The New (Old) “Walden”
“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” — Niels Bohr
When my team and I set out to create a new version of Walden through a Kickstarter campaign, we knew that there would be all kinds of feedback. Some would love the concept of a full-scale adaptation; some might not see the point; others would hate it. But we hoped that new readers and dedicated Thoreau fans alike would find value in this project. We hoped our work would help this wonderful book remain evergreen.
While we quickly reached 20% of the fundraising goal and received enthusiastic endorsement from a small but dedicated readership, it became clear after week one that we were not trending toward success. It was time for a serious gut-check. Could we, should we go about this in a different way?
Based on articulate input from the literary community and our own new reflections on how best to help Walden remain contemporary, we have decided to forego the adaptation, and instead publish a new hardcover edition of Walden with the original text and annotations tailored for a modern reading experience.
It’s easy to ignore people that are lobbing insults through the Twittersphere. But when scores of smart, savvy readers of various ages and backgrounds say they believe Walden is not ready for adaptation, and that there might be a better way to approach this project, I take notice.
Some encouraged me to stick to my guns. One friend said that as long as I believe in the work we’re doing, then nothing else matters. I don’t think I can fully agree with that. Yes, it’s important to follow your intuition and your heart’s desires, but only as long as they contribute to the greater good and are both viable and sustainable. Being attentive to your audience and staying on your toes is what it takes to ensure that the goal of any project is met. Sometimes the people you want to reach can show you the problems you’re not seeing.
People are loving the design and production values of our edition. We’re not changing a thing in that regard! However, we still believe there is a real need to bring Walden into the 21st century, particularly for the many lay readers who are unfamiliar with the book, or who might have tried unsuccessfully to read it in the past. To that end, we think this new approach of creating helpful, easily-accessed annotations will be a great help.
We will still deliver a gorgeous book that will be a treasure for any collector’s library. Brooks, our illustrator, will still create full color artwork and endpapers. We will still organize the book into four sections. Economy (the first chapter) will still be presented in several short chapters for more digestible reading. And we still believe the prose poems are a wonderful addition. But we are leaving the story itself untouched.
We believe that new annotations can have the effect of shortening the gap between 1854 and today. This excellent book can still be brought to a new, larger readership — and provide value for existing fans as well. Thoreau believed that reading a good book “is a noble intellectual exercise” that challenges the reader, requiring them to “stand on tip-toe to read.” I believe our new approach — the approach we should have taken all along — is a much better way to honor both Thoreau and the reader. My intention all along has been to get more people to read Walden, and I believe this change will make that happen.
You may be wondering, “Um, people have published annotated versions of Walden before. Why on earth do we need another one?” Yes, there are already annotated editions of Walden out there, and all of the ones I’ve seen are superbly researched. But they’re more difficult to navigate than they need to be, employing superscripts leading to notes that the reader must search for like a kid at an Easter egg hunt. Notes are often relegated to the footer or the ends of chapters, or even the very end of the book. Even the one or two editions with friendlier side margins are tough to follow after several pages, because the main text and notes become separated. The reading experience becomes more of an academic endeavor. These approaches to marginalia make sense for certain purposes, but not for what I’m trying to achieve.
Our annotations will track with the text so you don’t have to search for them. This negates the need for superscripts. We will elucidate the archaic words and idioms in Walden, as well as the cultural, historical, and literary references that Thoreau uses to embellish and connect his thoughts. And when untranslated Latin appears in the text, we will include the English translation in the margins.
Significant change of scope in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign is a rare, risky move, but that’s what crowdfunding is all about — listening to the market and your early adopters, and heavily considering their feedback as you seek to create the best product possible.
I have no idea if this will work. I hope it does. I realized last year that creating ways to keep the world’s best stories contemporary is a calling worthy of the rest of my life. I’ll keep searching for new opportunities to do just that. And if this experiment fails, at least I can say that I went out with my boots on.
If you want to support this project and help us bring it to life, then I invite you to consider pledging today. The campaign will be active until March 17, 2016.
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