Pump Up Your Book Chats with Bruce Meisterman

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ABOUT BRUCE MEISTERMAN

As a photographer, Bruce Meisterman has worked in areas as diverse as fine art and commercial photography, always looking to meld the two. Originally studying to be a painter, Bruce found that he could express himself and his art more effectively with a camera. Starting out as a photo-journalist with a newspaper, he honed his eye, insight, skills, and story-telling abilities from working with the demands of daily deadlines.

The book Arn? Narn. was initially conceived as an examination of a western culture, isolated from the world. Isolated not so much as to having no contact with the outside world, but as to being a destination rather than a place along one’s way. In researching the then-untitled book, Meisterman determined Newfoundland would be the perfect place in which to do this study.
After his first trip up there to photograph, he realized that a core element to his photos was missing, necessitating another trip to Newfoundland the following year. It was then where the story became apparent to him. The title of the book tells it all.

“Arn? Narn.” is the shortest conversation in Newfoundland English. The story behind it is this: two fishing boat captains are in the bay: one departing, the other returning. The departing captain yells out across the bay “Arn?’ The returning captain responds “Narn.” The translation is simple: “Any fish?”; “No fish.” And this book is about a culture, that culture, having supported itself for many years on fishing, finding itself now unable to do. The fish are gone.
While Arn? Narn. is about Newfoundland, the implications are of a much broader scope. The lessons learned here have global ramifications. Meisterman likens it to a canary in a coal mine, but on a planetary scale. When the canary dies, it’s time to get out of the coal mine and avert a human catastrophe. In this instance, the canary (the Newfoundland fishing industry) died, but no one took notice until it was too late. Evidence indicates other such global collapses are inevitable but may be avoidable, but only if action is taken.

Meisterman has been widely published in numerous publications such as: the New York Times, The Sun magazine, Yankee magazine, Country Journal magazine among many others and has been featured in a number of books. He has had numerous exhibitions ranging from galleries to museums. And his work resides in many private collections. Arn? Narn. is Meisterman’s first book.

He has been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities, religious organizations, and trade groups conducting them in a fashion where he also learns from the process as well as those attending. “We are all teachers to each other. How fortunate that I can be the recipient of a whole room full of teachers’ knowledge. They have made me a much better photographer. The one thing I never want to do is stop learning.”

Visit Bruce on the web at www.bmeisterman.com.

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

The original premise for the book Arn? Narn. was not what it eventually turned out to be. It started out as an exploration of the effects of isolation on a western culture. After my first trip up to Newfoundland, I found that that wasn’t really a story I could tell well. However, upon my return the following year, I learned in my heart what I had known intellectually: rural Newfoundland was disappearing. For over 500 years, it supported itself by cod fishing and now the fish were gone. That was a story I believed needed telling.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

That’s an interesting question as it is largely a photo-documentary. While I had written commercially, a book was not in my experience. That said, once I got into it, I really enjoyed creating the narrative for the photographs. It added an entirely new dimension to it and one I realize now was necessary. So in answer to your question, what was the hardest part?: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the last page. Realizing that you’re done, never an easy task or admission, meant it was complete. Yes, I could polish and hone it further, but to what end? And I didn’t want it to end. It was a lot of fun.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

Absolutely. While the book is all about Newfoundland, it has global implications. A paper was published in 2006 which received world-wide attention. In it, the author wrote that by the middle of this century, all stocks of wild, edible fish in the world will be in total collapse. We cannot continue to use and abuse our resources, whether they are food or natural, without regard to the future. We do so at our own peril and the risk of leaving future generations less than what we have.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

I’m very fortunate because I have a number of interests that keep me occupied. One of them is always available for me to lose myself in and “get away” from it all. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s at home when someone might want to talk with me! It’s probably a little (maybe a lot!) selfish, but many of things I enjoy doing are of a solitary nature: music, reading, cycling.

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

I spoke with a number of PR professionals and while they all had good ideas, some of them even grand, none of them seemed to grasp what promoting a book was all about, especially one about an out-of-the-way part of the world. It was a steep learning curve as I did much, not all, myself.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

Since this is my first book, I’ve nothing to compare it to. However, I’ve had experience in advertising and exposure to PR. That said, it seems to have changed radically over the last few years. The internet has shifted the focus tremendously. The traditional ways of promoting are still available, but one can get pretty good exposure without them.

Q: What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

That’s an easy one – not having enough time to do it and conversely sometimes having too much time. I find when I have less time, I’m more productive and less prone to just fill in the blanks and create filler. It seems I become more focussed when time is limited.

