Al Pope
The Bad in
Bad Latitudes by Al Pope (Turnstone Press) turns out not to be that early ’80s, sort of harmless Michael Jackson baaaaad, but just plain bad, as in the opposite of good, as in bad northern stereotypes: abusive drunk husband, drunk wife, misogynistic miners, careless workers, big, bad lesbian camp cooks with guns; and bad title, bad cover and bad text. One might forgive a limpid climactic paragraph in which is revealed a man’s secret desire for his former cellmate’s full womanly lips, but three pages of solid italics stops the reader cold. This book reminds us of the usefulness of
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, an excellent reference work that belongs on every book designer’s desk.
