Burton Silver
Encyclopedia
Burton Silver is a cartoonist, parodist, writer, art critic and inventor. He lives in Wellington
, New Zealand
.
Silver was born in Wellington and attended Wellington College
, later completing a B.A.
at Victoria University of Wellington
. He worked initially as a boilermaker
's assistant on Groote Eylandt
, Northern Territory
, Australia
. After travelling in Asia he spent time in London, where he taught English.
His best-known cartoon series was written for the New Zealand Listener
- Bogor, which dealt with a lone woodsman and the forest animals that were his only companions (especially a hedgehog). An earlier cartoon, OB (written under the pseudonym "Roux"), had as its main characters a bird, a snake, and a rock, and was initially inspired by Silver's time spent in the Australian outback. Bogor originally appeared in the Listener in 1973, and was New Zealand's longest-running published cartoon series.
He is also known for his humorous cat art books (created in collaboration with painter and photographer, Heather Busch): Why Cats Paint
, Why Paint Cats
, and Dancing with Cats, as well as his spoofs Kokigami: The Intimate Art of the Little Paper Costume (Japanese paper decoration for the genitals also in collaboration with Heather Busch), and the self-explanatory The Naughty Victorian Hand Book: The Rediscovered Art of Erotic Hand Manipulation (with illustrator Jeremy Bennett). Other books include What Bird Did That? A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America (co-authored with Peter Hansard), The Kama Sutra for Cats (illustrated by Margaret Woodhouse) and "Versability", a poetry game similar to Dictionary, were players create new lines for poems rather than new meanings for words (co-authored by his wife Melissa da Souza). His most successful book to date is Why Cats Paint which has sold over 700,000 copies worldwide. He has over one million books in print.
One of his inventions is the sport of GolfCross
, played on a golf course with aerial goal-nets and a golf ball in the shape of a rugby ball. There are Golfcross courses in Germany, Argentina, Scotland, England, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Silver's latest project (co-authored with Martin O'Connor) is a relationship book titled Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet: A New Way to Get Men talking About Stuff That Matters. The book uses the Scenario Method which works by putting a man at the centre of hypothetical situations thus allowing him to share what he really thinks and feels. Francis E. Steinberg calls the book "a highly effective way of building a stronger relationship". Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet was released in the United States in October 2007. The book received a starred review in the US Library Journal. Limited free scenarios from the book are available at http://www.everythinghehasnttoldyouyet.com
Silver has also developed "The Fringe Games" which is an international festival of new and experimental sports designed to run in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Silver was born in Wellington and attended Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
, later completing a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. He worked initially as a boilermaker
Boilermaker
A boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
's assistant on Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. After travelling in Asia he spent time in London, where he taught English.
His best-known cartoon series was written for the New Zealand Listener
New Zealand Listener
The New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...
- Bogor, which dealt with a lone woodsman and the forest animals that were his only companions (especially a hedgehog). An earlier cartoon, OB (written under the pseudonym "Roux"), had as its main characters a bird, a snake, and a rock, and was initially inspired by Silver's time spent in the Australian outback. Bogor originally appeared in the Listener in 1973, and was New Zealand's longest-running published cartoon series.
He is also known for his humorous cat art books (created in collaboration with painter and photographer, Heather Busch): Why Cats Paint
Why Cats Paint
Why Cats Paint is a comedy book written by New Zealand author Burton Silver and illustrator Heather Busch....
, Why Paint Cats
Why Paint Cats
Why Paint Cats is a comedy book written by New Zealand author Burton Silver and illustrator Heather Busch. The book describes the practice of "cat painting" in art and history...
, and Dancing with Cats, as well as his spoofs Kokigami: The Intimate Art of the Little Paper Costume (Japanese paper decoration for the genitals also in collaboration with Heather Busch), and the self-explanatory The Naughty Victorian Hand Book: The Rediscovered Art of Erotic Hand Manipulation (with illustrator Jeremy Bennett). Other books include What Bird Did That? A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America (co-authored with Peter Hansard), The Kama Sutra for Cats (illustrated by Margaret Woodhouse) and "Versability", a poetry game similar to Dictionary, were players create new lines for poems rather than new meanings for words (co-authored by his wife Melissa da Souza). His most successful book to date is Why Cats Paint which has sold over 700,000 copies worldwide. He has over one million books in print.
One of his inventions is the sport of GolfCross
Golfcross
GolfCross is a variant of golf developed in New Zealand by Burton Silver. It is similar to golf, except that it uses an oval ball and holes are replaced by suspended goal nets...
, played on a golf course with aerial goal-nets and a golf ball in the shape of a rugby ball. There are Golfcross courses in Germany, Argentina, Scotland, England, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Silver's latest project (co-authored with Martin O'Connor) is a relationship book titled Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet: A New Way to Get Men talking About Stuff That Matters. The book uses the Scenario Method which works by putting a man at the centre of hypothetical situations thus allowing him to share what he really thinks and feels. Francis E. Steinberg calls the book "a highly effective way of building a stronger relationship". Everything He Hasn't Told You Yet was released in the United States in October 2007. The book received a starred review in the US Library Journal. Limited free scenarios from the book are available at http://www.everythinghehasnttoldyouyet.com
Silver has also developed "The Fringe Games" which is an international festival of new and experimental sports designed to run in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
External links
- http://www.tenspeed.com/authors/view.html?id=56Burton Silver's page at publisher Ten Speed PressTen Speed PressTen Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1970. Philip Wood, founder and publisher, began his career with Barnes & Noble in 1962 and in 1965 at Penguin books...
] - A gallery of all the covers of the Bogor collections
- http://www.jdl.co.nz/bogor.htmlA gallery of phonecards released by Telecom New ZealandTelecom New ZealandTelecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
featuring Bogor's hedgehog] - Museum of Non Primate Art
- New Zealand GolfCross
- Kokigami!
- Why Paint Cats?
- Review, Why Paint Cats?
- Fringe Games