The salt, the spray, the gorgeous undertow
I returned from demoralizing errands of the bank and the post office to find that my queer Jewish Deep One story "All Our Salt-Bottled Hearts" has been rave-reviewed by Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth at Tor.com's Lovecraft Reread:
Those of us who identify with Lovecraft's monsters see a different horror. That's probably why sympathetic Deep Ones—my own, Taaffe's, McGuire's—find it a little harder to go back to the water. In these versions it's assimilation that terrifies, the loss of culture and tribal cohesion that follow on the heels of genocide. It's the delicate negotiation of the mixed marriage, the question of whether your children will really be able to fit among your parents' people. Taaffe perfectly embodies those challenges with a mixed Jewish/Dagonish marriage, where both sides must have shared those fears. I would happily read a whole other story, or novel, consisting solely of Anson's parents discussing holiday customs.
So that has made my day. A lot. In a conversation on Facebook this weekend, I mentioned that one of the things I left NecronomiCon really, really wanting was an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction by marginalized writers: we have two anthologies of women writing Lovecraft and they are neither of them chopped liver, but let's broaden the parameters explicitly to include queer writers, trans writers, writers of color, non-Christian writers, non-American writers, intersections of all of the above and more—Lovecraft entirely from the perspective of people who would have been Other to him. (A commenter suggested the title Heroes of Red Hook, which I think is brilliant.) I don't want to have to edit the thing myself and in any case it should probably be someone like Emrys, Craig L. Gidney, Caitlín R. Kiernan, or Victor LaValle, but I think there would be a readership. I met a lot of them at the convention. Also I'd throw money at it. We might even get that genre-making third example.
Have some links. They're even thematically apropos!
1. Courtesy of![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
moon_custafer: ChiZine Publications is now reading for Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People, edited by Andrea D. Lobel and Mark Shainblum. The reading period runs until February. I admit that I side-eye some of the prompts, but appreciate that they are not meant to be either "prescriptive or proscriptive . . . the whole canvas of Jewish history is open to you—Biblical, historical and mythological." I suspect I have a better shot on the mythological front than the purely historical. Friendlist, don't self-reject.
2. Courtesy ofselkie: lesbian Jewish WWII Berlin.
3. Travis Beacham who wrote Pacific Rim (2013) has a short selkie film in the works: The Curiosity. I have no idea of its release status, but further stills and snippets are available at the official Tumblr.handful_ofdust, one of the actors reminds me of Three-Fingered Hank Fennig. I still wish I'd found a way to see So Yong Kim and Bradley Rust Gray's Salt (2002).
Those of us who identify with Lovecraft's monsters see a different horror. That's probably why sympathetic Deep Ones—my own, Taaffe's, McGuire's—find it a little harder to go back to the water. In these versions it's assimilation that terrifies, the loss of culture and tribal cohesion that follow on the heels of genocide. It's the delicate negotiation of the mixed marriage, the question of whether your children will really be able to fit among your parents' people. Taaffe perfectly embodies those challenges with a mixed Jewish/Dagonish marriage, where both sides must have shared those fears. I would happily read a whole other story, or novel, consisting solely of Anson's parents discussing holiday customs.
So that has made my day. A lot. In a conversation on Facebook this weekend, I mentioned that one of the things I left NecronomiCon really, really wanting was an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction by marginalized writers: we have two anthologies of women writing Lovecraft and they are neither of them chopped liver, but let's broaden the parameters explicitly to include queer writers, trans writers, writers of color, non-Christian writers, non-American writers, intersections of all of the above and more—Lovecraft entirely from the perspective of people who would have been Other to him. (A commenter suggested the title Heroes of Red Hook, which I think is brilliant.) I don't want to have to edit the thing myself and in any case it should probably be someone like Emrys, Craig L. Gidney, Caitlín R. Kiernan, or Victor LaValle, but I think there would be a readership. I met a lot of them at the convention. Also I'd throw money at it. We might even get that genre-making third example.
Have some links. They're even thematically apropos!
