Category: They Named Us Lancelot and Tara
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O’Hara
Love, be sick as I am sick.Hold the door for a stranger.Tell it to the chicken hawkone thousand miles away. Hesitate and let the wind pinchthat blanket of sawdust we lefton our patio. Who even rememberswhat we were trying to build? Lift me, as you lift the sky,and I will still choose to lay my…
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Jenny Holzer’s Instagram
At the top of a staircase in the Tate Modern, one of the walls is covered in bright colours and contradictory texts. Jenny Holzer’s Inflammatory Essays (1979-82), plastered across this wall, serves as a sort of introduction to the rooms just along the corridor that house a selection of some of Holzer’s most well-known work.…
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Ardent Spirit
This afternoon I’ll help my friend’s dog dieA malamute, husky, shepherd mix she named Sky.I met him first in the high desert 10 years agoHis shift from stray to pet was rocky and slow.He jumped the fence to roam the brushChasing jackrabbits under stars’ milky hush.Dogs who run every moment risk deathBut those who do,…
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Small Stories for Kids: BACK TO THEIR PRIDE
Today’s issue of small stories for kids comes from Dante: One day Dante wakes up. He eats and he drinks. Once he’s done he gets dressed. He then gets in his vehicle: an emergency SUV! He has to check if the animals are hurt or sick. Any hurt or sick animals he has to rush…
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Have We Hit Peak Superhero Cinema?
Today for Myths, Legends, Folklore and Tall Tales, I’m posting a recording of a panel I joined for Heliosphere 2019 that asked the question Have We Reached Peak Superhero Cinema? The panel featured the fabulous Charlie Jane Anders, Kathleen O’Shea David, and Mercy Van Vlack. All of them asked engaging, heartfelt questions from a combined…
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Magic Reveals the Author’s Metaphysics
Today for BOTH Legends, Folklore and Tall Tales, I’m posting a recording of a panel I was on at Heliosphere 2019 on how Magic Reveals the Metaphysics of the Author within fantasy and science fiction novels. The panel featured Carole Ann Moleti, Alex Shvartsman, Ken Altabef, Lorrain Schein. We ventured into philosophy, religion, politics, and…
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Running a Book Club Well
Today for BOTH Western Canonball AND Myths, Legends, Folklore and Tall Tales, I’m posting a recording of a panel I was on at Heliosphere 2019 on Running a Book Club Well (the program called it “Tips for your Kickass Book Club”). The panel featured Carol Gyzander,Philip De Parto, Lauren Paradise,Eric Parmer. It ventured into nearly…
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Man and Serpent by Aesop
Today for Myths, Legends, Folklore and Tall Tales, we’re reading Man and Serpent by Aesop. Myths, Legends, Folklore and Tall Tales is another one of my podcasts featuring bedtime story readings — in this case the myths, legends, folklore and tall tales of the world. Now and again, I read one of my own stories…
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Naughty or Nice — the metaphysics of Santa’s List
Turns out Santa Claus is a privationist. And assuming Santa’s privationist sensibilities can explain why coal for the naughty truly is a gift and not a punishment. Or at very least, as Tolkien would ask, “Which of God’s judgements are not also gifts?” Coal is a grace, even a sort of Christmas sacrament. Here’s how…
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Frankenstein: The Intersection of Literature and Science — with Kathleen Ann Goonan at the World Fantasy Convention
On Thursday I gave a talk on Frankenstein: The Intersection of Literature and Science here at the World Fantasy Convention with the fabulous and brilliant Kathy Goonan, (unfortunately Ted Chaing’s train delayed him). Kathy offered a deep drink from her vast experience and knowledge and I think you’ll find it instructive as we continue reading…
