Jan Eliot got her start in the 1970's drawing for alternative newspapers in and around Eugene, Oregon, her weekly comic strips Patience and Sarah and Sister City focusing on the then-novel (for the funny pages) concepts of single moms and blended families. In the 1990's, her work was picked up by Universal Press Syndicate and became the daily strip Stone Soup, which eventually ran in 250 newspapers.
In honor of Jan's retirement from the daily comics grind in October 2020 (Stone Soup will continue to run in the Sunday funnies), we're replaying this 2006 interview between Jan and Words & Pictures hosts S.W. Conser and Bill Dodge. Even after a decade and a half of digital progress, these conversations around gender politics, affordable housing and education, and the importance of art and inspiration seem as fresh as ever.
This episode first aired on KBOO on 23 May 2006.
- KBOO