Mary Soon Lee's Blog, page 18

Strange Horizons

I am very happy to report that Strange Horizons has accepted my poem "The Sign of the King."

This is a double milestone. It's my first sale to Strange Horizons, after over two years of trying. And the poem itself is the very end of my epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon. (Not that I am done working on the project; I estimate that I have two months of revisions left to do.)

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review

My poem "Captain" appeared earlier this month in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. It's a poem from the perspective of Li, one of King Xau's guards, and may be read at: http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/2016/0...

Worldcon

I'm sitting in the airport, waiting with my daughter for the flight home after Worldcon. I had a good time, went to panels, was on other panels, watched the Masquerade with Lucy (my aforementioned daughter), and participated in a speculative poetry reading.

The highlight for me was attending other authors' readings. I was able to hear both Elizabeth Moon and David Brin, both of whom are authors I liked even before I moved to Pittsburgh (i.e. a long time ago). And I heard an excellent reading by Ken Liu, whose translation of The Three-Body Problem I had read, but whose own fiction I had not. Immediately after the reading, I ordered his fantasy novel, The Grace of Kings. And I thoroughly enjoyed readings by two authors I've only recently encountered (and whose work I've been enjoying), L. E. Modesitt and Scott Lynch.

Poetry Nook

I'm happy to report that my poem Night won the latest weekly contest at Poetry Nook. This is my third time to win one of their weekly contests, and I greatly appreciate their generosity (offering a $100 prize with no entry fee).

"Night" was first published in Ship of Fools, and is a poem about the aftermath of King Xau's first war, as seen from the perspective of his wife, Queen Shazia.

Worldcon + Apex Magazine

My poem Not Like This is online in the latest issue of Apex Magazine. It's a King Xau poem in a heroic vein.

And in case any one reading this will be at Worldcon (MidAmericon II) in a couple of weeks, here is my schedule:

Mars Needs Poets panel, Thursday 11:00 - 12:00, Room 2205
- Let's talk science fiction and fantasy poetry! Where can you find it? Who's writing it? What pieces do we love? And how is science fiction changing the landscape of modern poetry?
- Jim Davidson (M), Mary Soon Lee, Rose Lemberg, Frederick Turner, Dr. Mary A. Turzillo Ph.D., Jo Walton

Spec Fic Poets: A Group Reading, Friday 12:00 - 13:00, Room 2203
- Eight speculative fiction poets come together in this fun and engaging reading as they perform their work in their own unique styles.
- Frederick Turner, Michael Substelny, Mr. Robin Wayne Bailey, Mary Soon Lee, Jim Davidson, Symantha Reagor (M), Bogi Takács, Erin Wilcox

Beta Readers, Friday 13:00 - 14:00, Room 2206
- What is the best way to choose beta readers, and when are they most useful? Our panel discuss how to get the best out of beta readers, who to avoid and how to deal with their critique.
- Mr. Eric James Stone, Martin L. Shoemaker, Mary Soon Lee, Shanna Swendson (M), Sharon Bass

Autographing, Saturday 12:00 - 13:00, Autographing Space
- William Ledbetter, Mary Soon Lee, Sunil Patel, Courtney Schafer, Howard Tayler

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review

My poem Widow has appeared in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. "Widow" is a poem from the perspective of King Xau's sister.

It's my twenty-fourth poem to appear at Songs of Eretz Poetry Review--the other twenty-three can be unearthed using their search tab.

Eye to the Telescope

My poem "Stepmother" is included in the new issue of Eye to the Telescope.

The issue contains many fine poems and several that I loved. My favorites include Herb Kauderer's bitter-toned "Ambassador to the Amazons," John Reinhart's evocative and lyrical "Exotic Heads Trimmed Neatly," Sara Backer's clever, and, in its closing stanza, haunting "Jack."

My favorite of all was John C. Mannone's "Emancipation," which is beautifully written, specific in its details, and universal in its theme.

Worldcon + Confluence + Hemingway's

I have several upcoming author appearances.

I will be at MidAmericon II (the 74th Worldcon) in August and will be on the "Mars Needs Poets" panel at 11 am on Thursday the 18th and the "Beta Readers" panel at 1 pm on Friday the 19th. I am particularly glad that both Mary Turzillo and Jo Walton will be on the poetry panel: Mary Turzillo because I already know her and she will be a friendly face, and Jo Walton because her novel "Among Others" is one of my favorite books. Information on MidAmericon II is at https://midamericon2.org/

And I will be at Confluence (the annual Pittsburgh SF/F/H conference) in two weeks. I'm scheduled for 5 panels, a Kaffeeklatsch on dragons with Andi O'Connor, an autograph session, and a reading with Timons Esaias at 1 pm on Sunday. Information on Confluence is at http://parsec-sff.org/confluence/

Lastly, in 5 days time, on Tuesday 7/19/2016 at 8 pm, I will be one of the readers at the Hemingway's Poetry Series in Pittsburgh, a summer poetry series that has been running for over 40 years. Coincidentally I will again be reading with Timons Esaias (plus Charlie Brice, Jay Carson, Ann Curran, and Judith Robinson). Information on Hemingway's is at http://hemingwayspoetryseries.blogspo...

Poem in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I am very happy that my poem "Why the King Wept" is in today's edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette has an excellent tradition of publishing a poem every Saturday, and this is the fifteenth time that I've appeared there.

"Why the King Wept" first appeared in Uppagus earlier this year. It may now be read online either at Uppagus or, with extra blank lines, at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Iliad

I am reading "The Iliad" aloud to my 17-year-old son for about 10 minutes a day. It is many, many years since I last read "The Iliad," so it is almost like reading it for the first time. Only better, because I'm sharing it with William.