Gillian Polack's Blog, page 230
September 27, 2011
Basic Guide for Avoiding Gillians at Conflux
This isn't as fancy as usual, and I'm posting it a couple of days later than usual, and I haven't made as many jokes as usual. The only bit of this that has a simple remedy is the jokes. Simply add your own in the comments to this post (add jokes and stir?).
How to avoid me at Conflux:
Friday
Stay away from the registration desk before lunchtime.
Completely skip the 3.30 pm workshop about minding Medieval Ps and Qs (very handy for writers and people whose language could do with an extension, but, since I'm the one teaching it…)
Avoid Angry Robots and their hours, for I will be there to cheer them on. Also avoid CSFG launches and events, for I shall be there, again, in my cheer squad capacity.
You might also want to avoid the opening ceremony, though I'm sure there are enough people there so that you will be able to stay clear of me.
Saturday
10 am - Janeen Webb will read Manifest Destiny - I'd be a fool to miss it
12 pm - booklaunch, Dawn Meredith -I'm launching a book! Poor, poor Dawn…
3.30 pm Saturday - Conflux and Eneit press cookbook launch
4.30 pm Mass book signing
7 pm banquet
Sunday
12.30 pm - booklaunch, Mary Victoria and Simon Haynes - I'm helping launch two books. Poor, poor Mary and Simon… (my role is giving a reading from Mary's new book - I have three days in which to rediscover my literacy)
1.30 pm panel - creative writing at university
2.30 pm panel - great libraries of fantasy
Monday
10 am panel - The critical mind
11.15 am kaffeeklatsche (I'll have my medieval photos with me and if no-one turns up I shall commune with broadswords and with the tombs of abbots and eat from my special stash of chocolate and smile in secret joy)
4 ish pm Dead dog party
ETA: It has been brought to my attention that some of these times may be wrong. In other words, I don't know which version of the program I used! This is my fault for going away. I shall do an updated one (if I can) late Friday. This depends, however, on Emma's patience, since my computer is right next to the futon, where she will be sleeping. The moral of this story is use this as a guide only and check the program on the day.
How to avoid me at Conflux:
Friday
Stay away from the registration desk before lunchtime.
Completely skip the 3.30 pm workshop about minding Medieval Ps and Qs (very handy for writers and people whose language could do with an extension, but, since I'm the one teaching it…)
Avoid Angry Robots and their hours, for I will be there to cheer them on. Also avoid CSFG launches and events, for I shall be there, again, in my cheer squad capacity.
You might also want to avoid the opening ceremony, though I'm sure there are enough people there so that you will be able to stay clear of me.
Saturday
10 am - Janeen Webb will read Manifest Destiny - I'd be a fool to miss it
12 pm - booklaunch, Dawn Meredith -I'm launching a book! Poor, poor Dawn…
3.30 pm Saturday - Conflux and Eneit press cookbook launch
4.30 pm Mass book signing
7 pm banquet
Sunday
12.30 pm - booklaunch, Mary Victoria and Simon Haynes - I'm helping launch two books. Poor, poor Mary and Simon… (my role is giving a reading from Mary's new book - I have three days in which to rediscover my literacy)
1.30 pm panel - creative writing at university
2.30 pm panel - great libraries of fantasy
Monday
10 am panel - The critical mind
11.15 am kaffeeklatsche (I'll have my medieval photos with me and if no-one turns up I shall commune with broadswords and with the tombs of abbots and eat from my special stash of chocolate and smile in secret joy)
4 ish pm Dead dog party
ETA: It has been brought to my attention that some of these times may be wrong. In other words, I don't know which version of the program I used! This is my fault for going away. I shall do an updated one (if I can) late Friday. This depends, however, on Emma's patience, since my computer is right next to the futon, where she will be sleeping. The moral of this story is use this as a guide only and check the program on the day.
gillpolack @ 2011-09-27T17:19:00
I am returned. I have been on holiday. Note the smugness.
