I am trying to remember that moment in writing The Innamorati — constructed mainly around the characters of the Commedia dell'Arte– when I decided I needed the Siren Herminia to join the cast. I cannot now conceive of the novel without her — but neither can I recall conceiving the necessity of her in the […]
Homeric Sirens II: Enchanters of All Mankind Read More »
This excerpt is taken from Chapter Eight in The Innamorati when Erminia finds herself in the piazza, watching a performance of the Commedia troupe, the Libertini. She is stunned by the magic of Anna Forseti's masks. And their power incite in her the longing to be fully the fantastic creature that she is, threatening to
Excerpt from The Innamorati: Erminia’s Song Read More »
Homer offers one of the earliest descriptions of the Sirens in The Odyssey. It comes as Odysseus is leaving Hades, having gotten advice from just about all of the shades in his past. Circe makes it clear that there are still significant obstacles to his journey home and offers suggestions as to how to hear
The Sirens of Homer’s Odyssey I Read More »
I am working on a series of posts on my research on the sirens — all of which went into creating the character of Erminia, the siren in The Innamorati. I decided to provide something from the novel as an opportunity to see how the research transforms into character. So here is the chapter where
Excerpt From The Innamorati: Erminia, the Siren Read More »
Every time I work on a book, I spend almost as much time looking for evocative images as I do the right word or phrase. I never know exactly where I will find them — though heaven knows, Pinterest has provided me with much joy recently. And I now keep all the found images from
Visual Nutrition: Finding the Satyrs of The Innamorati Read More »
There is nothing more thrilling than to read a novel's opening sentences and feel the entire weight of the novel laid bare, giving both a sense of anticipation and dread. You can not help yourself but to lean in to see if such proclaimed prophecy will turn out to be right even as you are
Lessons From the Masters: Joseph Conrad’s Opening Sentence: An Outcast of the Islands Read More »
More notes from Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy because he says so many exciting things, and I can only choose some to share with the audience at Mythcon. My brain is pretty tired, but reading and writing text allows me to continue to stuff more and more information in without worrying about actually remembering
Fine Tuning: A Second Glance at Ong: Orally Based Thought and Speech Read More »
Flannery O'Connor: From Mysteries and Manners "I often ask myself what makes a story work, and what makes it hold up as a story and I have decided that it is probably some action, some gesture of a character that is unlike any other in the story, one which indicates where the real heart of
The Anagogical Moment, Referencing the Mystery. Read More »
I so enjoy reading John Le Carre whose masterful writing offers a lesson in how to write with precision, creating layers of meaning in finely honed phrases. Here is the opening passage from The Perfect Spy, a seemingly straightforward account of a man, Marcus Pym, striding across a square on a rainy evening, headed toward
The Perfect Passage: John Le Carre Read More »
As part of preparing for my talk at Mythcon — which will be focusing on the re-interpretation of myths in modern literature, especially as this is the anniversary of C. S. Lewis’ brilliant novel Till We Have Faces, based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche — I have been reading widely in the histories and
Orality and Literacy: The Sound of Language. Read More »
