now link to the Table of Contents on every page. Click here to start at the beginning of this webcomic. Have a great week and remember that Goatwater is updated every Tuesday. Email any questions or comments to bassacards(at) yahoo.com.
If this is your first time visiting this site, or you are a regular reader, email me at the address above if you want me to add you to my mailing list so that I can send you an email reminder, every Tuesday, when I’ve added the new page. No spam, and I will not share your email with anybody else, just the link to the new page and some update information, if I have any. And feel free to let me know, at any time, if you want to stop receiving the weekly emails. Thank you for your support!
Question/Answer:
Why do characters frequently take on some of the characteristics of other characters in Goatwater? When I tell a story I want that story and its characters to be as flexible and malleable as a dream. Goatwater exists somewhere between a dream and a story (or a collection of stories). The reasons for the blending of characters in Goatwater are various and particular to each character and situation. But generally speaking, it’s to pay homage to the character that is not around or who has receded into the background. It’s to explore another aspect of the featured character. It’s to remember absent characters, with curiosity, respect or contempt, and a reminder that though a character is gone from view they still exist and might even return.
Goatwater - Page 27 - Transcript - What World Is This?
Maman:
A pleasure, Uncle, but step back easy, eh!? And please lay them foul, greasy bowls to rest. Now, I’ve an inquiry. What dry, ungodly world is this? And before you answer, might you prepare me a cup of cocoa tea with a tit of rum?
Just a tit now, Uncle, because I am a God-fearer. And bring me some bun with cheese so I can feed this dicty beast. And while you’re at it, Uncle, would you bring it to me out here? I’ve places to go and crazy pickney to get back and see. Oh, and one more question, patient Uncle. Is we dead? And if we isn’t, why, on my way to you, would I see my dead Mother and she own Mother in a rainforest scrubbing up themselves like them is wet donkeys’ asses, holding patchwork umbrellas over them kinky heads and like their name is fool and fool? What now, Uncle? How will I pay for the cocoa tea? Oh, what the bloody hell is this? I’ve got to go, man. Well, my dead Mother did raise me up right. I will pay with a tale. A little tea for a little tale. A true one. It begins with this: “When Charlotte was a tea-serving slave, the handsomest, fairest aristocrats would solicit her at tea-time, whispering, “Charlotte, bittersweet Charlotte, the devil says that if you’d rub up against us when you are not menstruating, of course, you’d lighten up your brown skin...” Uncle, come on now, man, there’s too much cocoa in this tea!”
Dear Reader:
This week I feature Page 27 of Goatwater, entitled, “What World is This,” and I address another reader's question. You will find a transcript of this page at the end of this letter. Make sure you Zoom in to see the lettering and/or read the transcript, below. Next Tuesday, I post page 28.
Remember, if you don't dream any other day of the week, dream with me on Tuesdays.
You can now link to the Table of Contents on every page. Click here to start at the beginning of this webcomic. Have a great week and remember that Goatwater is updated every Tuesday. Email any questions or comments to bassacards(at) yahoo.com.
If this is your first time visiting this site, or you are a regular reader, email me at the address above if you want me to add you to my mailing list so that I can send you an email reminder, every Tuesday, when I’ve added the new page. No spam, and I will not share your email with anybody else, just the link to the new page and some update information, if I have any. And feel free to let me know, at any time, if you want to stop receiving the weekly emails. Thank you for your support!
Question/Answer:
Why do characters frequently take on some of the characteristics of other characters in Goatwater? When I tell a story I want that story and its characters to be as flexible and malleable as a dream. Goatwater exists somewhere between a dream and a story (or a collection of stories). The reasons for the blending of characters in Goatwater are various and particular to each character and situation. But generally speaking, it’s to pay homage to the character that is not around or who has receded into the background. It’s to explore another aspect of the featured character. It’s to remember absent characters, with curiosity, respect or contempt, and a reminder that though a character is gone from view they still exist and might even return.
Goatwater - Page 27 - Transcript - What World Is This?
Maman:
A pleasure, Uncle, but step back easy, eh!? And please lay them foul, greasy bowls to rest. Now, I’ve an inquiry. What dry, ungodly world is this? And before you answer, might you prepare me a cup of cocoa tea with a tit of rum?
Just a tit now, Uncle, because I am a God-fearer. And bring me some bun with cheese so I can feed this dicty beast. And while you’re at it, Uncle, would you bring it to me out here? I’ve places to go and crazy pickney to get back and see. Oh, and one more question, patient Uncle. Is we dead? And if we isn’t, why, on my way to you, would I see my dead Mother and she own Mother in a rainforest scrubbing up themselves like them is wet donkeys’ asses, holding patchwork umbrellas over them kinky heads and like their name is fool and fool? What now, Uncle? How will I pay for the cocoa tea? Oh, what the bloody hell is this? I’ve got to go, man. Well, my dead Mother did raise me up right. I will pay with a tale. A little tea for a little tale. A true one. It begins with this: “When Charlotte was a tea-serving slave, the handsomest, fairest aristocrats would solicit her at tea-time, whispering, “Charlotte, bittersweet Charlotte, the devil says that if you’d rub up against us when you are not menstruating, of course, you’d lighten up your brown skin...” Uncle, come on now, man, there’s too much cocoa in this tea!”
Goatwater
Copyright 2011
words and images by:
Tiffany Osedra Miller
all rights reserved.
Copyright 2011
words and images by:
Tiffany Osedra Miller
all rights reserved.
