And don't tell me not to reference my songs within my songs

[sovay]

It has been a good writing day. My flash fiction, "Sea-Changes," has been accepted by John Benson for the annual Not One of Us one-off in January; this story accompanies erzebeta's "The Fisher's Bride," about which I raved a few weeks ago. Correspondingly, John Klima has accepted my very short story "Bar Golem" for Electric Velocipede; it's another take on medieval golem legend, the closeness of flesh and clay. And I see from rushthatspeaks that copies of Not One of Us #34 are in the mail, so you might as well get 'em while they're hot. lesser_celery can help you there.

William James Stillman's 1870 photographs of the Acropolis of Athens are unbelievable. This I know from a lecture by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak (he's the non-purple one in that picture), who gave me the chance to talk about Alma-Tadema's classical paintings in class. I now have a new nineteenth-century obsession. And a book I really want.

One of the actual professors sat in on my class today, and it was not a trainwreck. (Nor did I have a heart attack, which is also important.) The weather's cooled enough that my green corduroy jacket has made an appearance. I have variously-colored chalk, which is very useful when writing out stems, tense markers, and personal endings; not to mention case and number in the first declension. A quiz was administered on Thursday and there was no rebellion. On Monday, however, I teach them the subjunctive. After a week of the indicative. Damn the thematic vowels, full speed ahead . . .

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

I always liked the Ablative Absolute. And the Passive Periphrastic.

Nine

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

see icon. *g*

[sovay]

Hee. Thank you.

[clarionj.livejournal.com]

Inquiry: I had ordered a copy of Singing Innocence and Experience (haven't received it yet but hope to soon!) and now I see you also have this Postcards collection. Is that the latest? I have some catching up to do. I'll be glad to have your stories collected--after Jon Hodges spoke so highly of your writing, I'd begun ordering single copies of magazines to read your work. Congratulations on your latest acceptances and glad to hear the teaching is starting off well for you. I've a feeling your students are lucky to have you. Thanks, too, for the Not One of Us update--I've a story coming out in #34 I think, and even if not yet, it's good to know something fun will be arriving soon.

[sovay]

Singing Innocence and Experience is my first collection of short fiction; Postcards from the Province of Hyphens is my first collection of poetry. Postcards actually came out a month and a piece before Innocence and Experience, but they're both new this summer. (I have also a chapbook, The Dybbuk in Love, that got a mindblowing review at Reflection's Edge. That's about it this year.) And I am so glad to hear you're liking my stories! I am totally ineloquent when complimented, but I hope the collection is to your taste when it arrives; and I look forward to reading your story in #34!

[sovay]

Okay, I'm a complete livejournal idiot. I hadn't connected your online handle to your real name. I have not only read your story in #34, I particularly like it—it's excellent—and although I've only read one other story of yours, in Wicked Hollow #5, that one is very good as well. I'm sorry about this. Hello.

[clarionj.livejournal.com]

I would have said that I was Pat, but I didn't think you'd know who that was either. I was feeling anonymous, and so, awkward, in writing to you. And I understand your feeling about compliments, the awkwardness there too. But will it keep me from saying how much I liked your story, Drink Down? I received the copy of Not One of Us soon after you mentioned it and immediately read your story. I couldn't possibly go into every bit of gorgeous language, striking nuance; more amazing is that you do this consistently, that this isn't just one masterwork. It takes care, can be slow work to find a fresh way to say things, to make the ordinary alive again for the reader, and with your work, each line is an awakening. How do you do it? I think your mind harbors all the knowledge of the world and so you see everything overlapping, one thing imaging another, and I wonder what it's like just getting through a day.

[sovay]

Thank you.

You have guaranteed that I have nothing to say now, except thank you. I am honored.

And I have no idea how it works, either: I only know that it does . . .

[larryhammer]

Yay sales!

---L.