The subject of this interview is Tomás Ireland, a Chilean-Canadian freelance editor who has collaborated with publishers such as USACH Editorial, Editorial LOM, Cuarto Propio Editorial and Mago Editores. Recently, Tomás has started running his own editorial, Georgian Bay Books, “a non-profit initiative whose main focus is to help new authors who want to self-publish their literary work.” I met Tomás through an opportunity to illustrate one of his publications, a children’s book titled “Tommy, The Super Worm.” This allowed me to get to know him better and the history of his career as an Editor. Metallurgical engineer turned Editor/Publisher, Ireland’s career and passions are constantly evolving. His career began as a professor of metallurgy at Universidad Technical del Estado located in Chile, which led him to higher positions as Dean of Engineering and Vice-president of the university. The Universidad Technical del Estado was shut down by the 17-year military coup in Chile, starting in 1973, it is now known as Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH). His connection with Chilean publications alongside Canadian organizations allows for the unique dissemination of his works, which also influences the topics of his publications, often personal memoirs and historical recounts. Aside from his textual publications, Tomás has worked as a playwright, having written three plays as an engineering student at the Universidad Tecnica del Estado in Chile: “Los Cinco de la Pimiento” (The Five of the Pimiento Mine), “Roquerio” (Rockeries) and “Jaime y el Pascual” (James and Santa). His most recent play “A Man Called Pablo”, was presented at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in 2014. 

My biggest takeaway from this interview has been the inspiring story of Tomás’ non-linear growth. This is significant as it is something that I, alongside other students, struggle with; the fear of a stagnant, unfulfilling career. “One very important skill that a person develops through a formal education process is the capacity of analysis” which transformed this negative perception of education that I held into a drive to nurture these skills. As well as his note on the role of the editor, “The most important consideration, however, is to maintain a clear and expedite channel of communication with the authors at all times.” His reflections on his roles in publishing highlighted the complex intersections of his responsibilities.

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Interview of Tomás Ireland by Liv Cerda (transcript):

Q: What publishing houses or collectives have collaborated with in the past, which are you currently connected with? 

A: As you know, I had very close ties with Universidad Technical del Estado in Chile from where I graduated as a metallurgical engineer in 1962. Right after my graduation, I was offered the position of professor of metallurgy and then I occupied several directorial positions at the university including dean of engineering and also vice president of the university. 

This university no longer exists as such. Its name was changed and all its regional campuses along the country were closed by the military dictatorship that ruled the country for 17 years since the military coup in 1973. The Santiago campus of the Universidad Técnica del Estado is now known as Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH)

However, in recent years, I have re-established my connections with USACH, as I happen to know several officers of the university, in particular the chief editor of Editorial USACH. With this editorial, I have published three of my books in Chile: “Teatro Universitario”.2013 (University theatre), “Nuestro Cobre”. 2015 (Our Copper) and “La UTE vive” (The UTE is alive) 2017.

I have also established an excellent working association with Editorial LOM in Santiago with which I have published two more books in Santiago, Chile: “Romance de un Cantor” 2020 (Romance of a Singer) and “Una Barca Varada” 2020 (A beached boat). 

Also, with Cuarto Propio Editorial, we cooperated to publish in Chile the book “Mujeres y el golpe de Estado en Chile” (Women and the Coup d’Etat in Chile. 1973) and with Mago Editores, we published the book “Desarraigo” (Uprooting).

My association with these editorials in Chile has given me an excellent avenue to extend the scope of my editorial for publications of books in Chile from Canada.

Covers of books published at USACH Editorial. Santiago, Chile.

Q: When would you consider the beginning of your role as an editor? What sparked your interest in the world of publishing?

A: Despite the technical nature of my career I have always had a special interest in literature and theatre in particular. When I was an engineering student at the Universidad Tecnica del Estado in Chile, I wrote three plays: “Los Cinco de la Pimiento” (The Five of the Pimiento Mine), “Roquerio” (Rockeries) and “Jaime y el Pascual” (James and Santa). Two of these plays were presented by Teknos, the University theatre group, of which I was a founder.

Two of my early plays were also presented in Canada by Chilean groups. My most recent play “A Man Called Pablo”, based on the life of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, was presented in 2004, to celebrate the centennial of the poet’s birth date, to sold-out audiences at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. So my beginnings in the editorial field came as a natural continuation of my interest in literature and theatre.

Q: Has your role in the publishing community occasionally changed or have you been consistently focused on the editorial aspects?

A: My editorial, Georgian Bay Books, is an “after retirement” adventure and it is a non-profit initiative whose main focus is to help new authors who want to self-publish their literary work. The majority of the books that I have published are personal memoirs or historical recounts as shown in the attached Catalog of Publications. Only my last book “Una Barca Varada” is a personal incursion into the fiction realm. 

But still, the emphasis of the editorial is to help those new authors who want to bring to life cherished memories in their existence. A very special book in this regard was “Adelina. Crónicas de Una Vida” (Adelina, Chronicles of a Life). These memoirs were edited by one of Adelina’s sons, Alfonso Grau. In the introduction of the book, Alfonso says:

My mother took the trouble to tell us about her life in some handwritten pages that I rescued from among the few things she left after her departure. In them, she used to tell us, we will find the story of her life. To tell the truth, many of the things that she tells me there were known to me, others not or perhaps I had forgotten them. But reading these pages has allowed me to travel with her through her life and somehow fill the painful void left by her departure.

Q: As a result of your former career as an Engineer, and your educating roles at Universidad Técnica del Estado in Santiago, Chile, is there any part of this experience that you see translating into your work as an editor? (Perhaps through technical aspects, your area of focus in terms of book genres, etc.)

