Love Letter to Austin

Poetic new book celebrates everything that's wonderful and weird about Austin

Love song to Austin
in 17 syllables
wonderful and weird

That's the perfectly succinct tagline for Carlotta Eike Stankiewicz's vibrant compendium, Haiku Austin. With high praise from citizens of note like Master Pancakes' Owen Egerton and famed troubadour Bob Schneider, this local's collection of poetry and photography characterizes the charms and challenges of our much-discussed city.

Whether you're an old-schooler mourning the passing of festivals like Aquafest and Spamarama, a newbie seeking a creative crash course in all things Austin, or a visitor wanting the perfect slice of city life as a keepsake, Haiku Austin has something for everyone. The endlessly flippable book features a range of fresh, funny observations on subjects from the burnt orange blur of football season to major changes in the urban landscape.

Take for example Rainey Street's transformation, in which Stankiewicz's writes: "Old and decrepit / homes turned into bars for the / young and beautiful."

Haiku Austin comprises short verse that honors political goddesses like Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan alongside essential musicians Gary Clark Jr. and Stevie Ray Vaughan. With 24 years to study Austin, Stankiewicz seamlessly blends the best of what is with droll recollections on what was, 17 beats at a time.

Stankiewicz also showcases vivid photography culled over years of experiences arranged alongside a dedicated short verse. "Seventy-five to 80 percent of those are taken with my iPhone kind of on the fly. I realized I could use my own photos and so this is a way to pay tribute with words and pictures, combining my two passions."

True to its muse, Haiku Austin is independent and locally sourced since inception. "I started thinking about it in the fall. Then I got laid off from my job in February and I figured that was the universe saying, 'You need to do this.' I launched a Kickstarter in March during SXSW and it went really well. I raised the goal amount that I needed to cover the printing costs and then some."

Stankiewicz is a bona fide wordsmith, having won the O. Henry Pun-Off in 2003 after being inspired by Eminem's gritty freestyle. "I had just seen 8 Mile and I was really inspired by Eminem. I was a candy wrapper. My trophy was a gold horse's ass. My daughter said, 'Mommy, maybe if you come back next year and you compete you'll get the other half!"

You can find Haiku Austin at BookPeople, Malvern Books, Waterloo Records, The Blanton Museum, and online at HaikuAustin.com.

Haiku Austin explores many facets of our city through poetry.

Haiku Austin book cover poetry Carlotta Eike Stankiewicz 2016

Photo by Carlotta Eike Stankiewicz

Haiku Austin explores many facets of our city through poetry.

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New

Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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