Last night was the Devil's Night Reading which went very well. The students did a terrific job of decorating and organizing the readings. I dressed as Death and read Parker's "Résumé" and Lewis Carroll's "Brother and Sister" and Langston Hughes' "Request for Requiems" from Shrieks at Midnight.
"The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!" ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Last night was the Devil's Night Reading which went very well. The students did a terrific job of decorating and organizing the readings. I dressed as Death and read Parker's "Résumé" and Lewis Carroll's "Brother and Sister" and Langston Hughes' "Request for Requiems" from Shrieks at Midnight.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Publication: The Princess and Her Pig
The picture to the left is by the very wonderful Faye Durston, one of the featured illustrators. Check out her work at her site.
Labels:
fantasy,
folklore,
friends,
fun,
humor,
inspiration,
poetry,
publications,
silliness
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Devil's Night (almost!)
Also, my poem "Devil's Night" is among the submissions at the Guardian for Halloween poems. Feel free to stop by and recommend it (link on the right next to the poem): vote for me!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Podcast: Against a Wen
Run over to Radio Wombat for the latest podcast, the Anglo-Saxon metrical charm "Against a Wen." Hope you enjoy!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Need a Push?
I include the facetious image above because it has a good point -- if you've wanted to try writing a novel and have been intimidated by the fear that it won't be "good," NaNoWriMo offers the perfect opportunity to get over that fear. It's only a month, you'll give it a good try and you'll see how much you can do in that relatively small space of time.
What, it's not a masterpiece? So what?! That's what revision is for.
First drafts are lousy (believe me, I know). You go back and you improve the writing once you have it down. But you have to have something to revise. Need I remind you once again that I took part in the THREE DAY Novel Writing contest? You don't know what you can do until you jump off that cliff, flail your arms and give it a go.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Cake or Death?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I should have known better...
I can't tell if it's more perplexing to teach the same text at the same time with very different translations and aims (medieval lit for non-majors v. gender in medieval lit for sophomore majors) or the same text at different times -- so I always catch myself saying, "Did we already talk about this? No? Oh, well -- let me explain..."
My third class of the day -- the upper division one -- bears the brunt of this exhaustion and inevitable confusion. I'm always making them laugh as I get stuck stammering on a word, because suddenly I've lost the one following it as my mind races to check:
1) is this the right text?
2) have we already covered this?
3) am I confused because I said something similar in the previous class?
4) or was it in this class last week?
5) and now they're all staring at my sputtering and thinking I'm crazy!
I generally recover quickly (I can always vamp on just about any medieval topic for a fair space of time until I recall where we're supposed to be) but I'm beginning to think the Medieval Texts on Film class thinks they've signed on with a lunatic. Fair enough.
Nonetheless, it's better to have this embarrassment of riches (teaching the field I love and have been trained for) than to be stuck with the dread thousand year survey. In my last position, I had to cover the class that lumped together everything from early Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry to transitional Anglo-Norman texts to Chaucer and the late Middle Ages to Elizabethan drama to the English Civil War to Restoration drama and the roots of early journalism. In a semester!
It's like having a huge banquet and a half hour in which to eat it. You can cram your mouth with stuff, but you won't digest a lot of it and you won't even get to taste some of the signature dishes (I am so not going to teach Spenser! Just not qualified). You get the academic equivalent of heartburn.
Why do it? Often it springs from a desire to teach 'foundations', the explicit recognition that all writers stand on the shoulders of the giants who have come before. But it also devalues those foundations with the suggestion that a mere semester of running through that thousand years will sufficiently acquaint students with the complexities of these wildly varying texts and cultures. The often unspoken assumption is that the students can then be ready to move on to the 'important' (i.e. post-1800) texts -- argh! Medieval literature is not just 'background' for modern literature.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Clive in Chicago
He'll also be at a screening of Midnight Meat Train at the Music Box. The trailer does make it look like a slasher film, but the trailer's job is to sell it to a perceived audience. I hope it retains some of the mythic weight of the original story.
Thanks for the tip-off to Boing-Boing, Gene.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Review: Jonathan Richman @ Club Helsinki

What a treat to see him in such a tiny venue, too. It was our first trip to Great Barrington and to Club Helsinki. We happened to park in front of the famous local artist's shop, but she wasn't in. Naturally, we had spotted a bookstore and went to explore before getting some dinner at Siam Square. Their steamed dumplings were maybe the best I've had anywhere, but the entrees, although very flavourful, lacked the promised heat. I had chosen the three chili-rated Hot Basil beef and it was barely spicy at all. I guess it was Massachusetts "hot." We had a bottle of malbec that was delicious -- of course I forget the name but it had a cat on the label with very long legs.