A: One very important skill that a person develops through a formal education process is the capacity for analysis. This is particularly true in the case of the engineering career. This has been a very important tool for me in the process of editing a written text. Here there is a unique opportunity to go over the text and bring together the ideas exposed and suggest organizational changes, chapter structure, chapter names, the inclusion of illustrations or photos, etc.

In the specific case of one of my books “Nuestro Cobre. Memorias de la Primera administración Chilena de la mina El Teniente” (Our Copper. Memoirs of the first Chilean Administration of El Teniente Mine), I was able to directly use my knowledge in the field of metallurgy to discuss certain technical aspects of the book.

Q: Are there any unexpected challenges you have had to overcome, whether throughout your creative process, during the production of a book or communication within the industry, any experiences you feel would benefit an aspiring editor? 

A: No question there are challenges. The most important consideration however is to maintain a clear and expedited channel of communication with the authors at all times. 

One of the books which were particularly challenging for me was “Mujeres y el Golpe de Estado en Chile” (Women and the Coup d’état in Chile.1973). The book was written by sixteen women whose lives were changed forever by the bloody military coup in Chile in 1973. Half the women authors were in Chile and the other half in Canada and the project included a simultaneous publication in Canada and Chile.

Maintaining the consistency of the editorial line was certainly a challenge. This required very careful coordination efforts on my part to avoid misunderstandings. But the purpose of the publication and the subject itself were so motivating, that kept the project going. There were however a couple of times when the project was a point of collapse with one or two authors wanting to remove their texts from the book. I discovered then that I had excellent diplomatic skills.

Q: What were a few of your favourite projects, what made them memorable to you?

A: Pedro Gutiérrez, an unforgettable friend no longer with us, devoted much of his time, after his retirement, to the study of the serious current problems of the environment. Seriously self-taught, he thoroughly investigated the roots of human actions that have resulted in profound changes on our planet. Thirty articles that Pedro Gutiérrez wrote were made available to me by his family. With these articles, I edited and published posthumously the book “La Pachamama herida” (The Hurt Mother Earth) in 2015.

Recently, Pedro’s family has shared a draft of another book that Pedro had written on the same subject, but this time written for children, titled “Tommy, the super worm.” I published this book last year with beautiful illustrations by Liv Cerda. These two books by my friend Pedro Gutierrez are very special to me.

Another book that made a deep impression on me, as an editor, was “The Mind Labyrinths. My Struggle with Schizophrenia” by Dianne Berkeley-Frenette. Dianne struggled with this terrible illness all her life, but that didn’t stop her from carrying on with her life, enrolling in post-graduate studies and obtaining a PhD in English. A very courageous woman!

As a reference, I am enclosing the catalogue of publications, including a DVD, and a picture with the covers of eight books recently published.

On a final note, I would like to say that I truly enjoy the process of editing and publishing a book. But the moment I enjoy most is the moment I deliver the first book to a new author. It is certainly a very special and magical moment. Our poet Pablo Neruda wrote these beautiful words in his memoirs:

…I don’t believe any craftsman except the writer, still shaken by the confusion of his dreams, ever experiences the ecstasy produced only once in his life, by the first object his hands have created. It’s a moment that will never come back. 

There will be many editions, more elaborate, more beautiful. His words will be poured into the glasses of other languages like a wine, to sing and spread its aroma to other places on this earth. But that moment when the first book appears with its ink fresh and it’s paper still crisp, that enchanted and ecstatic moment, with the sound of wings beating or the first flower opening on the conquered height, that moment…comes only once in the writer’s lifetime.

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CATALOG OF PUBLICATIONS

Ireland, Tomas. “Una Barca Varada”. Dec. 2020

Cristi, Marcela. “A brief History of Pandemics and Epidemics in Chile”. Oct. 2020

Gutierrez, Pedro. “Tommy. The super worm”. Tomas Ireland, editor. Oct. 2020

Cristi, Marcela. “Breve historia de las pandemias y epidemias en Chile”. Aug. 2020

Ferre, Adelina. “Adelina. Crónicas de una vida”. Alfonso Grau, editor. Jul. 2020

Ireland, Blanca; Ireland Viviana; Ireland, Tomas. “Romance de un cantor”. Dec.  2019. Also published with Editorial LOM, Santiago, Chile.

Ireland, Tomas. Editor “Mujeres y el Golpe de Estado en Chile. 1973”. Jun. 2019. Also published with Editorial Cuarto Propio, Chile.

Fornazzari, Ximena. “Desarraigo”. Nov. 2018. Also published with Mago Editores, Chile.

Berkeley-Frenette, Dianne. “The Mind Labyrinths. My Struggle with Schizophrenia”. Nov. 2018

McCrae, Susan. “Tony. A celebration of his life”. Jul. 2018

Ireland, Blanca; Ireland, Tomas. “Los Ireland de Chile”. Jan. 2018

Ireland, Tomas. “A Man Called Pablo”. Nov. 2017

Fornazzari, Ximena. “From Northern Chile to Canada. A Life Changing Journey”. Sep. 2017

Armani, David; Gormley, Louise. “Escape from Iran”. Feb. 2017

Higgins, Delwyn; Ireland, Tomas; LaPointe, Dianne; Smith, Doris. Editors. “Reflections of Dyers Bay”. Jun 2016

“Gutierrez, Pedro. “La Pachamama herida”. Apr. 2015 

Ireland, Tomas; Ireland, Thomas (Jr.). “Dyers Bay”. (DVD) Jan. 2011