R.B. Lemberg's Blog, page 41
October 24, 2011
Help my friend Beez save a bird!
I'm reposting this from Beez; comments should go to his LJ.
ETA: we managed to narrow it down to 'some kind of baby kingfisher' :)
----------------------------------------
Originally posted by![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380451598i/2033940.gif)
scriitor
at Help me identify this bird?I guess this post is primarily for my Australian bird-watching contacts (yeah, I don't know if I have any either). I just picked up this (possibly) injured bird hopping around my yard. It's about budgie sized, might be a baby. Is has bluey-green and black feathers, the green feathers have a real satiny-sheen to them. It also has a really long beak that it's not afraid of using.
I obviously have no clue what to feed it. I'm hoping its distinctive beak might give a clue?
ETA: we managed to narrow it down to 'some kind of baby kingfisher' :)
----------------------------------------
Originally posted by
scriitor
at Help me identify this bird?I guess this post is primarily for my Australian bird-watching contacts (yeah, I don't know if I have any either). I just picked up this (possibly) injured bird hopping around my yard. It's about budgie sized, might be a baby. Is has bluey-green and black feathers, the green feathers have a real satiny-sheen to them. It also has a really long beak that it's not afraid of using.I obviously have no clue what to feed it. I'm hoping its distinctive beak might give a clue?
October 23, 2011
facedesk x 3
So, pondering which poem(s) to read at WFC, I realized that this year I wrote/published numeric poems. Revolving around the number three.
THREE bone masks
In the THIRD cycle
THREE immigrations
THIRTEEN principles of faith
(ded nao)
THREE bone masks
In the THIRD cycle
THREE immigrations
THIRTEEN principles of faith
(ded nao)
Reminder: #FeministSF chat on twitter with wyld_dandelyon...
Reminder: #FeministSF chat on twitter with wyld_dandelyon and myself (topic is feminist specpo) begins on the hour (1pm central).
October 21, 2011
Slavic music mini-series #8: Musings before WFC
This is from a terrific Russian folk group Ivan Kupala, using traditional folk songs and traditional folk instruments and dress.
Text:
Great Day (=Easter Holiday) is coming,
and I have nothing to wear,
only an undyed overshirt
and it's heavy
and I have nothing to wear,
only an undershirt
and that only reaches my belly button!
Enough with the misfortune already,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
there'll be fiddles and bagpipes.
Great Day is coming,
and I have nothing to wear,
birch-bark shoes
is all I have for a [holiday] dress!
Enough with the misfortune already,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
there'll be fiddles and bagpipes,
there'll be young jesters,
there'll be Darya and Marya.
Well, this is because I totally have nothing to wear for WFC. A combination of not caring about dress, wearing a plus size, and not having money to shop for stuff. On the plus side, I have good shoes, which is much better than not having good shoes.
What will the weather be like in WFC?
Text:
Great Day (=Easter Holiday) is coming,
and I have nothing to wear,
only an undyed overshirt
and it's heavy
and I have nothing to wear,
only an undershirt
and that only reaches my belly button!
Enough with the misfortune already,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
there'll be fiddles and bagpipes.
Great Day is coming,
and I have nothing to wear,
birch-bark shoes
is all I have for a [holiday] dress!
Enough with the misfortune already,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
Let's go walking up and down the street,
there'll be fiddles and bagpipes,
there'll be young jesters,
there'll be Darya and Marya.
Well, this is because I totally have nothing to wear for WFC. A combination of not caring about dress, wearing a plus size, and not having money to shop for stuff. On the plus side, I have good shoes, which is much better than not having good shoes.
What will the weather be like in WFC?
Poetry Reading at WFC -
Dear poets and friends,
There will be a poetry open-mic session at WFC next weekend, hosted by
rose_lemberg
(yes, that's me).
The reading will begin at 9pm on Saturday. The room is Pacific 6/7. We have a two-hour slot.
During this session, the Rhysling award will be presented to![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380468642i/3017852.png)
csecooney
(the indomitable
samhenderson
will do the honors), and Claire will read her award-winning poem, "The Sea King's Second Bride."
This reading is unaffiliated with any organization. Everyone is welcome.
If you are a poet and plan to come, or know of other poets who will attend WFC, please let me know. If you'd like to read and go earlier/later for whatever reason (such as health, A conflicting reading/party, etc), please also let me know so we can figure this out.
Hope to see you there! It's going to be so much fun.
