Eleanor Arnason's Blog, page 10
April 10, 2016
Hwarhath Collection Review
Timmi Duchamp sent me this review from Publishers Weekly:
Eleanor Arnason (A Woman of the Iron People) rewards her loyal readers with this long-awaited collection of her celebrated stories about the alien hwarhath, written from the perspective of a cultural anthropologist. Each story explores a slightly different aspect of the fictional race and its distant world. Arnason perfectly captures the dry, patient scholarly tone used in folklore translations as she tells the hwarhath’s creation stories and their version of the Adam and Eve myth. She explores in far more detail the hwarhath’s peculiar (yet recognizable) attitudes toward sex, love, and procreation across several stories featuring related characters, which craft a fascinating historical story arc. Arnason’s aliens are almost uniformly bisexual, and forbidden from engaging in heterosexual love beyond what’s needed for procreation. This behavior allows Arnason to adapt timeless folkloric tropes to her own modern, progressive, and wholly original reality, which comes alive in her precise, classically beautiful prose. Most of the stories were published separately in the 1990s, and they stand up impressively well today. Those seeking a scholarly approach to speculative fiction will devour this idiosyncratic collection. (May)
April 9, 2016
Hwarhath Stories
Jonathan Strahan:
Aqueduct Press is publishing Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens in May and you can pre-order it now and I hope you will. Why? These stories are some of the best and most interesting anthropological SF I've some across (Russell Letson has some really smart things to say about her work in the next Locus), and you're really missing out if you don't pick it up. It's one of the collections of the year, and some of the best reading around.
Gary Wolfe:
Agreed. And it was revealing to see these stories together, where the connections between them become more clear.
Gardner Dozois:
Best collection of the year so far
Rich Horton:Definitely the collection of the year so far!
These are four wonderful editors/critics. So often publishing stories is like dropping stones down a well. You wait and wait for the splash, but it never comes. But now I have four splashes -- five, when I count Russell Letson's review, which I have not yet seen.
Aqueduct Press is publishing Hwarhath Stories: Transgressive Tales by Aliens in May and you can pre-order it now and I hope you will. Why? These stories are some of the best and most interesting anthropological SF I've some across (Russell Letson has some really smart things to say about her work in the next Locus), and you're really missing out if you don't pick it up. It's one of the collections of the year, and some of the best reading around.
Gary Wolfe:
Agreed. And it was revealing to see these stories together, where the connections between them become more clear.
Gardner Dozois:
Best collection of the year so far
Rich Horton:Definitely the collection of the year so far!
These are four wonderful editors/critics. So often publishing stories is like dropping stones down a well. You wait and wait for the splash, but it never comes. But now I have four splashes -- five, when I count Russell Letson's review, which I have not yet seen.
Cleaning Shelves
Today is cleaning bookcases. Take out books, dust them, dust the shelves, put the books back. Over and over and over. I don't expect to finish today. When I get tired, I will go to the coffee shop and work on the last unrevised story. Then -- thank goodness -- I can get serious about the new work. House cleaning and cleaning up stories. So much fun.
*
The books I've kept through many moves are important in one way or another. I pull out a book by my father on the art of Conrad Marca-Relli and remember things Marca-Relli said in the 1960s. He was a clever man.
*
Two shelves took an hour. At this rate, the living room will take ten hours, and one bedroom three hours. I will not get done today, especially since so much of my life is in these books. I have to stop and look and remember.
*
Confucius. I haven’t read him for a long time. Tu Fu. Li Po. Han Shan. I've never read The Water Margin. (That was the East Asian shelf.)
*
The books I've kept through many moves are important in one way or another. I pull out a book by my father on the art of Conrad Marca-Relli and remember things Marca-Relli said in the 1960s. He was a clever man.
*
Two shelves took an hour. At this rate, the living room will take ten hours, and one bedroom three hours. I will not get done today, especially since so much of my life is in these books. I have to stop and look and remember.
