The Ytterbium Eastercon Convention 2019 Saturday 20th April 2019 Alphabet Books

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Panel presenters - Juliet Kemp, Parinta Shetty, Sydney Padua, Jackie Duckworth. Saturday’s first event for me was a wonderful panel on Alphabet Books and why they are not just for children. Many of us learned to read with books showing Sesame Street style associations between words and their opening letters. A is for Apple, B is for Ball, etc. Raj Haldar & Chris Carpenter wrote P Is For Pterodactyl, subtitled ‘The Worst Alphabet Book Ever’. The words chosen have silent opening letters, and unusual spellings. It is great fun and in reality among the best such A To Z’s. Alphabet books are very popular in India for their lavish illustrations. There are however many more complex and detailed alphabet books with much more downbeat art work. We were shown slides of many great examples, including Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies in which 26 children meet unfortunate demises in alphabetical order and rhyme. The full text is on the attached Youtube. My personal favourite is The Ultimate Alphabet by Mike Wilks, a series of beautiful paintings celebrating the alphabet in 26 frames, some like the S page containing over 1,000 images with the reader invited to find them all. It is quite a challenge and teaches not only the alphabet but also art appreciation. My book launch event dominated the afternoon, and I have covered that in a separate post. The evening was cabaret time, with the opening entertainment provided by Playing Rapunzel . Two very funny ladies able to play multiple instruments and singing songs about feeling obsessively compelled to put right someone with wrong opinions on the internet. They were followed by another singer – comedian, Mitch Benn. When the ladies apologized to the audience for running late, Benn, standing incognito in the audience, invited them to carry on. Mitch Benn is well known for his UK radio appearances and he has performed at conventions before. He is clearly a genre fan. He sang a song he wrote when Bladerunner 2049 was due for release, virtually a prayer for them not to make a mes of it (fortunately it was great). He also celebrated Easter with an irreverent song about Chocolate Zombie Jesus Day. Absolute comedy genius. A few more beers and once more it was time for the bus ride back to my hostel while many continued to drink and socialize longer. Arthur Chappell