Peops

Portraits & Stories of People by Fly

Soft Skull Press, 2003

Can we say amazing? Fly gets people to sit while she draws their portrait and then has them tell her a story which she writes in the white space. Fabulous. At first glance, it's kind of folky, but if you start looking closely you can see her amazing talent in capturing details and nuances that are infinitely telling about the person, what they look like and who they are. Not only is this a fun book with pretty pictures and words, but it is a testament to the daring lives this practically unknown class of people live. The majority of the people she interviews are squatters, musicians, artists, and political activitsts. They are typically the people your mamma tries to steer you away from in the streets, but you know what? They are probably some of the nicest, most creative people around. And you can get to know all of them in Fly's book. It's a perfect book to keep by the shitter, by the bed, or to just sit down and read cover to cover (I have done all three.) There are even website and email addresses which drives home the point that these are, indeed, real people with real lives and who have very real adventures.

You can get your very own copy of Peops at www.softskull.com

You can find it on amazon.com, too, but I recommend supporting Soft Skull before amazon.