What did I do with my five day vacation? I spent a fabulous day with Janeen and Jack and developed a bad case of house envy and met the town of Foster and was sat on a great deal by a beagle called Bertie. I gave a seminar at Monash University and argued much Medievalness afterwards (the Monash mob are so very nice - I'll go back there anytime they want). I played with my god-daughter, a person of immense intelligence and wit and highly refined taste. I met old friends and had much chocolate and then I met more friends and ate and drank all Saturday evening at Young and Jacksons. I wandered exhibitions in central Melbourne with an old friend and explored some of the stranger pathways the City Circle tram takes (I spent large chunks of my life knowing that Melbourne acts as if it's a city on a river and not a city on a bay - but the tram takes one past water and that water is not the Yarra). I did much shopping. I spent a day in Keilor, revisiting the organ pipes and the Rosetta Rock and my favourite tesselated pavement anywhere (pace Potter fans!).
My breathing was surprisingly inefficient the whole time I was on holiday. That's how far past due the holiday was. Still, I had a frabjous time and I need to remember this, so that I can do it again sometime.
What did I do with my five day vacation? I spent a fabulous day with Janeen and Jack and developed a bad case of house envy and met the town of Foster and was sat on a great deal by a beagle called Bertie. I gave a seminar at Monash University and argued much Medievalness afterwards (the Monash mob are so very nice - I'll go back there anytime they want). I played with my god-daughter, a person of immense intelligence and wit and highly refined taste. I met old friends and had much chocolate and then I met more friends and ate and drank all Saturday evening at Young and Jacksons. I wandered exhibitions in central Melbourne with an old friend and explored some of the stranger pathways the City Circle tram takes (I spent large chunks of my life knowing that Melbourne acts as if it's a city on a river and not a city on a bay - but the tram takes one past water and that water is not the Yarra). I did much shopping. I spent a day in Keilor, revisiting the organ pipes and the Rosetta Rock and my favourite tesselated pavement anywhere (pace Potter fans!).
My breathing was surprisingly inefficient the whole time I was on holiday. That's how far past due the holiday was. Still, I had a frabjous time and I need to remember this, so that I can do it again sometime.
September 21, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-09-21T16:25:00
I'm supposed to be doing course proposals and packing, but the cookbook has appeared at my door and instead I'm naming names. Andrew McKiernan and Kathleen Jennings and Sharyn Lilley have made a beautiful book. It's elegant and has a sense of humour. It also has recipes. Many recipes. You can tell Andrew cooks from the way he has laid out the recipes, too.
I have weighed it and you can get 3 copies to a kilo (ingredients for a foodie package).
And, in hot off the press news, Jack Dann is launching it.
And now I have to go pretend it doesn't exist until the launch. 1 October, Conflux. All welcome.
Thank you, Conflux, for asking me to write a cookbook!
I have weighed it and you can get 3 copies to a kilo (ingredients for a foodie package).
And, in hot off the press news, Jack Dann is launching it.
And now I have to go pretend it doesn't exist until the launch. 1 October, Conflux. All welcome.
Thank you, Conflux, for asking me to write a cookbook!
September 20, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-09-21T08:15:00
Today is shaping up to be wildly exciting. I didn't get everything done yesterday, so today is wildly exciting: that makes sense.
The exhilaration in my day is going to include a set of course proposals, acquitting a grant, teaching (it's quantum physics for poets day), putting out a mountain of rubbish (I have been tidying and the result is all currently occupying my kitchen floor), laundry... the sheer thrill of it has overhwelmed me. I think I need a cuppa.
Next time I blog it will be from Melbourne. I remembered at 11 pm that I ought to pack clothes and find my ticket. I suspect* I've forgotten everything else. Except my toothbrush. I remembered that a half hour ago.
* for a very special value of suspect ie "I have done nothing."
The exhilaration in my day is going to include a set of course proposals, acquitting a grant, teaching (it's quantum physics for poets day), putting out a mountain of rubbish (I have been tidying and the result is all currently occupying my kitchen floor), laundry... the sheer thrill of it has overhwelmed me. I think I need a cuppa.
Next time I blog it will be from Melbourne. I remembered at 11 pm that I ought to pack clothes and find my ticket. I suspect* I've forgotten everything else. Except my toothbrush. I remembered that a half hour ago.
* for a very special value of suspect ie "I have done nothing."
Saturday night in Melbourne
A reminder to Melbourne friends:
A group of us are meeting for drinks and etc at the Cider Bar at Y&J this coming Saturday. Emma W is keeping tabs of numbers (and doing the table thing), so you can either let her or me know if you're coming. If it's me, let me know by Friday afternoon - I don't know when I'll be checking email between then and Saturday evening. We start at 5.30ish and will carry on until we're tired of carrying on.