*
Confucius. I haven’t read him for a long time. Tu Fu. Li Po. Han Shan. I've never read The Water Margin. (That was the East Asian shelf.)
April 1, 2016
Lead In
This is a lead in to three posts on aging.
First, from facebook:
When I say aging is an issue that needs to be talked about, I am not defining the old as white, straight, male and cis. Old is old. Past a certain age (the age varies in according to culture) everyone is an elder or dead.
Some of what follows is obvious. Sorry about that. Like the mills of God, my brain grinds slowly...
First, from facebook:
Aging is not a fun topic, and it's not very science fictional. In SF aging has been cured, and in fantasy we have ageless elves and ancient, wise, powerful wizards who do not seem to suffer from arthritis or hearing problems...Second, I hate the term 'intersectional.' It sounds like awful jargon to me. BUT aging is intersectional. Many old people are women. Many are people of color. Many are disabled. Many are GLBT. Every human group except children and the young can find members among the old.
When I say aging is an issue that needs to be talked about, I am not defining the old as white, straight, male and cis. Old is old. Past a certain age (the age varies in according to culture) everyone is an elder or dead.
Some of what follows is obvious. Sorry about that. Like the mills of God, my brain grinds slowly...
Old Age 1
I am 73 going on 74. I think that makes me officially old, and I don't entirely enjoy the experience. Right now, my health is good. I feel strong, though I get tired more easily than I used to. But I can see mortality in front of me. The poet Andrew Marvel saw it as a vast desert. I see it as a wall, closing off the future.
The life expectancy for US women is 81. The life expectancy for Minnesota women is 83. That is beginning to look close. I read somewhere years ago that Americans who retire at 65 can expect ten years of good health. Then the illnesses of old age begin to appear. 75 looks really close.
Of course, these are all averages. What about my family? How long-lived were they?
I have already lived longer than my mother did. My father lived to 77. Two of my mother's sisters lived until their late 80s, clear of mind, but with physical problems. Her third sister lived to 93, but had a stroke in her early 80s. Her last ten years were not especially happy.
The three great problems of Buddhism -- the ones that sent the Buddha on his lifelong quest -- are old age, sickness and death. How do we come to terms with these? The Buddha found a solution. The problem, he said, is attachment. If you can learn to let go, you can deal with the inevitable evils of human life. Unfortunately, I am not a Buddhist.
However, I do find that part of aging is coming to terms with attachment. You adjust your plans to reality. I do, anyway. What do I want to do in the near future? How can I enjoy the present?
I still resent that wall. I'm a science fiction writer, after all. I have lived my entire life toward the future.
So this is one problem. I am running out of time. I suspect that a cure for aging will be found, and the rich will enjoy it. But it won't be found in time for me, and I am not rich.
The life expectancy for US women is 81. The life expectancy for Minnesota women is 83. That is beginning to look close. I read somewhere years ago that Americans who retire at 65 can expect ten years of good health. Then the illnesses of old age begin to appear. 75 looks really close.
Of course, these are all averages. What about my family? How long-lived were they?
I have already lived longer than my mother did. My father lived to 77. Two of my mother's sisters lived until their late 80s, clear of mind, but with physical problems. Her third sister lived to 93, but had a stroke in her early 80s. Her last ten years were not especially happy.
The three great problems of Buddhism -- the ones that sent the Buddha on his lifelong quest -- are old age, sickness and death. How do we come to terms with these? The Buddha found a solution. The problem, he said, is attachment. If you can learn to let go, you can deal with the inevitable evils of human life. Unfortunately, I am not a Buddhist.
However, I do find that part of aging is coming to terms with attachment. You adjust your plans to reality. I do, anyway. What do I want to do in the near future? How can I enjoy the present?
I still resent that wall. I'm a science fiction writer, after all. I have lived my entire life toward the future.
So this is one problem. I am running out of time. I suspect that a cure for aging will be found, and the rich will enjoy it. But it won't be found in time for me, and I am not rich.