Hilton Valentine opened for Richman and he was terrific. He did a few songs on his own (yes, including "House of the Rising Sun"), then added a bass for a couple more (including a song about his hometown, Newcastle). Then he was joined by the rest of the band and they went all skiffle doing Cliff's "Move it" and "20 Flight Rock" and encored with "Working Class Hero." The crowd ate it up enthusiastically.
I won a dollar waiting in line for the toilets.

I shook his hand at the end (like most of the people there). Small venues are so wonderful.

There was frost on the cars this morning as I went biking. I'll have to find my gloves soon, as pulling the sleeves of my hoodie down over my knuckles is no longer enough. It was also suicidal squirrel day with a good bit of unexpected dodging to keep me on my toes. The geese have horned their way into Buckingham Lake and the heron seemed perturbed, but the ducks didn't mind. All the green was covered with frost, though, so soon they'll be crisping. The ankle is slowly improving -- not quite back to normal, but it's getting stronger.
*Review linked (thanks!).
Friday, October 17, 2008
Publication: The Princess and her Pig
Also exciting -- it will be available by the end of the month, too! Yay! Usually I have to wait a long time to see things in print, so it's terrific not to have to wait too long.
Labels:
friends,
humor,
publications,
whimsy,
writing
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Too Much Writing
There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.
~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
~E.L. Doctorow
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
~Sylvia Plath
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not...Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter. As habit is more dependable than inspiration, continued learning is more dependable than talent... Finally, don't worry about imagination. You have all the imagination you need...Persist.
~Octavia Butler
I am a galley slave to pen and ink.
~Honore de Balzac
What a writer wants to do is not what he does.
~Jorge Luis Borges
I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.
~Gustave Flaubert
1. Find a subject you care about.
2. Do not ramble, though.
3. Keep it simple.
4. Have the guts to cut.
5. Sound like yourself.
6. Say what you mean to say.
7. Pity the readers.
~Kurt Vonnegut
I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die.
~Isaac Asimov
Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
~Tom Stoppard
Many red devils ran from my heart
And out upon the page,
They were so tiny
The pen could mash them.
And many struggled in the ink.
It was strange
To write in this red muck
Of things from my heart.
~Stephen Crane
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Albacon Wrap-up
This morning I was on the "creating your own language" panel; yes, another opportunity to trot out the list of languages I had to learn for my doctoral program. It all got silly right away because I emphasized the importance of colloquialisms, using as an example the Finnish swears that use "vittu" (a rather rude word roughly equivalent to "vagina"). I prefer to think of it as a teaching moment and not just a chance to be off-color. Of course, after all the tea I drank to wake myself up this morning, I had to run off in the middle of the panel, but I don't think they missed me much.
We grabbed a quick lunch in the bar (yum, salmon wrap!) then headed up to the "is academia destroying genre literature?" panel in time to argue "No!" All right, oversimplification, but the panel organizer had clearly had some unfortunate personal experiences that influenced his negative stance. I think that by the end of the session Gene and I both had convinced people that while, yes, there are terrible and incompetent instructors (as in any field), academia is not your enemy, reader!
While I lingered chatting with people after the panel, Gene hurried off for the manga panel. The day ended with the British tv program panel, which soon digressed hopelessly into beefs and raptures (as those last panels of the con tend to do). Not enough Torchwood dishing for me.
Got lots of compliments on my new purple locks :-) and best of all, tomorrow's a holiday -- whoo hoo! A chance to catch up...
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Albacon & Fall Colors

We had a short night at Albacon -- one panel for me on writing flash fiction. True to form, we cut the panel short (hee hee!). But I sold two copies of Jane Quiet at the end of it (slight upward blip in whuffie), so whoo hoo! We had some tasty ice cream at the ice cream social, but having both slept badly the night before, we went home early and watched the news before collapsing. More today at Albacon -- should be fun. There's free wireless in the hotel, so updates to Facebook likely.
The corset did its job: despite being on my feet all day and driving (a stick) for the first time in a month, there was very little swelling around the ankle. Yay! I even managed to find something to Sanrio-fy it, so that's good.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Bootless (but Corseted)

I was all pleased to be without the boot any longer, despite the swelling today (pushed things too much yesterday, I guess -- missing the whirlpool at physical therapy, sigh). But my trip to the orthopedist this morning resulted in another appliance, an ASO, which naturally I have already dubbed "the ankle corset" (nice lacing). Despite their claim that it "will fit in any type of shoe," it could not fit in the slip-on Sketchers, so I had to go home and get the Chuck Taylors.

Here's what it looks like all wrapped and ready to roll (minus the Chucks).

