Photos by Jon Gilbert Fox

In his newest collection, Koren. In the Wild, released by Button Street Press in October, The New Yorker cartoonist Edward Koren illustrates country life, city folk, and the ironies of living in the sticks.

Edward Koren’s long association with The New Yorker has resulted in more than 1,100 cartoons, numerous covers, and many illustrations. He is also a contributor to other publications, has written and illustrated several children’s books, and has illustrated many more in various genres.

His roots go deep in New York City and Vermont, where he lives with his family and has served on the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department for 30 years. In 2007, he received the Vermont Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and served a three-year term as Vermont’s second Cartoonist Laureate (Vermont is the only state to boast such a designation).

Ed Koren was born in New York City and attended the Horace Mann School and Columbia University. His graduate work took him to Paris, where he worked in etching and engraving with S.W. Hayter at Atelier 17. He earned his MFA at Pratt Institute and was on the Brown University faculty for many years.

City life and country life are woven together in Ed’s work. As he writes in his Artist Notes for his exhibition at Columbia University:

“What captures my attention is all the human theater around me. I can never quite believe my luck in stumbling upon riveting mini-dramas taking place within earshot (and eyeshot), a comedy of manners that seems inexhaustible. And to be always undercover makes my practice of deep noticing even more delicious. I can take in all the details as long as I appear inattentive. . . All kinds of wonderful moments of comedy happen right under my nose. My low expectations are never disappointed, or, as Lily Tomlin has observed, “No matter how cynical I get, I can never keep up.”

Ed Koren’s cartoons, drawings, and prints have been exhibited in shows across the United States and in France, England, and Czechoslovakia. In 2010, a major retrospective of his work was exhibited at Columbia University’s Wallach Gallery and was at the University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum in summer 2011.

Country or city dweller, readers will enjoy Ed’s humor and his creatures. In Koren. In the Wild, created from his Vermont porch, he has fun with vegetarians, parenting, animals, gourmands, country stores, and more—all examined with his unique perspective, style, and creativity. For more information, visit www.edwardkoren.com and buttonstreetpress.com.