David Cranmer's Blog, page 3

The Church at Auvers (1890) by Vincent van Gogh

The Church at Auvers, an 1890 oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. In a letter to his sister he revealed some of his creative process:

I have a larger picture of the village church — an effect in which the building appears to be violet-hued against a sky of simple deep blue colour, pure cobalt; the stained-glass windows appear as ultramarine blotches, the roof is violet and partly orange. In the foreground some green plants in bloom, and sand with the pink flow of sunshine in it. And once again it is nearly the same thing as the studies I did in Nuenen of the old tower and the cemetery, only it is probably that now the colour is more expressive, more sumptuous.

Trivia: And Doctor Who aficandoes are well aware what lurks behind those stained-glass windows.

Westerns, Poems, Hope

I'm doing a post for the Western Fictioneers blog on an old televison film about what happened to Ms. Etta Place, a Western enigma. That'll be coming up in a couple of weeks. Until then, I believe I haven't shared here the link to my last WF write up on Scott D. Parker's Empty Coffins novel. In the review, I also tease an upcoming project both Scott and I are working on (hint: Cash Laramie, Gideon Miles meet up with Calvin Carter).

Also, a couple poems of mine have been published at Punk Noir Magazine. These make a complete baker's dozen of my verse to be published over the last two years. Here are links to some of the others I'm partial to: 

Hugh Chaffin

The Long Return 

The Killing of Jamal Khashoggi 

The Inconsiderate 

Dead Burying the Dead

More importantly, thank you to all who've reached out to me about my Aunt Pat. She was recently taken off the ventilator and transferred to a rehab where they will try to wean her off the oxygen. She's not out of the woods yet but there's hope on the horizon.

My Aunt Pat

Everyone still washing hands, social distancing, and wearing a mask? Yeah, me too. The reality of COVID-19 has struck close to my family, again, with my Aunt Pat in the hospital with the virus and pneumonia. I have to tell you that my anger swells as I see so many people who continue to disregard preacautions that would help to stop the spread of this infectious disease because of their ignorant belief that wearing a mask is a political statement, or they have the idiotic notion this is no worse than the flu. Infuriating. But back to my Aunt Pat, if you have some extra room in your prayers or good vibes, please send them her way. She's a wonderful, caring person with a special warmth, flair, and grace. She and my mother were born in Guyana and came to the US at different times in their lives to raise their families, and they both showed a great love for this country.

Poets Who Bled on the Page | LitReactor

Poets Who Bled on the Page | LitReactor

The Nightmare (1781) by Henry Fuseli

A 1781 oil painting by Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) influenced many writers like William Blake, Mary Shelley, and Edgar Allan Poe whose narrator in "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) says, 

An irrepressible tremour gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm. Shaking this off with a gasp and a struggle, I uplifted myself upon the pillows, and, peering earnestly within the intense darkness of the chamber, hearkened --I know not why, except that an instinctive spirit prompted me --to certain low and indefinite sounds which came, through the pauses of the storm, at long intervals, I knew not whence. Overpowered by an intense sentiment of horror, unaccountable yet unendurable, I threw on my clothes with haste (for I felt that I should sleep no more during the night), and endeavoured to arouse myself from the pitiable condition into which I had fallen, by pacing rapidly to and fro through the apartment.

According to Wikipedia, "Poe and Fuseli shared an interest in the subconscious; Fuseli is often quoted as saying, 'One of the most unexplored regions of art are dreams.'"

Close To The Bone

Four new poems, of mine, are published at the Close To The Bone webzine. Many thanks to this outstanding publishing team, and, especially, poetry editor Stephen J. Golds. 

"The Replacement" by Nikki Dolson

I've published the latest Nikki Dolson (ALL THINGS VIOLENT, LOVE AND OTHER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR) short story called "The Replacement" over at the BEAT to a PULP webzine. If you've never read Ms. Dolson, you are in for a treat. The rest of you, I'm positive, have already clicked away to read. 

Modern Western Films Written Better Than Ever

Modern Western Films Written Better Than Ever

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" (c. 1818) by Caspar David Friedrich. One of my favorite oil paintings. From Wikipedia: “He looks down on an almost impenetrable sea of fog in the midst of a rocky landscape - a metaphor for life as an ominous journey into the unknown.” This iconic image is one of the inspirations for the latest series of poems that I’ve written, that will be appearing at the Close to The Bone webzine October 31st.

Close to The Bone