In the realm of Updatery

LAUNCH DAY

Today is launch day for poet Rachel Barenblat's new book, and I am very pleased that Elizabeth Adams (Phoenicia Publishing) used a detail from a painted collage by my college friend Mary Bullington. Mary and I met when we were mere silly sprats in a workshop taught by the wonderfully amusing and insightful R. H. W. Dillard. May she have many more covers / jackets! When I consider Mary, I always think of Blake's proverb, "Exuberance is beauty." I am going to get a copy of Rachel's book, and I hope you do as well. You might just want to read a piece by publisher Beth Adams celebrating the launch day for Waiting to Unfold. Find out more about the book at Phoenicia Publishing.


SCRIBD

I've added an excerpt from another book to my Scribd page. You may now find samples of four very recent books published in the US, UK, and Canada: a novel, A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage (The Ferrol Sams Award, and currently a ForeWord finalist); my newest book, an epic adventure in verse, Thaliad; a collection of poems, The Foliate Head; and another collection, The Throne of Psyche.

THE GREAT LADY

If you missed the latest installments (surprise--a debut!) from Lady Word of Mouth, please take a peek here. 

Epic and epic hair!

An epic adventure and adventures in epic hair

Thaliad

Here's link to a qarrtsiluni podcast of a fragment of that wild adventure in verse, Thaliad--one in which the children make an early, terrible mistake that colors the rest of their lives. You can also find pieces of the poem at Mezzo Cammin (scroll down) and Scribd.

Seni Crines

If you have an interest in ancient art, you will be fascinated by the video of how hair stylist and scholar Janet Stephens recreated the seven-braid crown seni crines hairstyle worn by Roman vestal virgins with only simple tools--a comb, t-pin, bodkins, and a woolen cord. She bases the design primarily on the vestal virgin in the Uffizi but looks at many models as well. Her aim was to prove that vestals did  not have to be wearing wigs to achieve their complex fashion.

More on hair archaeology

Stephens also is looking at aristocratic Romans and their stylings, such as edifices of hair worn by Faustina the Younger and Empress Plotina. Another video here.

The Dormouse Round-up

Why is a raven like a writing-desk?

People have come up with a lot of ingenious answers over the years to the Mad Hatter's nonsense question--as a child, I thought it must be "quills." I had forgotten Lewis Carroll's own, much later answer in an introduction: “Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!” Evidently the first typesetter corrected "nevar" and spoiled the pun part of the answer. In a proper Carrollian world, Tweedledum and Tweedledee's monstrous crow would have come flapping after him.

Lady Word of Mouth: Locus

Tomcat's wonderful review of Thaliad has been picked up by Locus Blinks--so very rare to see such a thing as a long, adventurous story in verse in the realm of Locus, even as a "blink." I'm glad. Lady Word of Mouth can be kind. In his wide-ranging review, Tomcat argued that Thaliad shouldn't just belong to poetry/literary readers but should be welcomed by the science fiction and fantasy world. I thank him and Locus.

The February Lightspeed

is now available in toto as an ebook here. I have a story reprint and an interview in the issue. Both will also be available for free later in the month.

Dummy-moi

I have finally noticed the feature element at Scribd. Either I didn't know what I was doing the first time I uploaded, or things have changed considerably in a year. I think the page looks rather appealing with its new bells and whistles.

The Friday tea party

Mad Hatter says, "Nobody but the Dormouse reads posts on a Friday. Whatever are you doing here? Move three seats along the table, make a cutting (hair-cutting, preferably) personal remark, and slosh me up a cup of tea."

Scribd, again

Selections from all three of my 2012 books are now up at Scribd. If you desire to commune (and sometimes frolic) with me, you can read a novel (/A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage), a collection of poems(The Foliate Head), or an epic adventure in verse (Thaliad.) It's a bit boggling, my 2012, between bringing out those books and serving on the judging panel for the NBA-YPL.

At Scribd and in the Red Room...

THE RED ROOM

"The Red Room" makes me think of Jane Eyre, flung inside to contemplate her wicked behavior... But nothing bad happens to me there; in fact tomcatintheredroom (Tom of Cardiff, we might also call him, it seems) has written a long, marvelous review of Thaliad that reminded me of things about the adventure that I had forgotten and also suggested ideas that I had thought about only in the strange, immersed-yet-outpouring way one thinks when making a poem.

Please go read the whole sparkly thing! I'm tempted to review the review because it was full of illuminating passages about sources, novel vs. epic, Gabriel and the fall from innocence, the tension between future setting and traditional form, the reason why it can get away with a name like Thaliad (despite nervily invoking classical epic adventures), the Hicks-Jenkins art, the poetic form, readability, inventiveness and exuberance, and more. I'm grateful to him for striking out in so many different directions, and for understanding so well what I sought to do so.

If you have a comment, please leave it there. Comments off.

SCRIBD

Lots of Thaliad images, excerpts, and comments are now up at Scribd. (The first chapter of A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage is still there as well.) Please take a look and enjoy! Find more about the book (as well as how to get a copy) on my Thaliad page or at Elizabeth Adams' Phoenicia Publishing.