I have promised to bring pictures from my trip, including much that is Medieval (with accompanying explanations eg "I took this photo the window should have fallen down 500 years ago. I took *this* photo because it's where monks were read to during their meal. And I took *this* photo because it's a truly splendid sword/horn/tattered shoe/dead Smurf."). This doesn't mean you have to look at them!
A group of us are meeting for drinks and etc at the Cider Bar at Y&J this coming Saturday. Emma W is keeping tabs of numbers (and doing the table thing), so you can either let her or me know if you're coming. If it's me, let me know by Friday afternoon - I don't know when I'll be checking email between then and Saturday evening. We start at 5.30ish and will carry on until we're tired of carrying on.
I have promised to bring pictures from my trip, including much that is Medieval (with accompanying explanations eg "I took this photo the window should have fallen down 500 years ago. I took *this* photo because it's where monks were read to during their meal. And I took *this* photo because it's a truly splendid sword/horn/tattered shoe/dead Smurf."). This doesn't mean you have to look at them!
September 19, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-09-19T20:22:00
I am taking opinions on a Very Important Matter. Should I get some extra chocolate to give to people who want books signed at Conflux? Or should I just have my normal quantities?
gillpolack @ 2011-09-19T14:58:00
I mislaid information about my teaching, so I googled it (because I am a lazy sod) and discovered things I didn't know about myself. Apparently I have a desire to understand migration to Australia and that's why I edited Baggage. Six different websites tell me this. I actually *do* have a desire to understand migration, in the same way I have a desire to understand cultural shifts of many kinds (not just through the physical movement of people), but it wasn't actually the driving force behind Baggage. I wanted to understand how other writers saw cultural baggage and how they interpret it - not all the baggage in Baggage was about migration, because not all the writers were looking at it through that lens*.
I'm still curious about how other people see cultural baggage. I need to explore it some more.
I'm teaching a bunch about different kinds of cultural baggage over the next little while. There's a workshop at Conflux (Medieval courtesy and discourtesy is definitely cultural baggage), there's writing women's stories (Thursday evenings at the ANU starting a few days after Conflux ends, though I admit, it's at least as much about writing technique as about what we bring to our writing), and lastly, my Medieval Women course (Tuesdays, starting a few days after Conflux). OK, so that last one is stretching the notion of cultural baggage a bit because it's only partly about cultural baggage. it's also about a lot of other things, all to do with the lives of women.
This week's research is about medieval cultural baggage, but for men. My Friday seminar at Monash is how this translates over into a novel.
I'm not obsessed with cultural dynamics and the materials and thoughts we carry with us and how we judge the world and frame our universe and... OK, I *am* obsessed, but it's an entirely charming obsession**.
*Which reminds me, Janeen Webb is reading Manifest Destiny at Conflux. Be there, or regret missing it muchly. It's going to be a very special treat.
**And if I just link to the teaching, then I don't have to do a special post just on my upcoming courses. Yay!! More time to read review books. My current review book is on Jewish colonisalisation.
I'm still curious about how other people see cultural baggage. I need to explore it some more.
I'm teaching a bunch about different kinds of cultural baggage over the next little while. There's a workshop at Conflux (Medieval courtesy and discourtesy is definitely cultural baggage), there's writing women's stories (Thursday evenings at the ANU starting a few days after Conflux ends, though I admit, it's at least as much about writing technique as about what we bring to our writing), and lastly, my Medieval Women course (Tuesdays, starting a few days after Conflux). OK, so that last one is stretching the notion of cultural baggage a bit because it's only partly about cultural baggage. it's also about a lot of other things, all to do with the lives of women.
This week's research is about medieval cultural baggage, but for men. My Friday seminar at Monash is how this translates over into a novel.
I'm not obsessed with cultural dynamics and the materials and thoughts we carry with us and how we judge the world and frame our universe and... OK, I *am* obsessed, but it's an entirely charming obsession**.
*Which reminds me, Janeen Webb is reading Manifest Destiny at Conflux. Be there, or regret missing it muchly. It's going to be a very special treat.
