Illustrating An Agony in Eight Fits

A guest post by Mahendra Singh on illustrating a new edition of Lewis Carroll's Hunting of the Snark

In this version, among the Beavers, Butchers, Bankers, and Bellmen, stalk the ghosts of Max Ernst, Karl Marx, St. Anthony, and Comte de Lautreamont. (Indeed, the Banker is Karl Marx.) I asked Mahendra to explain some of the riddles, puns, and allusions he buried in his illustrations. He provided this lovely visual essay. Enjoy.

Lewis Carroll's Hunting of the Snark is his Nonsense masterpiece, a unique, weirdly epic romp through a world completely devoid of common sense. Yet at the same time, there is a logic governing the story, a dream-logic which cannot be trifled with when illustrating the poem. Respect the Nonsense!



The graphic novel version sampled here is the longest Snark yet published, to my knowledge. This length allowed me to pack in many references and allusions, chiefly Surrealist but also ranging from ancient Rome to British Sci-Fi. The dream-logic of Surrealism fills out the matrix of Carrollian Nonsense better than most isms.



The technique of faux wood-engraving pen and ink work is also an homage to Max Ernst and his collage novels, such as Une Semaine de Bonté. This quintessential Victorian visual technique lends the imagery a sense of false authority which dovetails nicely with the Nonsense of what I call the Carrollian Multiverse, the world of topsy-turvydom.



Surrealism, Nonsense, Philosophy and Culture, these are the major themes of my Snark. But above all, I hope it furnishes a key for younger people, students of the arts in particular, who are searching for alternatives to the abysmal popular culture swamping them. The Snark is Nonsense but it is real Art of the highest caliber and the Carrollian Multiverse is a very frabjous place to make it in!



—Mahendra Singh

For more:Biblioklept's interview with Mahendra here New Yorker review here Salon review here ***Editor's note: Buy the damn book! Previously: