Ink on Dreams of Transient Architecture

“I have been told repeatedly during various stages of my life that we are all moving toward the same luminous object …”

— Patrick Elkins

Ink on Dreams of Transient Architecture is a unique reading (and listening, if the reader so chooses) experience from start to finish. The author, Patrick Elkins, wrote the story with complexity, creativity, and, at times, downright whimsy. Elkins’ official bio states that the book is about “public transportation and its relationships to impressions of air, friends, and (most importantly) flying insects.” Readers, however, will undoubtedly be left with impressions that run the gamut of moods and perceptions of the story’s resolution. Elkins’ accompanying book release parties tell a similarly choose-your-own-adventure story of their own. Events in Portland, Oregon and Ann Arbor Michigan have included puppet shows, songs, sing-alongs, and Patrick getting his hair cut.

The book is aesthetically concise, measuring six by seven inches, a pleasing size for carrying around on adventures similar to those Elkins writes about in the story. Layout and illustrations were done by Keeli McCarthy, an artist and friend of Elkins’ whose offer to design a cover encouraged him to compile his travel journals into a novel. The story within is presented in off-kilter yet purposefully placed paragraphs and sections. Some themes are apparent, but the subject matter is diverse and at times, quite open to interpretation. Elkins shared in a recent interview that the book is based on years of journals kept to document his prolific travel on the Greyhound bus system. The time it takes to read Ink on Dreams once through has even been rumored to correspond with the time it takes to ride a city bus from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Elkins lives and works currently.

Patrick Elkins has received attention for previous works such as puppet shows, performance pieces, and membership in a wide variety of musical groups ranging from noise-folk to a country group led by his grandparents. His writing has appeared in Display magazine, Gravity Presses, The Eastern Echo, Cloudrag, and the Ypsi Mix. Ink on Dreams is Elkins’ first novel, but follows a great deal of experience interacting with and documenting the world around him. His is most definitely a work created from collective experiences and talents. The book was published by Francis of Prussia Books and Records, a division of Kandapop. The publishers are also long-time friends of Elkins and musicians themselves. The book includes a compact disc of music. The compilation CD is of a similar unique and creative caliber, but musician Arland Nicewander has emphasized that the music is not meant to be thematically related to the events in the book. He notes that one of the only distinct commonalities between the book and the CD are that both span many years, and much like the stories in the book, the songs were recorded at different times, in different places, and with different people. Musicians such as Lorraine Lelis, formerly of Mahogany, Arland Nicewander and Akina Kawauchi of Kanda, Scott P. Sonnier, Elise Sonnier, and Aleise Barnett are contributors. The cumulative product of a diversity of talents and experiences is a clever and satisfying musical experience. The CD is a great stand-alone listening experience full of romantic ditties and thinking people’s pop.

Patrick Elkins shares that he plans to finish writing the sequel to Ink on Dreams during a 10-month stay in Indonesia this fall. The follow-up book is tentatively titled A Satan and the author shares that it will be longer and more detail oriented than its predecessor. Further projects include a series of 101 one-act plays, musical endeavors, and continued efforts as a puppeteer. The musicians involved in the CD accompanying Ink on Dreams can be found working on a plethora of projects in their far-flung locales. More information on the book and music is available at http://kandapop.com.