Yaddith Times

Lovecraftians with extra reading time this season should definitely devote some of it to Tor.com's  December Belongs to Cthulhu -- especially since penguinkeggard , author of the excellent "Living Poe Girl" series in October, is back!

This time, her "Lovecraft Fresh" series (two articles so far) examines the varied influences on Lovecraft's early stories.  Her first devotes itself to Poe's Gothic touch in "The Alchemist" and "The Outsider."   Her second, which I found particularly fascinating, puts her art history degree to good use by revealing Decadence/Symbolist influences in "The Hound."
 
Both these articles, though academically rigorous, are extremely readable and brief enough for a quick lunch hour.   For those not already familiar with them, she includes links to the tales online.
 
No matter how versed you are in HPL, though, you're likely to find new tidbits of geeky Mythos goodness here.   Her next article will discuss "The Color Out of Space" -- and I can't wait to see what she finds in that one. 

I'm jaw-droppingly shocked  very pleased  to report that Mythic Delirium's Featured Poems for issue #21, the Trickster Issue, have been posted -- and one of them is mine.  Editor time_shark 's choices this time around are: 

  1) Jessica Wick's "Coyote Knock,"  illustrated by Oliver Hunter, with audio sung (yes, sung !) by Amal El-Mohtar.
 
2) Constance Cooper's  "Other Fires," illustrated by Paula Friedlander, with audio by Kate Baker.

3) Yours Truly's "The Ones Who Met Them,"  illustrated by Don Eaves and Terrence Mollendor, also with audio from Kate Baker.

If you're like me, you've probably been somewhere near a shopping mall this season -- and you've been subjected to at least one carol you could really, really do without.

Fortunately, the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has done a brilliant send-up of my personal least favorite here.

Take a moment, do yourself a favor, and put a little Yog in that holiday nog.

This from a press release from the communication department at the Bodleian Library, Oxford:

Oxford, 16 November 2009 – The highly-anticipated Shakespeare Quartos Archive has been officially launched today with a complete digital collection of rare early editions of Hamlet. For the first time, all 32 existing quarto copies of the play held by participating UK and US institutions are freely available online in one place (www.quartos.org). This initiative is jointly led by the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford and the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC, through a joint transatlantic grant from Jisc in the UK and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the US.


To read the rest of the press release, and a bit of informed commentary from The Hamlet Weblog, check here.

I haven't had a chance to check this out yet, but -- as a person who spent a couple of semesters buried in the deepest recesses of The Riverside Shakespeare -- I find this concept fascinating. What a great use of 21st century technology in the service of the Bard!

It's actually been a couple of weeks since these publications landed in my mailbox, but they're worth the wait. Full disclosure: I have poems in both magazines.

The SFPA's Star*Line 32.5 (September/October -- let's do the time warp again!) is the usual rich assortment of spec poetry, useful articles on how to write / read / appreciate said poetry, and small press reviews. This issue is focused on the darker side, though darkness really knows no season for some of us! Its TOC is extensive, and may be found here. The featured poems are from Wendy Rathbone and ysabetwordsmith

Space & Time #109 (Winter 09) also offers its TOC online, here. This venerable spec quarterly publishes both fiction and poetry, ranging from SF to horror. Lovecraftians should note that there are two mythos-themed poems in this issue, T. Frazer-Eliot's
"Al Azif" and Wade German's "From Tindalos."

My Web site has been updated (after quite some time) with new information about various projects.

And my "scattering of haiku" page has a nifty new seasonal photo haiga at the bottom -- suitable for any winter holiday you might be celebrating. (Or, in the case of folks from Oz, summer holiday . . . anyhow, something festive in December.)

Thanks to charlesatan , I now know that Tor.com has decided that December Belongs to Cthulhu.

In recognition of this, they're offering special postings all month long -- along with a running list of what's been posted, to allow all us cultists Lovecraft aficionados to catch up on our favorite items. Definitely something to check regularly this season!

Meanwhile, why not treat yourself to some holiday HPL by reading (or rereading, as I do almost every year) "The Festival"?

Two online haiku journals, The Heron's Nest and Notes From the Gean, have new issues up for December.

I've got one haiku in The Heron's Nest, here. Check here for one by dkolodji .

Notes From the Gean took five of mine (two very seasonally appropriate), though you'll have to scroll down a bit to find them here.

The audio SF magazine StarShipSofa's annual Sofanaut Awards have opened for preliminary nominations (until December 7th). There are several contributor categories to vote for, though I am eligible in only one: "Best Poetry/Music Contributor." I've had four poems on the Aural Delights podcast, during episodes 60, 61, 69, & 70.