There will be a poetry open-mic session at WFC next weekend, hosted by
rose_lemberg
(yes, that's me).The reading will begin at 9pm on Saturday. The room is Pacific 6/7. We have a two-hour slot.
During this session, the Rhysling award will be presented to
csecooney
(the indomitable
samhenderson
will do the honors), and Claire will read her award-winning poem, "The Sea King's Second Bride."This reading is unaffiliated with any organization. Everyone is welcome.
If you are a poet and plan to come, or know of other poets who will attend WFC, please let me know. If you'd like to read and go earlier/later for whatever reason (such as health, A conflicting reading/party, etc), please also let me know so we can figure this out.
Hope to see you there! It's going to be so much fun.
October 20, 2011
Held Close in Syllables of Light: the official announcement.
"Held Close in Syllables of Light," my clockpunk novelette set in Birdverse, just went live at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It features three queer characters, secondary world Jews, automata, magic, and a curious mechanical box. It is a part of my novel in progress, The Earthkeepers.
Incoherent babblings about the novelette are at my livejournal blog.
Originally published at RoseLemberg.net. You can comment here or there.
Birdverse is here!
I'll post an official short announcement later in the day. Yes, twice, because it is such a big deal for me.
“Held Close in Syllables of Light” is up at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Meanwhile, a megillah for those of you interested in such things.
upstart_crow ) suggested I might write something for her Steam Powered II anthology. I had an idea for this already, a third-person narrative about two Jewish women (one a young widow, the other a maiden) on a trading venture in 19th-century Russian empire. Steam trains and mechanical lice would be involved.
But, unfortunately, I had an apocalyptic pile of grading to complete immediately, so I duly sat down to do just that. I had two final exams and one final paper to grade for two large classes.
In the first three days, I graded the final exams for both courses and half of the papers in-between installments of my epic poem In the Third Cycle, crying intermittently (I blame the Wind Hoarder, not my students). On the fourth day I slept, finished grading, assigned grades, and attempted to congratulate myself on my fine accomplishments, but all I felt was an intense anxiety not akin to an itch that you stopped scratching too soon.
On the fifth day I decided that the anxiety itch must be leftover inspiration from the Cycle, and I figured I might as well start on that story for Jo. I sharpened my e-quill , fully intending to write a third-person narrative about 19th century Russian empire, widows, and wind-up lice.
I wrote: “The Penareh docks had been my favorite place as a child…”
Six days later, I’d written a 13k draft of a story completely devoid of steam or trains.* It had magic, automata, traders, and secondary-world Jews, and was set in my favorite secondary world of the last four years, Birdverse. I sent the story out to my readers, scratching my head all the while. The Ten Days in December were complete.
In January I decided the novelette would become the first installment of a novel, and in February I began working on what later became the third PoV of the book. In late March I sent the revised novelette to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in the beginning of May I got a rewrite request from Scott. A great number of emails and tweaks later, he accepted it.
“Held Close in Syllables of Light” is a novelette, complete in itself, I hope. But there’s more to it. To date, I have written 79k of the Earthkeepers, with about 24k still to go. I plan to put in some work into it during Nano, but I am not sure if it will get done by New Year’s. I am sure it will get done, and when it will get done, I will send it out to betas, and eventually query it.
Those who are interested in #sayyestogayya – well, this is my multicultural queer secondary-world fantasy YA. It is the child of my heart. It makes me happy. I hope it too will make some of you happy, and that you might want, in the fullness of time, to read more of this story. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy “Held Close in Syllables of Light,” and tell me what you think.
----
*the mechanical lice found their way into the second PoV.And many thanks to
shweta_narayan
,
scriitor
,
dormouse_in_tea
, and
paper_birch
for helping me with it!
“Held Close in Syllables of Light” is up at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
Meanwhile, a megillah for those of you interested in such things.
upstart_crow ) suggested I might write something for her Steam Powered II anthology. I had an idea for this already, a third-person narrative about two Jewish women (one a young widow, the other a maiden) on a trading venture in 19th-century Russian empire. Steam trains and mechanical lice would be involved.
But, unfortunately, I had an apocalyptic pile of grading to complete immediately, so I duly sat down to do just that. I had two final exams and one final paper to grade for two large classes.
