My schedule for this year's Arisia is compact and somewhat memorial:
Dramatic Readings from the Ig Nobel Prizes
Friday 10 PM
Marc Abrahams (m), Michelle Liguori, James Bredt
Highlights from Ig Nobel prize-winning studies and patents, presented in dramatic mini-readings by luminaries and experts (in some field). The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions about the research presented—answers will be based on the expertise of the presenters, who may have a different expertise than the researchers.
[In previous years I have read "The Number 13 as a Castration Fantasy" and "The highest-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn." Come discover with me what abomination of science I will have to explain this time.]
Harlan Ellison: In Memoriam
Saturday 1 PM
Michael A. Burstein (m), Robert B. Finegold M.D., John Trimble, Lisa Hertel, Sonya Taaffe
Harlan Ellison was one of the great short story writers of all time, and one of the field's larger-than-life figures. He was also someone whose bad behavior often undercut his achievements and even the good deeds he attempted to do. We'll discuss both his literary legacy and his personal one. Note that this panel will likely discuss topics that are uncomfortable for some people.
Ursula K. Le Guin: In Memoriam
Saturday 2:30 PM
Trisha J. Wooldridge (m.), Mark W. Richards, Sarah Smith, A.J. Odasso, Sonya Taaffe
SFWA Grand Master Ursula K. Le Guin passed away early last year at the age of 88. Best known for her Earthsea series, as well as The Left Hand of Darkness and The Disposessed, Le Guin consistently pushed themes of identity and social structure in her narratives. Join our panelists as they remember her life and works, and share what Le Guin meant to us all, as well as her influence on the genre as a whole.
Nightstand Readings
Saturday 7 PM
Timothy Goyette, Kel Bachus, Sonya Taaffe
Come find the next title to set on your nightstand for your bedtime reading routine, with authors reading to you from their own original works of fiction.
[I may read from either Forget the Sleepless Shores or new fiction. Come find out!]
Sing-along: Yiddish Songs
Sunday 11:30 AM
Anabel Graetz (m.), Sonya Taaffe, Marnen Laibow-Koser
There is a rich tradition of song from Jewish communities in Russia and Eastern Europe. Come sing along with some of these. Songs of work and play will be featured; no liturgical songs will be included. (Participatory sing-along with words provided.)
What We DIDN'T Steal from Tolkien
Sunday 5:30 PM
Kristin Janz (m.), James Hailer, Bekah Maren Anderson, Ken Gale, Sonya Taaffe
Tolkien, for all his flaws, did things in his work that revolutionized the literary landscape, yet so much of the deep, interesting, and nuanced aspects of his writing get overlooked in favor of the things at the surface level—the things that became trope-namers or cliches of the genre, the ways he influenced authors who came after. But what parts of Tolkien have been overlooked? What did he do that was worthwhile, yet which modern fantasy authors haven't emulated?
And Monday is![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
spatch's birthday, so this works out nicely. Who can I expect to see there?
Dramatic Readings from the Ig Nobel Prizes
Friday 10 PM
Marc Abrahams (m), Michelle Liguori, James Bredt
Highlights from Ig Nobel prize-winning studies and patents, presented in dramatic mini-readings by luminaries and experts (in some field). The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions about the research presented—answers will be based on the expertise of the presenters, who may have a different expertise than the researchers.
[In previous years I have read "The Number 13 as a Castration Fantasy" and "The highest-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn." Come discover with me what abomination of science I will have to explain this time.]
Harlan Ellison: In Memoriam
Saturday 1 PM
Michael A. Burstein (m), Robert B. Finegold M.D., John Trimble, Lisa Hertel, Sonya Taaffe
Harlan Ellison was one of the great short story writers of all time, and one of the field's larger-than-life figures. He was also someone whose bad behavior often undercut his achievements and even the good deeds he attempted to do. We'll discuss both his literary legacy and his personal one. Note that this panel will likely discuss topics that are uncomfortable for some people.
Ursula K. Le Guin: In Memoriam
Saturday 2:30 PM
Trisha J. Wooldridge (m.), Mark W. Richards, Sarah Smith, A.J. Odasso, Sonya Taaffe
SFWA Grand Master Ursula K. Le Guin passed away early last year at the age of 88. Best known for her Earthsea series, as well as The Left Hand of Darkness and The Disposessed, Le Guin consistently pushed themes of identity and social structure in her narratives. Join our panelists as they remember her life and works, and share what Le Guin meant to us all, as well as her influence on the genre as a whole.
Nightstand Readings
Saturday 7 PM
Timothy Goyette, Kel Bachus, Sonya Taaffe
Come find the next title to set on your nightstand for your bedtime reading routine, with authors reading to you from their own original works of fiction.
[I may read from either Forget the Sleepless Shores or new fiction. Come find out!]
Sing-along: Yiddish Songs
Sunday 11:30 AM
Anabel Graetz (m.), Sonya Taaffe, Marnen Laibow-Koser
There is a rich tradition of song from Jewish communities in Russia and Eastern Europe. Come sing along with some of these. Songs of work and play will be featured; no liturgical songs will be included. (Participatory sing-along with words provided.)
What We DIDN'T Steal from Tolkien
Sunday 5:30 PM
Kristin Janz (m.), James Hailer, Bekah Maren Anderson, Ken Gale, Sonya Taaffe
Tolkien, for all his flaws, did things in his work that revolutionized the literary landscape, yet so much of the deep, interesting, and nuanced aspects of his writing get overlooked in favor of the things at the surface level—the things that became trope-namers or cliches of the genre, the ways he influenced authors who came after. But what parts of Tolkien have been overlooked? What did he do that was worthwhile, yet which modern fantasy authors haven't emulated?
And Monday is
spatch's birthday, so this works out nicely. Who can I expect to see there?