Old Age 2
The second problem with aging is this society. Some cultures -- I'm mostly thinking of Native Americans -- respect elders and feel they are valuable. This is not true of mainstream white America. This society values production and consumption. The old are seen as unproductive and parasitic. They use resources and give nothing back.
In point of fact, the resources they use -- Social Security, pensions, Medicare, savings -- are ones they earned by working. You may not realize it, but Social Security is entirely financed by payroll taxes and interest on those accumulated taxes. No general revenue money goes to support the elderly. Medicare Part B is paid for by the people who use it. Medicare Part A is largely paid for by payroll taxes. If payroll taxes were slightly raised, Medicare could be entirely self-funding.
The old are not parasites. And why should it matter? Society owes every member a decent life. If society doesn't come through, we need to blame the government, not those in need.
A lot of retired people are caring for spouses and family members: grandkids, disabled children, siblings, even parents. If they didn't do this, society would have to.
There is also community work and volunteer work. A lot of this is done by retired people, and it needs to be done, if society is going to keep running. (Ever noticed the ages of election judges? That's an important job.)
Of course, a society based on money does not value unpaid work. That does not make this work valueless or unnecessary. I would argue that the old are often productive.
The old consume. I know that sounds icky, but 70% of the economy is based on consumer spending. Without people buying goods and services, our society grinds to a halt. (We can imagine a society without getting and spending and laying waste our powers, but we don't have it.) (And imaging a society without making and exchanging is actually pretty hard.)
For the most part, elders are not saving for the future. They -- along with the poor -- are laying out cash for food and shelter and other necessities.The money they get goes right back into society.
It's a commonplace of economic theory that money going to the poorest sections of society does the most to power the economy, because it all gets spent. If a society gives its money to the rich, it will slowly wind down, due to lack of demand. This is what's happening in the US and Europe right now.
Maybe I don't have to make this justification of the old as productive members of society. But I feel I have to, and that says something. I don't think it's saying something about me.
In point of fact, the resources they use -- Social Security, pensions, Medicare, savings -- are ones they earned by working. You may not realize it, but Social Security is entirely financed by payroll taxes and interest on those accumulated taxes. No general revenue money goes to support the elderly. Medicare Part B is paid for by the people who use it. Medicare Part A is largely paid for by payroll taxes. If payroll taxes were slightly raised, Medicare could be entirely self-funding.
The old are not parasites. And why should it matter? Society owes every member a decent life. If society doesn't come through, we need to blame the government, not those in need.
A lot of retired people are caring for spouses and family members: grandkids, disabled children, siblings, even parents. If they didn't do this, society would have to.
There is also community work and volunteer work. A lot of this is done by retired people, and it needs to be done, if society is going to keep running. (Ever noticed the ages of election judges? That's an important job.)
Of course, a society based on money does not value unpaid work. That does not make this work valueless or unnecessary. I would argue that the old are often productive.
The old consume. I know that sounds icky, but 70% of the economy is based on consumer spending. Without people buying goods and services, our society grinds to a halt. (We can imagine a society without getting and spending and laying waste our powers, but we don't have it.) (And imaging a society without making and exchanging is actually pretty hard.)
For the most part, elders are not saving for the future. They -- along with the poor -- are laying out cash for food and shelter and other necessities.The money they get goes right back into society.
It's a commonplace of economic theory that money going to the poorest sections of society does the most to power the economy, because it all gets spent. If a society gives its money to the rich, it will slowly wind down, due to lack of demand. This is what's happening in the US and Europe right now.
Maybe I don't have to make this justification of the old as productive members of society. But I feel I have to, and that says something. I don't think it's saying something about me.
Old Age 3
Ursula LeGuin has said that as she aged, she has felt herself disappearing. People no longer see her, because old ladies are invisible. This is an amazing statement. For heaven's sake, if LeGuin isn't visible, then who is?
