I left out the last eight verses

[sovay]

Seriously, there should be an emoticon for not actually dead—I'm not, even if this inbox full of unanswered e-mail says otherwise. I got a cold. I dropped off the map. Mostly I've been self-medicating with various books and Flanders and Swann,¹ although last week Eric and I watched Norwegian Insomnia (1997) and this Wednesday Viking Zen showed me The Secret of Kells (2009).

In any case, the mail just brought me two awesome things: Louise Brooks' Lulu in Hollywood (1982), which I suspect of being a birthday present from my best cousins ever,² and my contributor's copy of Not One of Us #44, in which can be found my poem "In the Earth in Those Days." It is about Biblical selkies; asakiyume introduced me to the folklore. Appropriately, it appears in the same issue as Jeannelle Ferreira's "The Seal Wife," also Loren Rhoads' "Catalyst," Patricia Russo's "With the Blue Heart People," and other fine pieces of autumn and change. Go forth and pick up a copy of your own. I am going to read Louise Brooks until I have to leave for a rehearsal. Wish me luck.

1. Probably to no one's surprise but my own, I find that I consider Donald Swann awesome: I am already inclined to respect an ostensible straight man who goes off with Greek tongue-twisters and can sing about hippopotami in Russian even before he decides that going mainstream from light comedy means setting Tolkien to music and writing an opera of Perelandra. I don't suppose anyone has his recording of Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance"?

2. Edit: Confirmed. Best cousins ever.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I must go to my mailbox! My subscriber's copy should be waiting for me!

I should take a picture of the wall behind this computer, so you could see "In the Earth in Those Days" hanging on it, next to a calendar for the month of May, illustrated by the healing angel in some past year, and underneath an "A Softer World" cartoon, in which Joey Comeau declares that we are all going to die, and he intends to deserve it.

How was The Secret of Kells. I recall someone pointing me to a trailer for it, but I never heard anything about it.

[zdenka]

I have Swann's Tolkien settings. They are pretty cool.

[timesygn.livejournal.com]

Alas my contributor's copy - assuredly mailed by conscientious John - endures a Elysium in the bowels of the Canadian Postal Service ...

Looking forward to reading your new poem, Sonya, and I hope you feel better soon.

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

*offers hugs*
Good luck, and best wishes for recovery :)

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

You are correct about the Louise Brooks, that is from us and I am glad it finally turned up.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

I'm most glad you're not actually. Sorry for the cold, and I hope you're feeling better now, or will be soon.

Glad for the awesome things. Enjoy! Hope the rehearsal goes well. Good luck!

PS

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

What did you think of The Secret of Kells? I've not had a chance to see it, and tend to be suspicious of anything set in Ireland in that period, but my teacher, Pádraig, said he'd liked it, so I'm hopeful.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Excellent things, all, except, of course, the cold, which can get the hell out.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Donald Swann is a fascinating character. A guy I know sings his arrangement of Treebeard's song from The Two Towers, which is perfect, as right for the words as music can possibly be for free-verse poetry.

I am in love with Michael Flanders, now that you mention it. (I fell hard, the moment that he said, "Bonfire Night is coming. You can always tell. Swann pushed me up the road and we got four shillings and sixpence." I find it oddly badass that he could make that kind of joke about himself.)

[deliasherman.livejournal.com]

I am a long-time, hard-core Flanders and Swann fan, having grown up with "At the Drop of Another Hat" and the Tolkien songs. I have a Complete Works CD now, which I tend to listen to when I'm cooking for a dinner party. "Slow Train" always makes me cry.

Feel much better very soon. And do post something (if you feel up to it) about Book of Kells because clearly there's a lot of curiosity out there.