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Excuse the light-heartedness. It's Spring after all. So pop the champagne corks, blow the party hooters… today a picture book story I wrote 15 years ago is being launched at The Illustration Cupboard in London. The timing seems right. Everywhere I look there are giraffes galore – in the windows of Kath Kidson, in the Louis Vuitton ads ...
... but best of all on the cover of my new book, Zeraffa Giraffa.
In my notebook I found the date when my story started taking shape – August 1999.
I’d just read the historical account in Michael Allin’s book Zarafa of the giraffe that was sent to Paris by the Pasha Muhammed Ali in 1827 – the second giraffe ever to be seen in Europe. But my fascination with giraffes began as a teenager when I’d come up really close to them in the wild on horseback in Zimbabwe – that graceful walk, their necks stretching out above the tree-line like exotic flowers, their lolloping gallop, their bizarre stance when drinking and their stares of curiosity.
So why did my manuscript take 15 years to be published?
Take heart those of you who have texts in your bottom drawer. Some stories are often just not right in a certain market – the perfect illustrator can’t be found… the economics don’t work. Then in 2004 I saw the magnificent life-size puppet performance of The Tall Horse based on the same story I'd written, produced by the Handspring puppet company in South Africa (it went on to tour in the US and Europe as well). The Handspring is the same company who much later produced the horse in War Horse. Their 5 metre tall giraffe of my story was made of carbon fibre rods, with two puppeteers on stilts inside the body frame, operating the turn of the head, the twitch of a tail or ear and the swaying, graceful gait. I was so mesmerized by the poetic performance that I still have the program and ticket. I can tell you that on Thursday 9th Sept 2004, I sat in seat N1 at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town.
Zeraffa Giraffa is essentially a story of a journey of a giraffe who travels from Khartoum with her keeper Atir, down the Nile to Alexandria and across the sea to Marseilles, and finally walks to Paris… not as easy assignment for an illustrator. Who better than Jane Ray? She has captured brilliantly a sense of Africa as well as France in her wide double-paged vistas. We sense both the heat and shimmer of the desert and the contrasting softness of the French countryside without the book losing its fluidity.
Take heart those of you who have texts in your bottom drawer. Some stories are often just not right in a certain market – the perfect illustrator can’t be found… the economics don’t work. Then in 2004 I saw the magnificent life-size puppet performance of The Tall Horse based on the same story I'd written, produced by the Handspring puppet company in South Africa (it went on to tour in the US and Europe as well). The Handspring is the same company who much later produced the horse in War Horse. Their 5 metre tall giraffe of my story was made of carbon fibre rods, with two puppeteers on stilts inside the body frame, operating the turn of the head, the twitch of a tail or ear and the swaying, graceful gait. I was so mesmerized by the poetic performance that I still have the program and ticket. I can tell you that on Thursday 9th Sept 2004, I sat in seat N1 at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town.
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| the giraffe puppet from the production The Tall Horse |
Her palette is strong, her colours intense, the detail sublime – tiny dots of gold highlight the texture on the giraffe’s horn, a sinuous, long, black tongue entwines the curls of the equally black French railing, an inquisitive monkey on the dhow, strange boxes with Arabic font and measurement ... what do they contain?... scraps of maps embedded in the sea suggesting the journey – wonderful, tiny, visual codes that will be picked up by an astute child. (perhaps even by an adult?)
If you visit La Rotonde on a quiet day, close your eyes and perhaps you’ll feel the hot wind of Africa and imagine yourself standing there with Zeraffa and her keeper Atir, while he whispers stories to her of a land far away.
My giraffe and I have been on a long, long journey together. The giraffe’s journey took two years, mine took fifteen. Thank you Jane you’ve made the story come alive. Let’s pop those corks and blow the party hooters. Perhaps like the bakers of Paris, we might even celebrate with giraffe biscuits!
Zeraffa Giraffa, by Dianne Hofmeyr, illustrated by Jane Ray, published by Frances Lincoln, April 2014, translated so far as well, into Danish, Swedish, Korean and Afrikaans.
www.diannehofmeyr.com
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9 Comments on Tales from Outer Suburbia, Bird Kings and other things- Dianne Hofmeyr, last added: 9/8/2011
The spaces are ripe to create magic in. The Story Museum won’t be so much a static ‘museum’ as a living, active place to share story and creativity. All the latent engineers can’t wait to be invited back here to be part of the action in creating a story-rich society! 
I love Shaun Tan's work - and the Illustration Cupboard is a great place. 'My' illustration MA students had their exhibition there each summer - it's wonderful.
I think Shaun Tan is marvellous and I love your post! Those cats!
Oh, I love his work! Thankyou Diane, as always, a great post!!
My interview with Shaun is up today. What a coincidence!
http://bookwitch.wordpress.com/interviews/shaun-tan-work-is-a-bit-like-brussels-sprouts/
Wish I could have got to the exhibition, though.
Stroppy Author, didn't realise those are your students I go to see every year! Amazing work! Thks Adele and Anonymous and read your interview Bookwitch. What I loved there was that he enjoyed the fun bits at the start and end but it was the middle bit that was hard... I guess like writing a novel!!! What I failed to mention in the blog is how many followers he has at student level. If someone making a video clip of your work is the litmus test then Shaun Tan's work is currently spot on and perfectly reflects what the young feel about the world right now... which makes me feel very positive.
Forgot to say... missed a comment from you, Catdownunder. It would've been good to know what you thought of a fellow artist and also those 'strange' cats were specially for you!!!
A lovely and thoughtful post about a thoughtful illustrator. Thanks! Am now popping over to Bookwitch for MORE.
The trouble is, when I've visited The Illustration Cupboard, I've wanted to buy everything but can afford nothing! However, after reading your blog, I'm still going to try and visit on Saturday (wish I'd booked a later train, darn it).
The trouble is, when I've visited The Illustration Cupboard, I've wanted to buy everything but can afford nothing! However, after reading your blog, I'm still going to try and visit on Saturday (wish I'd booked a later train, darn it).