This book is an experimental visualizer for Joan Didion’s love letter to New York, “Goodbye to All That,” which appears in the collection “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” “Goodbye to All That” is about Joan Didion’s relationship with New York City during her short time living there from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s, writing about New York beginning and ending for her. The short essay memorializes the city she loved from her arrival to her departure through vivid imagery and detailed word choice.
This book is separated into three sections, the introduction, the love letter, and the conclusion. The introduction and conclusion hug the letter so I created a visual representation of this by making two trim sizes for the book. The beginning and end are smaller and a different color compared to the interior ‘meat’ of the essay. Her wording is very vivid and paints pictures in the reader’s head, to represent the mind conjuring up visuals, I created single line contour drawings of some of the imagery on each spread of the middle section.
