Sons are sons and daughters are daughters. We have sons; we have daughters. We have them, we look at them, we think about them, we move toward them, we move away from them.
We have us our sons. We have us our daughters.
You have neither and this is why we spend so little time in your company. You have no son. You have no daughter. You have nothing but you and it is strange and terrible.
This son here has more fingers than that one. This daughter receives messages from the stars. This son is allowed no more than ten carrots a week. This daughter will try at some point to kill a horse with her teeth.
Minor adjustments to the world, and all this would be very different. Did you know that? You might have the sons. You might have the daughters. Instead, things are how they are. They are what we see them to be.
There is a movement afoot in contemporary writing—a new(ish) movement with some very old roots. Calvino, Barthelme, and the fabulist writers of recent history—those writers who mined the themes of old fables for their new stories—ago have inspired the likes of Kelly Link, Kevin Brockmeier, Aimee Bender, Etgar Keret, and many more to write in the fabulist mode while also crafting contemporary, domestic tales. We will look at a number of writers in this mode, and discuss how to add elements of the fantastic to your own work in a seamless and elegant fashion. Instructor: Matthew Simmons Meets: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - Tuesday, March 02, 2010 Tuesday, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Min: 5 Max: 15
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Two readings coming up. Both at Hugo House. One is on January 19 @7pm. The second is at Cheap Beer and Prose, January 28, 7pm.
Today is a day for examining what it is that makes you wonder what it is. This is what I've been thinking a lot about. It's hardly a day to pretend other than that.
Like, what if there's a moonfall event tomorrow?
Like, what if all the birds are more or less finished with flying?
Like, what's that word that's supposed to follow the word you've got stuck in your hand?
Like, how will we all cope now that the bees have gone and flown away to space?
Like, really are you satisfied with the way your beard smells?
Like, if dolphin telepathy is just a couple of years away from completion, what will Big Science do with its free time?
Like, are armies on the march because this battle is finished again and they are coming home or are they going somewhere new?
Like, Friday is just another way of avoiding Saturday for 24 more hours, right?
Like, arms get folded more often than we think but no one's really keeping score, are they?
Like, research research research. Is that all we'll ever read a book about?
But, honestly, let's be honest with ourselves. The pillow remains dry. The stairs keep going up and up. The neighbors have your dog hostage. Relax and live a little, am I right?
Yes, I am.
Forward and onward and upward. Blogging is impossible and for another day.
I'll be reading in Portland on November 22 with Daniel Bailey and Bryan Coffelt. I think it's with this store, Ampersand, but it might actually occur at a nearby coffee house. When I know more, I will tell you more.
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Shane Jones's new book, The Failure Six, is very good. I have read about four of the failures. I am up to number five. You should buy The Failure Six. And you should read it in a room with a cat watching you read it.
Someone told me about visiting a museum in Russia that had a room full of jarred still-born fetuses. Someone had sewed tiny lace ruffles around their wrists, and tiny lace collars on their necks.
When I was 16 or 17, I read an article in Thrasher Magazine. I think it was Thrasher. It was an issue devoted to tattooing.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Thrasher. I remember skateboarders.
There was an article about doing tattoos yourself without a tattoo gun. (Or any talent.) It said to take a needle and wrap thread up to the tip, leaving a little bit of the needle exposed. It said to take India ink and dip the needle in, and let the thread soak some of it up. It said poke sort of deep into the skin. It said that that was it.
One evening I decided I would just go ahead and do all the things that the magazine said. The ghost above is the result.
I will never cover it. I have a few very nice, professionally done tattoos. This is still my favorite.
