Employee Cover Model of the Month: Stephanie Polukis
Name: Stephanie
Polukis
Nicknames:
Steph, Sippy Cup
Job at
PH: Writer and Editor
Book
Cover She’s Featured On: Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic
edition of The Scarlet Letter, with Art Direction/Photography by Larry Knox
Favorite
Word(s)/Catch Phrases: “Hey, I’ve got a weird question for ya…”
Favorite
Book: Jane Eyre
Favorite
Children’s Book: The Harry Potter series
Favorite Under-Taught Book: Les Miserables
Favorite Author: It’s a tie between Jane Austen and
Charlotte Brontë
Favorite Poem: “Crossing Brooklyn
Ferry” by Walt Whitman
Favorite
Movie Based on a Book: The 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice
Favorite
Food: Pad Thai
Favorite PH Product: AP Teaching Units
Favorite Literary Quote: "It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with
tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find
it."—Charlotte Brontë
One
Random Fact: My ultimate goal in life is to write a vampire
novel of literary merit—something dark, grotesque, and passionate, which takes
the genre back to its historic, Eastern European roots.
Thoughts about the Photo Shoot: It’s a funny story how I became
the cover model for The Scarlet Letter,
and I think it’s worth sharing: One afternoon, Larry and I were chatting in the
café about the Winterthur Museum, and he remarked that one of the mansion’s
balconies would be perfect for the new Romeo
and Juliet cover. However, he needed to find two people willing to model. I
jokingly volunteered to play Juliet, and Larry, being completely serious, said,
“Maybe not Juliet, but you know what? I think you’d be perfect for The Scarlet Letter.”
Sheesh. Thanks
a lot, Larry!
We shot
the cover in a nearby state park, and it was a gorgeous autumn evening.
Initially, I felt a bit embarrassed walking around a public place in a costume,
but I felt more awkward when I realized that nobody seemed to notice or
care. There was a girls’ high school
track team practicing near where we were shooting, and not a single girl was fazed
by the fact that there was a Puritan walking around the park. It sort of made
me wonder…
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Read more from artist, Larry Knox at Peripheral Visions