**And if I just link to the teaching, then I don't have to do a special post just on my upcoming courses. Yay!! More time to read review books. My current review book is on Jewish colonisalisation.
gillpolack @ 2011-09-19T11:03:00
I did all my most interesting work yesterday. Today I have just as much today, and it's not nearly as exciting. To help me wend my way through it, I have two lists, of which I have lost 50%. Also, we have a bit of weather on the way in, so until I get my coffee and so forth, I only have 50% of my brain and about the same amount of eyesight. I have put 50% of the postcards scattered all around into a box and I have cleared 50% of the random papers in the loungeroom. This, therefore is a halfday where things can only half happen.
Actually, that's not quite right. The temperature outside has dropped two degrees in fifteen minutes. This means that my body is clever, and my brain is about as functional as it can be under the circumstances. And I just found my reading glasses. This means I have no excuse to put off the urgent work. It may take a while, but everything will get done. I may even find my missing list.
Actually, that's not quite right. The temperature outside has dropped two degrees in fifteen minutes. This means that my body is clever, and my brain is about as functional as it can be under the circumstances. And I just found my reading glasses. This means I have no excuse to put off the urgent work. It may take a while, but everything will get done. I may even find my missing list.
September 18, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-09-18T10:50:00
I have way too much to do today. I've made my list, though, and will get as far as I can before the Conflux meeting, but I'm not so hopeful.
The trouble is the time of year. It's always impossible this time of year. Other peoples' deadlines don't allow for Jewish New year and Conflux. People keep telling me that it will suit them nicely if I give something a half day early or if I hurry with something else. For me, though, right now, it's a matter of getting everything done by Wednesday afternoon. That means *everything* and that means that things have to be done in the time that will best work, not the time that will be marginally easier for someone else.
I'm telling this to myself, you realise. I need convincing. Most years I say "If it will suit you at lunchtime, I'll do it by then." Every year I do this and get holiday, I don't actually get holiday, because all the unfinished work has to go with me. The only piece of work going with me this year is the medieval masculinities thing and that's because I'm taking a half day off during my holiday to do a seminar. My time in Melbourne has been very carefully arranged to contain many spaces with friends that cannot possibly, possibly contain work.
This means that I write my 3,000 words and enter my edits for 100 pages of text this morning, because that's when it will get done most efficiently, because I was dreaming of the words and so they write far more straightforwardly than if I leave them until the atmosphere is shredded by the intervention of my daily life. The 100 pages are related to the 3,000 and can be done alongside. Conflux stuff gets done straight after the Conflux meeting. Reviews get written this evening, in small bursts.
My phrases of the day are "resist much pressure" and "drink much tea." And now, only 2,000 words before lunch! Yay!!
The trouble is the time of year. It's always impossible this time of year. Other peoples' deadlines don't allow for Jewish New year and Conflux. People keep telling me that it will suit them nicely if I give something a half day early or if I hurry with something else. For me, though, right now, it's a matter of getting everything done by Wednesday afternoon. That means *everything* and that means that things have to be done in the time that will best work, not the time that will be marginally easier for someone else.
I'm telling this to myself, you realise. I need convincing. Most years I say "If it will suit you at lunchtime, I'll do it by then." Every year I do this and get holiday, I don't actually get holiday, because all the unfinished work has to go with me. The only piece of work going with me this year is the medieval masculinities thing and that's because I'm taking a half day off during my holiday to do a seminar. My time in Melbourne has been very carefully arranged to contain many spaces with friends that cannot possibly, possibly contain work.
This means that I write my 3,000 words and enter my edits for 100 pages of text this morning, because that's when it will get done most efficiently, because I was dreaming of the words and so they write far more straightforwardly than if I leave them until the atmosphere is shredded by the intervention of my daily life. The 100 pages are related to the 3,000 and can be done alongside. Conflux stuff gets done straight after the Conflux meeting. Reviews get written this evening, in small bursts.
My phrases of the day are "resist much pressure" and "drink much tea." And now, only 2,000 words before lunch! Yay!!
September 17, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-09-17T10:54:00
This morning is writing time. I declared to myself abundantly that I would write so many thousand words. So far, I have pruned 100 and gently trimmed here and there. Two chapters look much neater and flow and don't contradict things that happen later. One day, there will also be new words...thousands of them. Hundreds and thousands. In the meantime, I need morning tea. (I don't often have morning tea, but today I need it because I shall be having a very late lunch and a very strange dinner. Morning tea is toasted lavash with mascarpone and grated chocolate, for those whose souls contain the possibility of envy.) After morning tea, I shall write words! Many thousands!
