Why love poems?
Why? Because, after six and a half decades of living and making art I've come to the conclusion that love is supremely important, especially in these difficult times.

The process of putting together an artist's book with an edition of 100, plus artist's proofs and H/C copies for the poets, sounds quite complicated. Is it?
Actually, it is a bit. To begin with you have to do the plates, then print them. I worked all summer and autumn with my assistant, Rodrigo Martín, just printing the plates, more than 1,500 prints altogether. I also had some help from my granddaughter, Elisa, who is doing her first year of fine-arts studies at the University of Granada. But a book project goes beyond the printing. In order to do a book like this an artist has to enter into unknown territory: cover designers, screenprint workshops, print shops, paper warehouses, book binderies, etc.

But I was very lucky in this respect, as one of the poets in the project, Miguel Angel Arcas, is also an editor, and he offered to help me out with the technical details. I was delighted to accept his offer, though I had no idea at the time just how important his help was going to be. If people are now praising the book for it's attention to detail, its exquisiteness, etc., it's largely thanks to Miguel Angel's professionalism and, I might add, his unceasing good humor. I never want to do another book project without his support.

So, you were not alone on this project. Were there other key people in helping you to make it happen? If so, how did they come on board?
I'm glad you ask this question, because there were other people who presented themselves along the way and who helped to make a potentially stressful experience into a pleasant and fulfilling project. I especially want to mention the two women friends and poets, Marí Ángeles Mora and Teresa Gómez. From the moment they heard about the project they began to support and encourage me in lots of thoughtful ways, whether bringing a package of creamcakes by the studio or sitting down with me to help me to find an adequate title. Entredós was actually their idea. I also want to mention Francisco González de la Oliva, the director of the Museum Casa de los Tiros, who took a personal interest in the project down to personally producing the photographs of Javier Egea and mounting the display cases himself.

Some of the poets, the artist and the culture administrator.

The palace where you presented the book looks fabulous. How did you get the opportunity to celebrate the presentation there?
Mainly it's a question of knocking on doors. And when it comes to that, artists have a big advantage, at least here in Spain, and I suspect in most other countries, as well. So, when the printing was well under way, I took a couple of days off, put my proofs under my arm and went visiting. As all printmakers know, it's not easy to arrange a place to exhibit on short notice.

Here again I was blessed with good luck and good friends. As soon as Ángeles Mora (who is also a literature professor at the University of Granada, and has organized lots of poetry readings…) found out I was looking for a place to present the book she took me by the hand to the Granada culture delegation of the Andalusian regional government. I showed them the work, José Antonio Pérez Tapias, the delegate, contacted Paco González, the director of the Casa de los Tiros Museum, and found that there was an opening in the month of November. Besides providing the lovely "Golden Hall" (for the amazing gold-plated and polychromed ceiling) they printed and distributed the invitations, provided the sound system for the presentation, and the museum director himself set up a lovely display of the whole edition process-plates, proofs, presentation, etc.-in glass cases.

There was a nice mix of people at Maureen's book presentation.

Sorry to be prosaic, but could you tell us about the business side. Did you have sponsorship or subsidies, or anything like that?
No, I didn't. Here in Spain there are opportunities for subsidies for this sort of cultural activity, but my experience is that the paperwork they require makes it more trouble than it's worth. So I paid for everything myself. I must say, I was delighted to find that some of the suppliers were willing to accept payment in artist's books!

And what about sales?
I was pleasantly surprised with the sales, as it seems that I quite unwittingly did something right. First of all, I kept the price down. I charge 400€ (about $500) for the book. It's 11 prints altogether with 10 poems signed by the authors. Then, by involving ten poets in the project, I not only was able to count on my own friends and clients, but also all of theirs. This has made a big difference. Also, presenting the book as an homage to Javier Egea, Granada's best-loved poet, who was a friend of ours, aroused a lot of interest locally. It was certainly not my intention to exploit this friendship, quite the contrary, but it did make people take notice. I was also lucky that Mike had some lovely black and white photographs of Javier from the late 70's and early 80's, and the museum director used them very effectively in the displays, especially one very impressive, larger-than-life blowup.

There was standing room only in the hall.

Do you have other artist's book projects in the offing?
Actually, I've already done another one. I participated in a Euro-Arab Women's Trade Fair here in Granada recently and met some amazing women from the Arab World. One of them has a gallery in Kuwait, and when I showed her some of the prints for Entredós she commissioned me to do an edition of a book of etchings with Arab poetry. So I worked with poems by Nizar Qabbani, the most popular contemporary Arab poet, and a delightful new discovery for me.

The big question: After your experience, do you think other printmakers in other places could be successful doing similar poetry-based artist's book projects? What recommendations would you make to someone wanting to give it a try for themselves?

To answer your first question, I certainly don't see why not. The Spanish say, "Todo es empezar…" "It's just a question of getting started…" As for recommendations, I would suggest teamwork, and also generosity. Don't try to do it all yourself. The editorial details will distract you from your principal job, which is the artwork. So get some help; you'll be glad you did. You're going to sell some books, so you'll be able to pay for it. And don't be stingy with your poets, give them some books. They are so accustomed to being exploited that they will be over the moon with your generosity. This will come back on you later in unexpected and pleasant ways.

You can see more pictures of the book on Maureen's website: www.maureenbooth.com.