I would urge all StarShipSofa listeners to participate in the Sofanauts nomination process by voting here. Any number of contributors may be nominated in each category.

This week's Montage from The Haiku Foundation, entitled "Three Women," is a bit different. In addition to featuring the work of three notable or emergent female writers of English-language haiku -- Virginia Brady Young, Sandra Simpson, & Eve Luckring -- it offers a headnote about the International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women

I like to think that I pay attention to such things, but I had no idea that this day (Nov. 25th) existed -- let alone why the General Assembly of the U.N. designated it in 1999.

Anyone interested in recent women's history (as well as an excellent group of haiku) should really take a short break from holiday preparations and check this out! For a bit more information about the day & its inspiration, go here.

Ever wondered where your favorite dead poet is now? Well, there' s a helpful Web site just for you! Seriously. Poets' Graves has been helping people locate dead poets since August 2003.

It apparently started with British poets, but now offers quite an assortment to be searched by surname or location. The site also includes maps and an amazing amount of other information on poetry and poets (lists of Poets Laureate both US & UK, for starters).

There are also a limited number of listings for other graves: writers, musicians, & artists.

(Thanks to bookslut for pointing out this remarkable combination of the poetic & the morbid.)

I'm happy -- and astonished -- to report that all the black & white interior art for my poetry collection Wild Hunt of the Stars has been completed and sent to the publisher. Since the color cover work has been done for some time, this completes the art portion of this project.

Marge Simon was even kind enough to do two more pieces of interior illustration than she had originally agreed to. With her express permission, here's one of them to whet the appetite:




(Watercolor wash illo for the haibun "How Green Was its Valley")

My dark flash fiction, "Rehab," is up today on Everyday Weirdness.

This is the only piece of fiction I have ever written -- or may ever write -- in this particular (and all too popular) sub-genre, so enjoy it while you can!

Just found out over the weekend that my dark fantasy / mythological haibun "Mount Pacho" has been accepted by guest editor time_shark for the next issue of Goblin Fruit.

I'm particularly happy with this sale, because "Mount Pacho" is one of the longest (4 haiku included) and most heavily researched speculative haibun I've ever done.

Thanks also to Archaeology Magazine, and the Nov./Dec. 2008 article which inspired this whole thing.

This week's Montage from The Haiku Foundation is entitled "With a Smile," and offers 21 poems by Yu Chang, George Swede, and Jörgen Johansson.  Whether these poems are haiku or senryu, however, is often a matter of the reader's opinion.

For those seeking to improve the quality of their opinions (on this subject, at least!) editor Allan Burns includes a brief, insightful essay.    I was unaware of the formal Japanese distinction between haiku and senryu, and found this paragraph well worth my time.

As usual, the poems themselves pack an amazing amount of imagery -- and humor! -- into few words.

Houston, we have art . . . already, which amazes me.  Marge Simon, the highly talented illustrator of my forthcoming poetry collection, has been working like a demon for the past week.

So far, I've seen six detailed black & white images, in a very atmospheric watercolor wash style.  There is also a full-color cover still in progress, which depicts the title poem.

As time and technology permit, I hope to share some of these images in the near future!

I'm having a good week for good news, it seems.  Just found out last night that my dark flash fiction "Rehab" has been accepted by Everyday Weirdness. 

This particular bit of weirdness is scheduled to appear on their site on November 18th. 

I am absolutely delighted to announce that I will be having a new poetry collection, entitled Wild Hunt of the Stars, coming out from Sam's Dot Publishing in February 2010. 

Wild Hunt of the Stars consists of fifty science fiction, science, and fantasy poems, one-third previously unpublished.  The overall tone is dark (big surprise, right?), and the majority of the poems are formal. 

I am equally delighted to announce that Marge Simon will be doing the color cover and several black & white interior illos.  I've already seen one version of the cover, and it's impressive.  Marge has illustrated many of my poems in the past, so I've got high hopes for this project.  

More details / progress reports / sales pitches to follow . . .  

Yes, friends, there is indeed a whole book of 5/7/5 zombie haiku.  Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum.  I wish I were making this up (and heaven knows my imagination is morbid enough), but I'm not.

Go here to see all the details, including a YouTube video which defies description.  If you're eating Halloween candy, you might want to stop before you start watching. 

This item discovered courtesy of Blogging Along Tobacco Road , an excellent and usually mainstream haiku blog.

Today's update from Innsmouth Free Press features a micro-interview with me, regarding my flash fiction "Scream Saver" in their Fall Fiction Issue.

It's really short -- three questions -- but I do reveal which Cthulhu Mythos monster or character I would most like to be.