Marly Youmans's Blog, page 158

Ghosts by Gaslight available for pre-order

Ghosts by Gaslight(Harper, forthcoming September, 2011)Edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers1."The Iron Shroud" by James Morrow2."Music, When Soft Voices Die" by Peter S. Beagle3."The Shaddowwes Box" by Terry Dowling4."The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder As Experienced by Sir Magnus Holmes and Almost-Doctor Susan Shrike" by Garth Nix5."Why I Was Hanged" by Gene Wolfe6."The Proving of

Mike-diary: Cockfight at Yen Son

I must say that I do not perceive my husband as he was portrayed in the "plump and red" story earlier, nor as he paints himself here. His long blond hair may be gone, and he may be a little cuddly around the middle, but I say that he's cute. While he is off in Vietnam as a volunteer academic neurologist, he is, however, a wild man who has, indeed, hunted in the Yukon and the Crazy Mountains. He

Mike-diary: an Asian Christ

Here's a bit of Lenten musing on religion in Asia, Christianity in particular. Like any discussion of religion flung out into the world, it will probably find a welcome and scorn in equal measure. Feel free to comment, either way! And thanks to those who have written emails about Mike's journal jottings--pleased to have some notes from interested novelists and readers.Dispatches from Indochine (3

Mike-diary: Cold Beer with The General

I just read Nhân Dân newspaper and Vietnamnet, and Hanoi seems to be fine--I was a bit concerned on waking to the fearsome earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The world is stirring again, and nature is not our friend, alas, but a force that destroys and breaks the heart.Here's another peek at Mike's adventures in Viet Nam. I am wishing that I had kept on an online travelogue when we were in Cambodia

Sundry bookishness & a confession

"The writer can choose what he writes about, but he cannot choose what he is able to make live." --Flannery O'ConnorI was planning to start my little series on writing and on publishing (two very different matters, luckily!) today, but I am still waiting on a response from one writer who flew off to California... So I think that I shall start the series next Monday, as that will give her time and

Mike-diary: The Ho Hoam Kiem turtle

Dispatches from IndoChine (March 6)The Ho Hoan Kiem turtle is dying.This event is national news here. The VN Yahoo homepage has photos of a rather tread-worn terrapin gracing its lead story. There is gossip on the street. He has died. Or, no, the People's herpetologists have devised a plan to save him. He has not been seen today, or he has been seen 3 times today, which is inauspicious. Or he has

Mike-diary: Birds of Hanoi

Last night our youngest wore his jammies and his bathrobe inside out in hopes of a snow day, and he got one with a vengeance. Several fluffy feet of flakes were piled high before the snowfall stopped. As we are now missing the absent Mike/Dad, who is plenty warm while volunteering in Vietnam, I'll post a little from his musings. He has moved on from Saigon to Hanoi.* * *The Birds of HanoiCompared

The Dream of the Rood at qarrtsiluni

I have another poem in the current issue of qarrtsiluni. I'd like to thank everybody who went by and read the earlier poems--especially all of you who left comments. What a mighty heap of remarks, all so interesting! This piece is a translation from the Anglo-Saxon with podcast of the wild, rich, decorative, and wondrous The Dream of the Rood. As always, I'm turning off comments here so the 'zine

Another peep at Clive's monograph

A beautifully designed and written book is a wondrous thing to behold and hold. Click on the image to see a larger one of this double spread of imprint page and title page for the upcoming Lund Humphries / Gray Mare collection of essays, Clive Hicks-Jenkins, already discussed here.(Except: I confess that mine is not an essay but a wild melange of fictive pieces, tiny stories, essay-like snippets,

Poetry month shenanigans and more

APRIL IS POETRY MONTH (THANK YOU, ELIOT)Dave Bonta will be doing a month of poetry reading--a book each day--for April, "poetry month." It's a good time to send him a book if you are a writer, and if you are a reader, he invites you to join in. Dave is one of the people I asked to participate in my upcoming series of posts on writing and publishing. (I have comments from four of the six writers I