Sophie Ward on her new book, 'The Beginning of an Inexplicable Journey'
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 
Text + Photos Chris Petres
(photo of Sophie by IMG London)
Sophie Ward, author of the much talked-about blog Paper Castle Press released her first book, The Beginning of An Inexplicable Journey, earlier in June. In his review of the Journey, Alexis Georgopoulos of V Magazine aptly described it as "part travelogue, part memoir, [...] an inquiry into all things rich in imagery and tactile in sensation".
Hailing from Perth, Western Australia and currently based in New York City, Sophie has dedicated herself to writing, after many years of traveling around the globe for modeling. According to her, 'dreamy', 'visceral', 'poignant', 'sharp', and 'deep' are all keywords that characterize her literary debut. As Sophie's sister (supermodel Gemma Ward) puts it: “She writes like the universe is watching itself.”
I met Sophie in East Village, last summer.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
How did the idea for the book first come about - how and when did you start your Journey?
I'd been collecting and documenting observations for quite some time, since the age of 18 or 19 years old. At that stage in my life I was lonely, daunted, and absolutely mesmerized by many moments that I found myself present to. I slipped into a kind of intensely meditative state, in which moths, sunlight, watery cobwebs, interstellar movement, catharsis, and transcendence became viscerally apparent. I definitely didn't plan to 'write a book' – but encouraged by a group of literary people (of whom at the time I was not!) to form a book of my work. It was because to their encouragement and enrollment that I continued writing and completing the work needed to bring the book to fruition. I'm not sure I'd have kept going without them.
In which places of the world was it written?
I wrote much of it whilst on trains, planes, in my bedroom in Perth, as well as in parks in London during the summer of 2006. I also wrote most of the beginning and end segments on beaches or in beach houses in Sydney: Palm Beach and Bronte Beach in particular. Parts were also written in windowsills in Paris, private lagoons in Portofino, hotel rooms and friends houses.
The physical version of the book was only released earlier this month.
The process of creating the book was one of many trials and errors. I started by teaching myself, with some assistance, to use InDesign, through which I created the document that would become the books pages themselves. At first, the work was spread throughout many battered journals, from which I extracted into an .rtf document. I then sifted through everything, and kept only the essence of what I wanted to say. Nothing extra. Nothing cloudy. Just sparks and bones. After I had the InDesign document perfected, I sent it to a printer who made some proofs of the final book for me. We went back and forth before settling on something I liked: the creamy white textured cover with the blood red border and simple light lettering.
The red limited edition came about through my meeting designer Haans Nicholas Mott, who introduced me to his old friend the Reverend Paul Holbrook in Lexington, Kentucky. I spoke with Paul, who works at an old printing press at the University of Kentucky, who agreed that he could create some handmade covers, hand sewn onto each book, with a letter pressed title, for Paper Castle Press. I flew there to work with he and Haans. It was just a phenomenal experience, complete with authentic Kentucky Bourbon!
Can you list 5 all-time favorite reads?
1. Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch, by Henry Miller. Miller's view of the world, himself, the cosmos, the natural order of things, and the epic comedic wonder of it all, inspires me very much. Henry isn't afraid to say what he thinks, and I wouldn't be the writer I am today without his post-humous encouragement.
2. The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran. This book woke me up when I was sleepwalking through my life. It positively shifted a lot of my perception, unalterably.
3. The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, by Rainer Maria Rilke. Rilke was one of the sculptor Rodin's students and friends. Rilke's collection of poetry on the horrors, delights and impotencies of being alive was written when he was just 23 years old. They are sacred and intimate discourses with something he described as "inner dictation." He wrote prayers for the sufferings of war, poverty and disease. His honesty and insight grips my heart.
4. Reality Hunger, by David Shields. Much of my own work is created by a collage effect; most certainly Inexplicable Journey. Shields' book is a series of quotes, excerpts and ideas, offered anonymously for absorption and contemplation by the reader. The juxtaposition of these ideas and quotes is what becomes interesting, which was one of the defining rules I used in creating and designing my book, too. I loved it!
5. Just Kids, by Patti Smith. I read this late after it was released, as a gift, after I acceded to the urgings of many friends. I've always felt an affinity to Patti Smith, and reading about her love of literature, her urges to write, and her frustrations with the limitations of the written word, validated that affinity for me. While I'm not going to become a punk rocker, something about the technological age of expression is very stimulating for me.
What are you up to now? Where are you?
I'm in New York City, bouncing around the city, zipping around on my bike, enjoying the summer and managing many irons in fires! I'm preparing to launch a few new digital titles on Paper Castle Press, including I, Poet and a picture book called Ginger Marmalade Toastmeister illustrated by Danny Roberts, who drew our Paper Castle. I've also been collaborating with the highly esteemed FLY16x9.com – we just released a video of spoken word on their Beauty channel, which I'm so proud of! I'm also co-authoring a second book concerning the shadow side of beauty, the darker, disordered side, and how women today can navigate through that towards living a healing, empowered life. I'm excited about that, it's happening very fast!
Buy the Beginning of an Inexplicable Journey through Paper Castle's Store.
Pictured above is the handbound limited edition of the book.
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