Marly Youmans's Blog, page 72
February 2, 2014
The cupboard child
One of the M. S. Corley designs
for the Potter books--see more here.
In which a mid-list writer and mother of three explains to the bestselling J. K. Rowling why she is wrong to go around disturbing the laws of books and re-marrying her hapless characters in retrospect . . . and why she was right in the first place.
Dear J. K. Rowling,
I happen to be rather weak on popular culture except
for the Potter books--see more here.
In which a mid-list writer and mother of three explains to the bestselling J. K. Rowling why she is wrong to go around disturbing the laws of books and re-marrying her hapless characters in retrospect . . . and why she was right in the first place.
Dear J. K. Rowling,
I happen to be rather weak on popular culture except
January 31, 2014
Morning thoughts on character and "a free artist"--
I'm starting the day by polishing The Book of the Red King but all the time thinking about how it is a personal fault and also a strength in writers that we are drawn to and insanely curious about the drama and mystery of the compelling, contradictory person--drawn to trying to understand the crux of opposing beliefs and forces... Because that's a place of power. No grasp is possible, so we
January 30, 2014
Sixteen Hundred Years
"Trees and moon" courtesy of sxc.hu and Siddharth Nair of Bangalore, India.
LibraryKris aka Kris Weihipeihana of New Zealand has read another of my poems on Audioboo (it follows her reading of "The Wish for Roses") this time a poem in the current issue of Mezzo Cammin (click to see the text.) It's fascinating to see what poems attract readers, and to hear one's words with the emphasis and
LibraryKris aka Kris Weihipeihana of New Zealand has read another of my poems on Audioboo (it follows her reading of "The Wish for Roses") this time a poem in the current issue of Mezzo Cammin (click to see the text.) It's fascinating to see what poems attract readers, and to hear one's words with the emphasis and
Bulletin from Hoth
Yes, I have been taking a small break from blogging but will be back soon.
January 25, 2014
Finding the thread--
detail, The Big Purple. Yolanda Sharpe, 2011.
26 x 80 inches, watercolor on paper
I have been feeling quite unlike myself in my work--wayward, disorganized, unsure of what's next--due to an excess of meets and tournaments, ferryings, volunteering, and extended periods of being a single mother while my husband travels. Sometimes life becomes labyrinthine in complexity and just a little too
26 x 80 inches, watercolor on paper
I have been feeling quite unlike myself in my work--wayward, disorganized, unsure of what's next--due to an excess of meets and tournaments, ferryings, volunteering, and extended periods of being a single mother while my husband travels. Sometimes life becomes labyrinthine in complexity and just a little too
January 20, 2014
Notes on a Hindsight page--
Update: Here's another link, an interesting reading of "The Wish for Roses."
***
Just drove in from White River Junction and see that in my absence, something of mine has materialized on Sienna Latham's Hindsight, a new by-invitation site dedicated to historical museum collections around the world and the stories they tell. For Hindsight, I wrote a poem to go with a photograph (although this
***
Just drove in from White River Junction and see that in my absence, something of mine has materialized on Sienna Latham's Hindsight, a new by-invitation site dedicated to historical museum collections around the world and the stories they tell. For Hindsight, I wrote a poem to go with a photograph (although this
January 17, 2014
6 poems at Mezzo Cammin
Update: I suppose this is a hat tip to poet Ned Balbo for saying on facebook that he especially liked "Legends of the Virgin Martyrs" because that made me suddenly realize that the post should be "7 poems at Mezzo Cammin." The unfortunate virgins have suffered yet another injury . . . .
* * *
I'm feeling celebratory, as I'm just home from a tournament--child no. 3 won two matches (one
* * *
I'm feeling celebratory, as I'm just home from a tournament--child no. 3 won two matches (one
January 15, 2014
Hello, world!
I'm entirely busy with being properly neurotic about my husband in Kyrgyzstan, ferrying children, attending wrestling meets in the unwashed boondocks (exaggeration: all boondocks are washed these days), scaling the cliffs of the Mega-laundry, and meeting deadlines. Visit me here for frivolity and no worry. marlyyoumans.tumblr.com
January 14, 2014
Note from the snow village--
Image by Clive Hicks-Jenkins in my Thaliad
(dual hc/pb, Phoenicia Publishing, 2012)
I've just read Tim Parks's post in the NYRB blog, "Writing to Win," and am feeling amused. It seems that I hardly qualify as a novelist at all because I do not feel in the least that writing is a competition, and I have no compulsion to "win" against others. It's a lot more pleasing to help other writers than
(dual hc/pb, Phoenicia Publishing, 2012)
I've just read Tim Parks's post in the NYRB blog, "Writing to Win," and am feeling amused. It seems that I hardly qualify as a novelist at all because I do not feel in the least that writing is a competition, and I have no compulsion to "win" against others. It's a lot more pleasing to help other writers than
January 12, 2014
Chivalrous mice and other matters
Jeff de Boer, The Seven Samurai Mice
2005, copper, brass, mixed media, 4.5" x 3.5" x 2"Back in 2007, I wrote a post about de Boer calledIn the Realm of the Mouse Warrior.
From 4:45 a.m. until 9:15 p.m. yesterday, my life was given over to attending a gigantic and nigh-endless wrestling tournament. I am a wee bit . . . exhausted, without ever so much as tangling with an opponent. And I have a
2005, copper, brass, mixed media, 4.5" x 3.5" x 2"Back in 2007, I wrote a post about de Boer calledIn the Realm of the Mouse Warrior.
From 4:45 a.m. until 9:15 p.m. yesterday, my life was given over to attending a gigantic and nigh-endless wrestling tournament. I am a wee bit . . . exhausted, without ever so much as tangling with an opponent. And I have a