1. Courtesy of
moon_custafer: ChiZine Publications is now reading for Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People, edited by Andrea D. Lobel and Mark Shainblum. The reading period runs until February. I admit that I side-eye some of the prompts, but appreciate that they are not meant to be either "prescriptive or proscriptive . . . the whole canvas of Jewish history is open to you—Biblical, historical and mythological." I suspect I have a better shot on the mythological front than the purely historical. Friendlist, don't self-reject.2. Courtesy of
selkie: lesbian Jewish WWII Berlin.3. Travis Beacham who wrote Pacific Rim (2013) has a short selkie film in the works: The Curiosity. I have no idea of its release status, but further stills and snippets are available at the official Tumblr.
handful_ofdust, one of the actors reminds me of Three-Fingered Hank Fennig. I still wish I'd found a way to see So Yong Kim and Bradley Rust Gray's Salt (2002).
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I side-eyed some of the prompts for Other Covenants too, but I hope I can think of some angle to contribute.
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It's the sense of someone reading and getting it. It makes me really happy.
I side-eyed some of the prompts for Other Covenants too, but I hope I can think of some angle to contribute.
I hope so. I'd like to see what you do. Can you get an in from film somehow?
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Oh, that's a good idea!
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I can gently and enthusiastically clobber any time you like. Besides, I want to read that.
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Hee. Thank you. I consider myself warned.
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I really want it to exist.
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Thank you! It was a surprise to me and is still making me happy.
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Thank you!
I'd read the hell out of that anthology.
I would, too! I don't know how to make it happen. I really don't (and this is not Tiny Wittgenstein) believe I would be a suitable editor.
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Wow, yeah--that dude DOES look like young Mister Henry from Five Points, don't he?
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Thank you! It is especially wonderful because these are people who know whereof they speak: if they shredded (or were even just lukewarm about) the story, I'd believe they had a point. And instead they said enthusiastic things about it, so I guess I have to believe those, too. My impostor syndrome is confused.
(Happy and terrified to see they're doing "Hairwork" next, probably because I told them about it at Necronomicon. Like a fool.;))
It's a good story! I'm looking forward!
Wow, yeah--that dude DOES look like young Mister Henry from Five Points, don't he?
He became my fancast on the spot. Apologies to anyone you may actually have had in mind at the time.
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That imposter syndrome needs to shut up every once in a while, for sure.;)
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So Autolycus responded to this comment before I could. He says:
.............Ú
which is honestly a decent transcription of the noise he is making right now. I say:
Thank you!
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In a conversation on Facebook this weekend, I mentioned that one of the things I left NecronomiCon really, really wanting was an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction by marginalized writers
Oh god. That's tempting. I'm pretty sure that editing an anthology is one of those things, like running Worldcons, that friends don't let friends do. But so tempting.
The suggested title appears to be taken, alas, at least assuming this project eventually panned out:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/golden-goblin-press/heroes-of-red-hook
Sort of vaguely the same concept, though not particularly #OwnVoices.
The nice thing about an anthology of the people who terrified Lovecraft is that it would be very inclusive. Pretty much anyone other than rich neurotypical WASPs of a very narrow socioeconomic class. And even then, if you live someplace rural, or like New York, or spend a lot of time sailing...
The stories themselves would have to take all those identities seriously. Done right, you'd build up to a perfect inversion of cosmic horror, with human bigotry as the uncaring universe from which no one is safe.
No. No, I shall put the blasphemously tempting conception from my mind. I dare not even consider the horrendous implications.
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It really did!
It's an amazing story. I just sort of want to roll around in it and then get into a Talmudic argument with Anson's dad.
That may be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about a story of mine, that review included. Thank you.
The suggested title appears to be taken, alas, at least assuming this project eventually panned out
It does seem to have generated a book. Ah, well. I'm sure there's some other suitable reference in the canon.
No. No, I shall put the blasphemously tempting conception from my mind. I dare not even consider the horrendous implications.
I think if you don't consider at least one horrendous implication, you're doing Lovecraft wrong.
So: NecronomiCon 2019? Too soon?
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If no one else has taken it up in January after all the goats are out of our house, I might have to seriously consider it.
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Awesome.
Just for the record: actual or metaphorical goats?
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*We don't think the snake will take full advantage of the educational opportunities to be found in the greater DC metro area.
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I know people with actual ones; I just wanted to be sure. I hope the snake at least enrolls in some community classes.
(Good luck.)
Apropos of nothing except general relevance, I would commend this movie to your attention.
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Thank you!
And what a cool idea for an anthology.
I really want someone to edit it.