Happy Birthday, Dad!
Hope it's a beautiful day down your way, so you can cruise around in the 'Vette. Enjoy that birthday cake!
The rest of you, don't forget to imagine peace!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
A Slight Hitch
See you there!
Monday, October 06, 2008
Albacon & Reading
There have been changes in the Albacon schedule, most notably the loss of a GOH, but the show must go on. Here's my revised schedule:
In A Flash: The challenges and rewards of telling a story in under 1,000 words. Mead, Schwabach, Laity, Strock(M)
Fri 6:00 PM Beverwyck
Why write? It pays badly, you have to deal with constant rejection, and you spend your life typing. Why do you do it?
Laity(M), SGrotta, Spoor, Frederick, Flint, Hunt
Sat 5:00 PM Beverwyck
Implying other languages:
How do you make it seem like aliens are speaking other languages. Other than sprinkling in apostrophes, how do you make it seem like characters are speaking other languages? What tricks of syntax and grammar can be used to make aliens sound alien?
Rothman, Schoen(M), Laity, Mead, Sklar
Sun 11:00 AM Ballroom C/D
Saving science fiction from academia:
Nowadays science fiction Is being taught as literature and prediction, surely destroying joy and misinformaing readers. What can we to save SF from being studied to boredom?
finder, Halasz, Kannenberg, Miller, Laity(M)
Sun 1:00 PM Beverwyck
British SF Television – Why Are They So Good? What is it about British science fiction television shows that make them so appealing?
Fludd, Price(M), Laity, Lay
Sun 3:00 PM Schuyler
Reading: Don't forget to mark October 18th on your calendar. I will be reading from my new collection Unikirja at East Line Books. Maybe I'll bring one of the kanteles, too (or all of them!). Now that the heat's come on, I'll probably have a good bit of re-tuning to do, however.
In A Flash: The challenges and rewards of telling a story in under 1,000 words. Mead, Schwabach, Laity, Strock(M)
Fri 6:00 PM Beverwyck
Why write? It pays badly, you have to deal with constant rejection, and you spend your life typing. Why do you do it?
Laity(M), SGrotta, Spoor, Frederick, Flint, Hunt
Sat 5:00 PM Beverwyck
Implying other languages:
How do you make it seem like aliens are speaking other languages. Other than sprinkling in apostrophes, how do you make it seem like characters are speaking other languages? What tricks of syntax and grammar can be used to make aliens sound alien?
Rothman, Schoen(M), Laity, Mead, Sklar
Sun 11:00 AM Ballroom C/D
Saving science fiction from academia:
Nowadays science fiction Is being taught as literature and prediction, surely destroying joy and misinformaing readers. What can we to save SF from being studied to boredom?
finder, Halasz, Kannenberg, Miller, Laity(M)
Sun 1:00 PM Beverwyck
British SF Television – Why Are They So Good? What is it about British science fiction television shows that make them so appealing?
Fludd, Price(M), Laity, Lay
Sun 3:00 PM Schuyler
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Fiction/Non-Fiction
Narrating the tour is Tony, a fictional, but nonetheless authentic, native New Yorker born 50 years ago in Chelsea, an area of Manhattan not yet the hot, trendy neighborhood it is today. The tour is written from Tony’s point of view and is filled with his colorful, amusing and informative observations about his favorite city . . . and his favorite building.
Huh? I think I might like to be fictional yet authentic. Maybe I am -- who knows?
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Podcast: Devil's Night
Hop on over to Radio Wombat for the latest podcast, "Devil's Night" -- a little Halloween-themed poetry.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Stephen Fry in America
My hopes that Fry's visit to all 50 states for his documentary on this country would lead to 1) his no longer doing that quite terrible "Ammurrican" accent (leave it to your former partner, whose accent is superb) and 2) not portraying the nation as a circus of freaks, seem to be dashed by the teaser video at The Guardian. Despite his recognition that the vast expanses of the country assure a broad palette of differences, he sums up Americans as "very positive" but needing "a lot of encouragement" and the video highlights woodsy hunters in plaid, smearing themselves with deer dung, and colorful pagans in wild costumes at Samhain. Yep, Americans are wacky.
I had hoped that someone with Fry's intelligence would resist playing to the stereotypes, but who'd want to see a series on the States that suggests Americans differ as much from each other as they do from people in other countries? Apparently no one on BBC1. Sigh -- maybe the show will be better than the trailer, but I don't hold out much hope.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
October Country returns...
It's the time of year Dark's Carnival returns and you think, maybe this year you'll run away and join up. What could you do? Maybe a juggling act -- or performing as a geek, or maybe once you join you'll find that there's something weird about you that you never acknowledged before. Something that will make people stare, something that will provide a living as the carnival moves from town to town, old hands slipping away into the darkness as new recruits join up. Doesn't matter -- they've always been there, even if they just arrived last night.
The bonfire of dead autumn leaves perfumes the air. It's October again.
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