WRITRESS, the brief edition, is based on a handmade artist’s book by Jan Camp, in which painted, sewn, taped and transparent pages are bound in an archival box. The Writress project is the foundation for a complete book of memoirs—and maybe a novel. Once upon a time there was a Young Woman who lived in a near-sighted tunnel. She wished for nothing more than to have as many happy children as the Old Woman who lived in a shoe. Young Woman settled down with Husband to make a new life, but no matter how hard she tried, her wish was thwarted at every turn. First the ogre Uncle Sam took Husband to a desolate land, and she followed. Then Faith, with whom she had grown up, deserted her. Demons tormented her. Twice she ran away from Husband, and twice she returned. Then one day her archenemy Loneliness, and the most beautiful Forgiveness, came to sit at her left and her right. Young Woman wanted to run away from Loneliness, but Futility had taught her to keep her seat. Forgiveness said, “Because you are steadfast I will grant your wish for Children.” Young Woman jumped for joy. “There is a price,” Forgiveness warned: “Though you will suffer loss and travel in many dimensions to fulfill your destiny, You may never again run away.” No sooner had Young Woman accepted, when poof… having made the bargain, a Veil slipped away. She saw immediately how unprepared she was to care for herself, and for Children of which she counted exactly two.
