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

[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 . . .