Q: What is the most rewarding?

That’s also an easy one – getting your first acceptance letter from a publisher. After so long in working on the book, fielding numerous rejections ( a normal thing), nothing can be as sweet as the realization that someone else “gets” your work and wants to bring it to life.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

Creating Arn? Narn. was such an amazing experience. I learned so much about my subject and certainly about myself. In doing so, I discovered that Newfoundland is an incredible place – its people, the land, its music, the sea, even the weather. The moment I stepped off the plane on my first trip up there, I felt as if I had returned home. So where would I want to be? Home if it’s Newfoundland.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

Thank you for the advance notice! It would be a long list starting with, in no particular order, the people and new friends I’ve made in Newfoundland, my wife whose patience with me for my enthusiasm of my new “home” goes above and beyond the call of duty, and certainly my publisher John Gosslee who saw what the book was all about, the staff at Gosslee who designed such a wonderful and respectful treatment of the book, and my friends and family who raised their eyebrows when I told them what I was doing but hung in with me nonetheless.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, Bruce Meisterman. Do you have any final words?

Writing and creating a book is more often then not a solitary experience. It can also be discouraging. My advice then is do not give up. Persist and prevail. It will happen. To quote Tug McGraw of the 1969 “Miracle Mets”, “Ya gotta believe!”

ABOUT ARN? NARN

Arn? Narn., while telling the true story of a disappearing rural Newfoundland, is also a cautionary chronicle of an imminent world wide concern. In 1992, the Canadian government enacted a cod fishing moratorium on the over 500 year old fishing industry, throwing over 40,000 fisherman out of work. In the next ten years, nearly 20 % of Newfoundland’s population migrated off the large island. Now, 20 years later, the fish have not returned nor have the people.

The implications of this are only now just beginning to be understood. In 2006, Dr. Boris Worm of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia published a paper which received world-wide attention. In it, he predicted that by the middle of this century all stocks of wild, edible fish will be in total collapse. What happened in Newfoundland is expected to occur planet-wide.

Arn? Narn. is a photo-documentary of a culture vanishing before our eyes; perhaps as an early warning to all countries to learn how to manage their resources more carefully. This could very easily happen anywhere.

The title refers to a short conversation in Newfoundland English. It comes from the story of two fishing boats in a Newfoundland bay: one boat is departing, the other returning. The departing boat’s captain yells across his bow, “Arn?” The returning boat’s captain replies, “Narn.” The translation is simple: “Any fish?” “No fish.” That is the tragedy of this story. Through over-fishing, government mismanagement, and greed, the fish are gone.

Arn? Narn Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

Friday, October 19

Guest blogging at My Devotional Thoughts

Monday, October 22

Book reviewed at Book Lover Stop

Tuesday, October 23

Interviewed at As the Pages Turn

Wednesday, October 24

Interviewed at Examiner

Friday, October 26

Interviewed at Divine Caroline

Monday, November 5

Book reviewed at Geo Librarian

Tuesday, November 6

Interviewed at Geo Librarian

Wednesday, November 7

Guest blogging at Shine

Thursday, November 8

Interviewed at American Chronicle

Monday, November 12

Book reviewed at Miki’s Hope

Tuesday, November 13

Guest blogging at Miki’s Hope

Thursday, November 15

Interviewed at Blogher

Friday, November 16

Interviewed at Digital Journal

Monday, November 19

Interviewed at Review From Here

Tuesday, November 20

Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking

Wednesday, November 21

Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book

Monday, November 26

Interviewed at Literal Exposure

Tuesday, November 27

Guest blogging at Redroom

Wednesday, November 28

Interviewed at The Writer’s Life

Friday, November 30

Book reviewed at Back to Books

Monday, December 3

Guest blogging at Allvoices

Wednesday, December 5

Interviewed at Examiner

Thursday, December 6

Guest blogging at She Writes

Friday, December 7

Book reviewed at Books, Books, the Magical Fruit

Monday, December 10

Guest blogging at Newsvine

Tuesday, December 11

Guest blogging at Open Salon

Wednesday, December 12

Book reviewed at Broken Teepee

Thursday, December 13

Interviewed at Broowaha

Friday, December 14

Book reviewed at Review From Here

Bruce Meisterman’s ARN? NARN VIRTUAL BOOK PUBLICITY TOUR will officially begin on October 15 and end on December 14,2012. Please contact Tracee Gleichner at tgleichner(at)gmail.com if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book. Thank you!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach