Preserving author voice and style

The client

Kodoji press is a non-profit independent art publishing house specialising in contemporary art and photography and based in Baden, Switzerland. It operates as a non-profit-oriented project, publishing high-quality, limited edition art books. Its publications often feature bilingual or multilingual text.

The project

Gaijin Omoide Poroporo Hikari is a publication by Swiss-Japanese artist David Favrod, published by Kodoji Press in 2022.

The publication brings together a tripartite series by the artist, in which he examines and invents his binational identity.

The three elements of the series are Gaijin (Japanese for foreigner), Omoide Poroporo (a Japanese expression meaning 'memories like falling rain') and Hikari (which means light). The author’s work represents his compulsion to build and shape his own memory.

Kodoji Press commissioned me to edit this beautiful non-fiction book, which also features photographs from the artist’s childhood. Kodojo Press were keen to work with an editor sensitive to the author’s binational identity.

Although this is a non-fiction publication, the author has a lyrical narrative style, which I ensured was not lost in the editing process.

Once the book was ready to print, I also proofread the PDF versions of the manuscript.