In the first three days, I graded the final exams for both courses and half of the papers in-between installments of my epic poem In the Third Cycle, crying intermittently (I blame the Wind Hoarder, not my students). On the fourth day I slept, finished grading, assigned grades, and attempted to congratulate myself on my fine accomplishments, but all I felt was an intense anxiety not akin to an itch that you stopped scratching too soon.
On the fifth day I decided that the anxiety itch must be leftover inspiration from the Cycle, and I figured I might as well start on that story for Jo. I sharpened my e-quill , fully intending to write a third-person narrative about 19th century Russian empire, widows, and wind-up lice.
I wrote: “The Penareh docks had been my favorite place as a child…”
Six days later, I’d written a 13k draft of a story completely devoid of steam or trains.* It had magic, automata, traders, and secondary-world Jews, and was set in my favorite secondary world of the last four years, Birdverse. I sent the story out to my readers, scratching my head all the while. The Ten Days in December were complete.
In January I decided the novelette would become the first installment of a novel, and in February I began working on what later became the third PoV of the book. In late March I sent the revised novelette to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in the beginning of May I got a rewrite request from Scott. A great number of emails and tweaks later, he accepted it.
“Held Close in Syllables of Light” is a novelette, complete in itself, I hope. But there’s more to it. To date, I have written 79k of the Earthkeepers, with about 24k still to go. I plan to put in some work into it during Nano, but I am not sure if it will get done by New Year’s. I am sure it will get done, and when it will get done, I will send it out to betas, and eventually query it.
Those who are interested in #sayyestogayya – well, this is my multicultural queer secondary-world fantasy YA. It is the child of my heart. It makes me happy. I hope it too will make some of you happy, and that you might want, in the fullness of time, to read more of this story. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy “Held Close in Syllables of Light,” and tell me what you think.
----
*the mechanical lice found their way into the second PoV.And many thanks to
shweta_narayan
,
scriitor
,
dormouse_in_tea
, and
paper_birch
for helping me with it!October 18, 2011
Speculative poetry club: Animal Rescue
For what I'm doing and why, see this entry.
I missed last week because of Sukkot, and am going to move the series to Tuesdays, just because Tuesdays are, generally speaking, better for me. Hope this is still all right.
I've been a regular reader of Lone Star Stories since I arrived "on the scene" (so to speak) in early 2008. I loved submitting my work to Eric. Unlike with JoMA, I didn't always like the poetry he chose, but much of it was memorable. When I went back to read through the LSS archives for my work on The Moment of Change, I renewed my acquaintance with many of these poems, though only one LSS poem made it into the anthology. One poem that has always stood out for me is Deborah Kolodij (
dkolodji
)'s "Animal Rescue":
fallen bricks spill
from the welcome sign,
there are no zebras
in this abandoned zoo
I am going to deviate from my stated goal of talking only about how the poems moved me. Even without a rereading, I remember this one very well - from when it was published, then from the Rhysling anthology, and finally from a discussion by Joshua Gage. I tend to remember poems that I find meaningful. Yet this poem is such a mixed bag for me. First of all, it is more or less the opposite of what I am usually drawn to. First, this poem has no central individual/speaker; the speaker is a "we", I assume an inclusive "we" speaking for all humanity, which usually bugs me. Next, I usually am drawn to language an emotion first and ideas second, but this is a poem told in a simple language, and it relies heavily on a central SFnal idea: all animals have been removed from Earth and now inhabit a planet of their own, where they are protected from abuse by humans. Third, on a technical level the poem snags for me in a few places. E.g. while I do understand the motion mechanics of "fallen bricks spill", I personally would cut it to "bricks spill"; might just be my non-native speakerdom, but I do like my motion trajectories clarified. I am also not convinced that "lions and tigers and bears" is the most felicitous here, with its Oz reference (just begging for Oh My!), which is - for me - a bit too flippant for the tone of the poem. Again, just my opinion. From where I stand, I think the poem would be better served by a different choice of animals, possibly mixing zoo animals with farm animals, since the poem talks of all animals being gone, including livestock.
Overall, the language here works well for me; its simplicity and straightforwardness is an asset, as it helps the reader focus on what makes or breaks a poem of this kind: the central SFnal idea.
I think after three years of remembering and rereading this poem, I have to say that as a SFnal poem, it succeeds. But it is a success for me because it made me argue with it, question it. It's like a thorn that bothers me, in real life and in this poem. It's not a new idea exactly. "They took all the trees, put them in a tree museum," yes? This is about our fear of becoming a monoculture on this planet, or should I say even more of a monoculture. It's not a new idea, but it works; it is current and relevant. I can see this poem as a text to engage with, say, in a science fiction course, or an ecology course, which is one of the things I appreciate in works of science fiction, regardless of whether I agree with them.
