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 »
I love "road books" — novels whose plot mostly rests on a pair or a troupe of travelers making their way down some famous road. Adventures abound, stories are shared, and the journey becomes more important than the final destination. One of my favorites, which I have picked up again after many years, is the
Shank’s Mare: Hoofing It Down the Tokaido Road 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 »
Lately, I have been re-reading Rudolph M. Bell's How To Do It, Guides to Good Living for Renaissance Italians — a terrific social history of how Italians viewed their lives from the 15th to the 17th century. Italians were fairly literate then (the publishing industry was booming). There was a proliferation of self-help and advice
How To Do It In the Renaissance Read More »
I am the sort of writer who likes to know the end of a story first, and have a narrative road map along the writing way. But I can't do that with this Bordertown story/novel/novellas? I have no idea yet how it will come together and I feel like Belle arriving at the Beast's castle,
What Cocteau Is Teaching Me About Writing 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 »
How wonderful is this — and frankly, a wee bit strange to see my name in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. This is the Russian translation of The Greenman Anthology, and I had to count the stories based on the US edition in the ToC inborder to be certain which one was mine! And what a
Let me confess: I'm utterly fascinated by the enigmatic Renaissance rebel poet Pietro Aretino. His writings, which often led to him evading furious cardinals and creditors, and his correspondences with influential men who could have potentially blackmailed them earned him the moniker 'Scourge of Princes.' Aretino's life was a captivating juxtaposition of
Pietro Aretino and The Sixteen Pleasures Read More »
This is a complicated moment in the novel when several threads come together, all for the purpose of resolving Anna’s terrifying possession. Having accepted the maenad’s mask, and now in its spell, Anna throws herself into the bloody revels of the maenads following Bacchus. Two men with separate interests in Anna have been searching for
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Anna’s Return Read More »
Keith Johnstone’s Impro is a terrific book for actors looking for methods to feel at home and never without words on the stage. Johnstone’s emphasis is to understand and utilize improvisation effectively. The book is full of wonderful exercises and activities that do indeed have the ability to unlock spontaneous, creative speech to instigate, develop, and
Research Notes: Trance States in Mask Work II Read More »
