Marly Youmans's Blog, page 70
March 4, 2014
Portrait of a poetry critic
Last week I was noodling about in Thomas Moore's Lalla Rookh, a story in which a marriageable bit of property is carried off to meet Aliris, her bridegroom and king-to-be. In it, "Fadladeen, one of Lalla Rookh's entourage on the journey, assumes the role of ill-tempered critic of Feramorz's tales in the manner of the Tory critics of Blackwood's and the Edinburgh Review (this was the year before
March 3, 2014
Clive's "Marly and me"
Clive Hicks-Jenkins takes a look at our collaborations, past, present, and future. Please hop here for a peep.
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At left is Clive's English lion, one of the interior vignettes for Glimmerglass, out from Mercer in September.
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At left is Clive's English lion, one of the interior vignettes for Glimmerglass, out from Mercer in September.
March 2, 2014
Taking a posting break until Tuesday, when I will have fi...
Taking a posting break until Tuesday, when I will have finished my author questionnaire for Glimmerglass. Stick around and enjoy some other leaves on my online tree, or come back then.
February 27, 2014
Don't follow your bliss--
William Blake, "The Genius of Shakespeare"
The idea of "following your bliss" seems to have successfully invaded all precincts of our world. I seem to meet it everywhere online, but I don't approve of its sentimentality, smarminess, and false illusions. No doubt I have mentioned it before. But my mentioning it hasn't stopped the flood of bliss-advocators. I'm like the little boy with his thumb
The idea of "following your bliss" seems to have successfully invaded all precincts of our world. I seem to meet it everywhere online, but I don't approve of its sentimentality, smarminess, and false illusions. No doubt I have mentioned it before. But my mentioning it hasn't stopped the flood of bliss-advocators. I'm like the little boy with his thumb
February 26, 2014
Madness and blue roses
How to order hardcover or paperback from anywhere? Go here.Phoenicia Publishing of Montreal, 2012:Book design by Elizabeth Adams,The marvelous interior and exterior art by Clive Hicks-Jenkins of Wales.
Here's the merest snip of dangerous weather on the lake from Thaliad . . . . Because I am dreaming of hot weather and a thunderstorm over Lake Otsego instead of ice and ice and blebs and
Here's the merest snip of dangerous weather on the lake from Thaliad . . . . Because I am dreaming of hot weather and a thunderstorm over Lake Otsego instead of ice and ice and blebs and
February 25, 2014
Man-weevils and A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage
early 20th-century poster
Chapter 3 begins...
The spang! of insect cries, fused into a single vibrating note, soared into the sky where Pip thought perhaps he could see its shrillness when he looked straight into the burning sun—and saw something like a rope made of gold, its frizzled threads on fire. The sound and the light jabbed at his eyes, and he ducked his head.
For three
Chapter 3 begins...
The spang! of insect cries, fused into a single vibrating note, soared into the sky where Pip thought perhaps he could see its shrillness when he looked straight into the burning sun—and saw something like a rope made of gold, its frizzled threads on fire. The sound and the light jabbed at his eyes, and he ducked his head.
For three
February 24, 2014
A Child at the Tropic Pavilions
A CHILD AT THE TROPIC PAVILIONS
from The Throne of Psyche
The smolderings of Pele’s hair
Are her delight, with fires
Of eucalyptus in the rain
And coral’s glowing spires.
A
braided crown of palm adorns
Her buoyant curls, and leis
Of frangipani scent her throat:
She has no need of praise,
For sea’s auroral whisperings
Aren’t secrets to her ear--
from The Throne of Psyche
The smolderings of Pele’s hair
Are her delight, with fires
Of eucalyptus in the rain
And coral’s glowing spires.
A
braided crown of palm adorns
Her buoyant curls, and leis
Of frangipani scent her throat:
She has no need of praise,
For sea’s auroral whisperings
Aren’t secrets to her ear--
February 21, 2014
Dear passers-by and keen readers,
Courtesy of sxc.hu + magstefan of Graz, Austria
Due to the Yankee Bug of Doom and the need to finish edits for the upcoming novel, I will be off-blog (aside from answering the occasional stray comment) for a few days. Please send chocolates (absolutely no wax, must be at very least Dove-level or else the cat gets them), citrus fruit suitable for juicing (dreaming of blood oranges), and
Due to the Yankee Bug of Doom and the need to finish edits for the upcoming novel, I will be off-blog (aside from answering the occasional stray comment) for a few days. Please send chocolates (absolutely no wax, must be at very least Dove-level or else the cat gets them), citrus fruit suitable for juicing (dreaming of blood oranges), and
February 20, 2014
Making a list
preparatory sketch, Clive Hicks-Jenkins forGlimmerglass
If you are a blogger or a Goodreads-Amazon-Powell's-etc. reviewer who likes to write about books and would like to be on the mailing list to receive a press release for Glimmerglass before it appears in early fall, please leave me a note. If you've already said elsewhere that you would like to be on a list, thank you again; I have your
If you are a blogger or a Goodreads-Amazon-Powell's-etc. reviewer who likes to write about books and would like to be on the mailing list to receive a press release for Glimmerglass before it appears in early fall, please leave me a note. If you've already said elsewhere that you would like to be on a list, thank you again; I have your
February 19, 2014
"I am a Ukrainian"
My calling is to make poems and stories out of air and syllables, but today I leave you with someone else's syllables--words that are heartfelt and strong and beg us to help. They remind us in a time of eroded freedoms that freedom is precious and easy to lose. May this lovely, brave young woman and her fellow Ukrainians--may we all--flourish in a world where the barbarians lose their powers.
