Handbound books way of life for poet in Argentinia

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 2, 2002

Alex Appella, who is giving a workshop through Fishtrap this Saturday, Oct. 5, about how to bind and publish your own books, learned to be her own publisher by necessity. She traveled too much to try to locate a publisher, and besides, how many books of poetry do most published poets sell, anyway, Appella asked.

Appella was born in Wallowa, raised in Salem and now lives in Argentina with her husband, Magu, a musician and craftsman.

She has been writing poems her entire life, and remembers that her first publisher was her mother, who would pick up poems she had written on scraps of paper, take them to work and type them up, and present the typed version to her proud young daughter.

Appela is daughter of Judith Haas and niece of Eve Slinker of Enterprise, and lived in Wallowa County until she was six. She and Magu were married at Slinker’s house five years ago, and say they “love to come back to Wallowa County.” Alex’s poems in handbound books, along with paintings by Slinker in response to those poems, are part of a a current exhibit at the Pendleton Art Center.

Alex traveled a lot on her own and with Magu, and it was while they were living on a boat in Alaska that she started making her books, so she could give her poems and stories away to family members and friends. “The first ones had a cover made out of a brown paper bag and were stapled together,” she laughed, noting that all writers have trunks full of writings that rarely see the light of day.

She feels original literature should be accessible, for both the writer and reader, and what better way to do it than make your own books, from cover to content.

Now bound with leather finely tanned in Argentina, or colorful durable paper accented with beads and Magu’s silverwork, Appella’s books are now works of art. Some include her poems and stories, while others are blank journals ready for the buyer to fill with their own writing.

The Appellas have sold the books during their travels, often with Magu drawing a crowd in an outdoor setting and paying their way with the proceeds. They also market the books on the Internet (www.transientbooks.com). In Argentina, where the economy has suffered a major collapse in the past couple years, very few people can afford such luxuries. Speaking of many middle class families, she says, “They are just concerned with putting food on the table.”

During their visit here, Magu and Alex appeared for the live slot on KWVR radio Wednesday night of this week. Magu says that during their first year of Argentine life, every boy is exposed to two things: a soccer ball and a guitar. Since he was a more talented musician than soccer player, he pursued that as a career choice.

Magu will be assisting his wife in Saturday’s weekend workshop, showing others how to become their own bookbinders and publishers.