The Thing

My house is filled with letters, in my hands when I drink tea....



on my walls...


and even, as said before, under my feet...



so when I heard about THE THING project...



I knew I wanted to take part. The Thing Quarterly is a subscription only publication, and they call it a publication or magazine on purpose, where you sign up to receive four unknown objects based around text, and all designed by artists, wrapped in brown paper (the objects not the artists, just to make this absolutely clear), throughout the year. I was sad to miss the wrapping party - this is what THE THING's founders said about it:

One of the visions we had about THE THING when we were first thinking of it, was that there would be a sort of social aspect of it when it came time to send it out, like a barn raising. A group of us would pack it and send it out into the world. But the amazing thing about the wrapping party on Wed. night was that it took on a life of its own and suddenly become a sort of force that now seems to be driving the future of THE THING.

But getting to one isn't a bad goal for next year. And when my THING arrived, I was delighted to be even a small passive part of all this ...



Now, I can't wait for my next THING which will be designed by Anne Walsh.

Support text that isn't just in books, I say - although I might have to think of a catchier phrase before I get it printed on a t-shirt.