A Nation of Laws, Illustrated

I'd intended to write about something else entirely today, but then I discovered this dazzling, moving post* by Maira Kalman, titled "May It Please the Court."

It's about laws, justice, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and if that sounds dry to you, you haven't experienced Kalman's special magic. She's a writer, designer, and illustrator whose influences include Matisse and naive art, and a storyteller who understands intuitively how to balance words (rendered in her distinctive calligraphy) and images.

In this post, Kalman pauses on the steps of the Supreme Court to appreciate a visitor in a bright-pink coat, then goes inside.

In the court the lawyers are arguing cases that I kind of understand. But not really.

Not really is putting it mildly. But that is not the point.

It is all about language—the language of dissent.

And the search for meaning.

Keep scrolling to read the whole story, which is all on one long screen: scrolling is part of the treat. Eventually, Kalman interviews Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's a sweet, unexpectedly revealing portrait that touched me deeply. As did the whole post. Go read it now.

(Special thanks to Marla Erwin.)

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* I'm not convinced that "post" is the right word for what Kalman does here, but the New York Times categorizes it under "blogs," so I'll use the default term.

Comments

[Carolyn McMaster]

nancy, thanks for alerting me to this wonderful piece. I agree, "blog post" doesn't cover it.