I don't feel I have vanished. But I have always talked a lot, and people find it hard to ignore me. At most, I feel I am treated with a slightly patronizing kindness. "Isn't she a sweet old lady?" People are more likely to pat me. This could bother me, but it doesn't. I take kindness where I can find it.
Still, I don't feel that elders are taken seriously in this society. When we look at the media, we see young people. Women especially are young. (I know this is sexism, but it is also prejudice against the aging.)
14% of the US population is over 65. That's one in seven people. When we watch a movie or a TV show, do we see this?
The old we do see are frequently old-of-date and comic. "Get off my lawn!"
I had a conversation with a friend at Minicon this year. She has been trying to talk about aging on social media. The people she was conversing with were perfectly happy to talk about race issues, GLBT issues, disability issues -- but they dismissed the problems of the aging. Most of the people in the conversation were straight, white, and cis. They did not have the problems they were so willing to address.
But we all get old. Facing the problems of the old means facing problems that everyone will have, unless they die young. My friend argued that it is a lot easier to feel good about supporting minorities in their struggles. Facing one's own mortality is hard.
This is an interesting argument. I'm not sure it's right, but I am going to think about it.
I had an experience on facebook which sort of confirms my friend. I was trying to talk about getting old. I wrote that the elderly are often, in this society, told that they are unproductive and should die and get out of the way. I said that this happened to the old more often than to other groups.
"No," another person said. "It also happens to the disabled."
"Well," I said. "The old are often dealing with disabilities, so the difference between the old and the disabled is not great."
The person I was conversing with then said, "And GLBT people are also told to die and get out of the way."
I thought to myself, this is not a contest, and ended the conversation.
I don't know what the person I talking with thought she was saying. I heard her as saying my problems were not important. I should be worrying about all those other people. And I should shut up.
This is what LeGuin means (I think) when she says the old are vanished.
I don't feel I have vanished. But I have always talked a lot, and people find it hard to ignore me. At most, I feel I am treated with a slightly patronizing kindness. "Isn't she a sweet old lady?" People are more likely to pat me. This could bother me, but it doesn't. I take kindness where I can find it.
Still, I don't feel that elders are taken seriously in this society. When we look at the media, we see young people. Women especially are young. (I know this is sexism, but it is also prejudice against the aging.)
14% of the US population is over 65. That's one in seven people. When we watch a movie or a TV show, do we see this?
The old we do see are frequently old-of-date and comic. "Get off my lawn!"
I had a conversation with a friend at Minicon this year. She has been trying to talk about aging on social media. The people she was conversing with were perfectly happy to talk about race issues, GLBT issues, disability issues -- but they dismissed the problems of the aging. Most of the people in the conversation were straight, white, and cis. They did not have the problems they were so willing to address.
But we all get old. Facing the problems of the old means facing problems that everyone will have, unless they die young. My friend argued that it is a lot easier to feel good about supporting minorities in their struggles. Facing one's own mortality is hard.
This is an interesting argument. I'm not sure it's right, but I am going to think about it.
I had an experience on facebook which sort of confirms my friend. I was trying to talk about getting old. I wrote that the elderly are often, in this society, told that they are unproductive and should die and get out of the way. I said that this happened to the old more often than to other groups.
"No," another person said. "It also happens to the disabled."
"Well," I said. "The old are often dealing with disabilities, so the difference between the old and the disabled is not great."
The person I was conversing with then said, "And GLBT people are also told to die and get out of the way."
I thought to myself, this is not a contest, and ended the conversation.
I don't know what the person I talking with thought she was saying. I heard her as saying my problems were not important. I should be worrying about all those other people. And I should shut up.
This is what LeGuin means (I think) when she says the old are vanished.
March 28, 2016
Spring
I am not good on bird songs. But in the winter I mostly hear the chirp-chirp of sparrows and maybe a crow cawing. Now, at the end of March, I hear trills and warbles. Birds are arriving from the south: robins and finches and I don't know what else.
Foxessa
By the way, I hear very good things about your new book.
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