(Photos by Peter Zelei/istockphoto and John Robert Shepard) This happened across my internet desk one morning, and I stopped everything to read it. The poet Donald Hall wrote a short story about a journey he took post-WWII with his very young bride, driving from Oxford to Greece by way of Yugoslavia. It is one of […]
Donald Hall: One Road Read More »
I have respect for authors who manage to write incredibly long, complicated sentences — but with such consummate skill and daring that I inhale deeply and then read it aloud, trying to see if I can make it to the end in all one exhale. These sentences enter the text to condense a moment into
Barry Unsworth and the Best Long Sentence Read More »
I am having a wonderful time reading 16th-century Basile's splendid introductions to stories in his Tales of Tales. And while the tales are wicked-wonderful, these observations on the human condition have me enthralled — I suspect because they remain surprisingly current. Plus ça change… "…artisans leave their shops, merchants their trade, lawyers their cases, shopkeepers
Startling Moments from Basile That Still Ring True Read More »
Although written back in 2009 when the Datlow/Windling anthology Black Swan, White Raven was first published, I only recently and quite by accident discovered that Colleen Mondor gave my short story, "The Reverend's Wife" a rather nice review — which even though lately discovered, has made me very happy this morning. "Right off the bat,
Review By Colleen Mondor of “The Reverend’s Wife.” Read More »
I am in a frenzy, following up from a the previous post on the art of Katherine Ace. We were writing about the surface of art in painting and oral narrative performance of well known fairy tales contrasted with the subtext of evocative imagery — the tension between the encounters of the
The Skin and Blood of Art: Atwood and Lorca Read More »
I had one of those remarkable encounters while reading Kate Atkinson's Case Histories, who was describing in almost identical words an idea I had explored years ago in a poem. It is an ambiguous moment in motherhood, knitting power and love in a fierce and consuming way. It's awful really, selfish as it expresses a desire
The Hungry Mother: Kate Atkinson and Baba Yaga Read More »
Near the end of the novel The Pirates of the Levant by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Captain Alatriste finds himself the highest ranking survivor of one of three ships that are battling for their lives against the Turks, who out-gun, out-cannon, and just sheer outnumber the Spaniards. There is a hasty meeting of the remaining "commanders" from
Last Lines and Cool Captains Read More »
There is a passage in Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Pirates of the Levant that struck me as true. We are a military family and for over ten years it has been my pleasure (mingled with a mother's worry and sometimes grief at the violent deaths) of being in the company of remarkable men who have served
Honor & Loyalty in Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s The Pirates of the Levant. Read More »
In the midst of reading The King’s Gold, Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s fourth volume in his swashbuckling series “The Adventures of Captain Alatriste,” I came across one of those brilliant, long, elegant, artfully constructed sentences that takes up almost the entire paragraph. I’ve read it over several times and just can’t get over how gorgeous it is.
The Art of the Long Sentence: Arturo Pérez-Reverte Read More »
"Let us amuse ourselves today, You will never guess my name, and I won't ask you to try. I am a mad spirit or goblin. I come from the other world, and one of those spirits, Actus or Plautus orders me to tell you that a comedy will be played this evening."
Angelo Beolco, Playwright and Actor 1502-1542 Read More »
