Inklings - Paperback

by Jeffrey Koterba (Author)

When Jeffrey Koterba was six, he started drawing his first cartoons, painstakingly copying from the Sunday Omaha World Herald's funny papers and making up his own characters. With a pen and a sheet of white paper, he was able to escape into a world that was clean, expansive, and comfortable--a refuge from the pandemonium surrounding him.

The tiny house Koterba grew up in was full-to-bursting with garage-sale treasures and televisions his father Art repaired and sold for extra money. A hard-drinking one-time jazz drummer whose big dreams never seemed to come true, Art was subject to violent facial and vocal tics--symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, a condition Jeffrey inherited--as well as explosions of temper and eccentricity that kept the Koterba family teetering on the brink of disaster.

From the canyons of broken electronics, the lightning strikes, screaming matches, and discouragements great and small emerged a young man determined to follow his creative spirit to grand heights. And much to his surprise, he found himself on a journey back to his family and the father he once longed to escape. An exuberant, heart-felt memoir that calls to mind The Tender Bar and Fun Home, Inklings is infused with an irresistible optimism all its own.

Front Jacket

When Jeffrey Koterba was six, he started drawing his first cartoons, painstakingly copying from the Sunday Omaha World Herald s funny papers and making up his own characters. With a pen and a sheet of white paper, he was able to escape into a world that was clean, expansive, and comfortable a refuge from the pandemonium surrounding him. The tiny house Koterba grew up in was full to bursting with garage-sale treasures and televisions that his father, Art, repaired and sold for extra money.

A hard-drinking one-time jazz drummer whose big dreams never seemed to come true, Art was subject to violent facial and vocal tics symptoms of Tourette s syndrome, a condition that Jeffrey inherited as well as explosions of temper and eccentricity that kept the Koterba family teetering on the brink of disaster. From the canyons of broken electronics, lightning strikes, screaming matches, and discouragements great and small emerged a young man determined to follow his creative spirit to grand heights. And much to his surprise, Jeffrey found himself on a journey back to his family and the father he once longed to escape. An exuberant, heartfelt memoir, Inklings is infused with an irresistible optimism all its own.

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Back Jacket

"Inklings is fresh and powerful. A truly new voice has arrived on the scene."--Mary Pipher, author of Seeking Peace

"This is the opposite of a sentimental survivor memoir. Koterba pays tribute to the raw materials of his childhood with an unerring eye and shows us how to make art, not in spite of adversity, but because of it."--Richard Dooling, author of White Man's Grave

"Koterba takes us on a journey of discovery that changes our perceptions about survival and artistic creation. Told with elegant simplicity, this memoir documents the passion of a boy who will not surrender his obsession, whose brilliance develops wit and cunning and fire to shield his sensitivity to the world around him."--Jonis Agee, author of The River Wife

"Koterba writes with charm, warmth, and honesty, creating a portrait of the artist that is both rich with nostalgia and haunted by family battles."--Timothy Schaffert, author of Devils in the Sugar Shop

"Cartoonists have had at least as much influence on the survival of our democracy as those who pen thousands of words. This book tells how one of the best came to risk the ire of people like me who needed someone to tell us how we really look."--Bob Kerrey, President of the New School, former US Senator and Governor of Nebraska

"Editorial Cartoonist Jeff Koterba turns his observational talent inward to produce a deeply engaging and truly heartwarming memoir. Read this book and feel good!"--Jimmy Margulies, Editorial Cartoonist for The Record and King Features