I missed last week because of Sukkot, and am going to move the series to Tuesdays, just because Tuesdays are, generally speaking, better for me. Hope this is still all right.
I've been a regular reader of Lone Star Stories since I arrived "on the scene" (so to speak) in early 2008. I loved submitting my work to Eric. Unlike with JoMA, I didn't always like the poetry he chose, but much of it was memorable. When I went back to read through the LSS archives for my work on The Moment of Change, I renewed my acquaintance with many of these poems, though only one LSS poem made it into the anthology. One poem that has always stood out for me is Deborah Kolodij (
dkolodji
)'s "Animal Rescue":fallen bricks spill
from the welcome sign,
there are no zebras
in this abandoned zoo
I am going to deviate from my stated goal of talking only about how the poems moved me. Even without a rereading, I remember this one very well - from when it was published, then from the Rhysling anthology, and finally from a discussion by Joshua Gage. I tend to remember poems that I find meaningful. Yet this poem is such a mixed bag for me. First of all, it is more or less the opposite of what I am usually drawn to. First, this poem has no central individual/speaker; the speaker is a "we", I assume an inclusive "we" speaking for all humanity, which usually bugs me. Next, I usually am drawn to language an emotion first and ideas second, but this is a poem told in a simple language, and it relies heavily on a central SFnal idea: all animals have been removed from Earth and now inhabit a planet of their own, where they are protected from abuse by humans. Third, on a technical level the poem snags for me in a few places. E.g. while I do understand the motion mechanics of "fallen bricks spill", I personally would cut it to "bricks spill"; might just be my non-native speakerdom, but I do like my motion trajectories clarified. I am also not convinced that "lions and tigers and bears" is the most felicitous here, with its Oz reference (just begging for Oh My!), which is - for me - a bit too flippant for the tone of the poem. Again, just my opinion. From where I stand, I think the poem would be better served by a different choice of animals, possibly mixing zoo animals with farm animals, since the poem talks of all animals being gone, including livestock.
Overall, the language here works well for me; its simplicity and straightforwardness is an asset, as it helps the reader focus on what makes or breaks a poem of this kind: the central SFnal idea.
I think after three years of remembering and rereading this poem, I have to say that as a SFnal poem, it succeeds. But it is a success for me because it made me argue with it, question it. It's like a thorn that bothers me, in real life and in this poem. It's not a new idea exactly. "They took all the trees, put them in a tree museum," yes? This is about our fear of becoming a monoculture on this planet, or should I say even more of a monoculture. It's not a new idea, but it works; it is current and relevant. I can see this poem as a text to engage with, say, in a science fiction course, or an ecology course, which is one of the things I appreciate in works of science fiction, regardless of whether I agree with them.
October 17, 2011
Publishing news and appearances
My small poem "The Journeymaker in Kestai," featuring two Cycle characters, has been accepted for publication at Mythic Delirium for the Spring 2012 issue. Mike Allen announced the ToC yesterday; my piece is in a very good company.
Joshua Gage has written to accept "Walrus," the only short poem I've written and published in 2010, for the upcoming Dwarf Stars anthology. "Walrus" was published as a twitter poem, so I am especially happy that it will appear in print – in its quirky, walrusy form!
Not One of Us 46
Meanwhile, my copy of Not One of Us 46 arrived, featuring my short story "Giant." I'll put the story up next year as a sample, for the anniversary of the Giant's death. Meanwhile, the issue looks terrific, with wonderful work by Patricia Russo, Sonya Taaffe, Mike Allen, Jeannelle Ferreira, and others.
Appearances
I will be talking about feminist speculative poetry on #feministsf twitter chat on October 23rd; for times and further details, please see this Feminist SF wiki page.
Finally, a face-to-face appearance! I am scheduled to attend the World Fantasy convention, where I will be hosting an unaffiliated open-mic speculative poetry reading (everyone welcome). I will post further details when I have them!
Originally published at RoseLemberg.net. You can comment here or there.
October 11, 2011
Service announcement
Haven't slept last night due to various reasons. Completely dead today. If I promised to do something for you but hadn't delivered, please shoot me an email tonight so i'll get it tomorrow. Thanks.
