Puck's Peaks

While the influences that impacted me during A. J. Briesemeister Middle School are on my mind, I must say a word about the National Geographic Map of Shakespeare’s Britain. It first came to my attention when a boy named Dennie Beicker brought it to school for some reason and was showing it around. I was immediately drawn to it, perhaps from my growing fascination with ‘Olde’ England, perhaps from its resemblance to the detailed map of Wilderland in The Hobbit. I began negotiating with Dennie for possession of the map, and eventually he was persuaded to part with it for the sum of $3 (which for me was quite a bit of money at the time). Later on I also bought a couple of Conan comic books from him.

I pored over the map (and poured myself into it) intensely. I sought out evocative names and learned how to draw the little hillocks and buildings that represented mountains and towns. I made dozens of fantasy maps of my own. At one point I pinned the map to our bedroom door, and when much use caused its folds to start to part, repaired it rather clumsily with electrical tape. Later I was able to get a couple more copies, one from the stack of National Geographics that Nanny kept in her water heater closet, and one bought from Yesterday’s Warehouse. But I still have that old original safely tucked away.

Here is a scan of a map I made way back then, under the influence of Shakespeare’s Britain. It is full of the names of family members, friends, and even interests of the time, including a town called Snoopy (obviously!) and one called St. Vinci (for my interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, brought on by a three-part special on PBS).