Blog Archives

Some Background Reading on a Saturday

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As promised, I am now posting from America’s desktop: the wi-fi connected National Mall in Washington, DC.  Specifically, I am having lunch in the Mitsitam Cafe inside the National Museum of the American Indian.  More specifically, I am having apple juice, tamarind-basted papaya, and pork pibil.

And, no, I did not shoot the cook.

There is, of course, a literary component of my visit to the museum.  At the bookstore, I purchased a Día de los Muertos figurine (for Halloween use) and Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier by Timothy J. Shannon.

Can’t wait to read some, so I’m signing off for the day.  Have a good weekend!

Category: Background

Archaic Definition of the Week – Xeres

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xeres (ZER-es) sherry
_his grandmother’s late-afternoon spot of xeres

– Endangered English Dictionary: Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot by David Grambs.

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Category: ADOTW

The National Mall in DC is Now my Writing Desk

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For those of you who don’t already know, I live a short jaunt from the National Mall.

And, when I say “a short jaunt” I mean that, if I had a straight line of site from my balcony to Independence Avenue, with my US Navy Expert Marksman ribbon I would stand a good chance (with a rifle) of hitting a man-sized target skirting the rear of the Air and Space Museum.

Okay, maybe that’s a rather violent illustration, but I think I’ve made my point.

So, imagine my excitement at the news that the entire National Mall is now wired for the Internet!  Granted, it is a bit ironic since I just signed up for 3G service on my new laptop with Verizon last weekend, but let’s not look a gift horse (or gift Wi-Fi) in the mouth.

Expect some blog entries from the shadow of the Smithsonian (or, God help my waistline, the Mitsitam Cafe at the Museum of the American Indian) in the near future!

Category: Blogroll

Why Our Discussion Of Literature Is Confused

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Discussing her twist on Bram Stoker, titled Dracula in Love, author Karen Essex wrestles with the slippery definition of the “literary” … and its many pretenders.

Her piece at Publisher’s Weekly, “No Sex, Please, We’re Literary,” got me thinking about the way we categorize literature, and how it holds us back from really understanding — and enjoying — the stuff we read.

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Category: My Two Cents

Odd Thoughts on Emphasis

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How can you tell if a hyphen is italicized?

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[experiment: – –]

Category: Odd Thoughts

Archaic Definition of the Week – Hornbook

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hornbook: A primer which was popular in England between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Consisting of a single sheet of paper or vellum mounted on wood, on which were printed the alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer, and Roman numerals, the hornbook derived its name from the protective covering of horn over the sheet.

The term is used by Thomas Dekker in his Gull’s Hornbook, a witty pamphlet for the young men-about-town of early-seventeenth-century London.

Literary Terms: A Dictionary by Karl Beckson and Arthur Ganz.

Category: ADOTW

Odd Thoughts on Etymology

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Why doesn’t “exciting” mean “formerly making reference to”?

Category: Odd Thoughts

How MFA Programs Can Hurt Literature

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After commenting on a post defending MFA programs at Fiction Writers Review, I realized that the issue deserved a blog entry of its own.  The post was itself commentary on a Huffington Post story by author Lev Raphael and, after having read the full article, I was more convinced than ever that I needed to write a detailed rebuttal.

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Category: My Two Cents

Publisher Negligence and Word of Mouth

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God bless Kassia Krozser of BookSquare for adding her voice to a growing chorus calling out the nakedness of the Emperor.

Yes, publishers themselves are helping to devalue books with their poor business decisions, by pushing awful books by famous people hoping we won’t remember, with speculative bidding frenzies that abandon all sense of reality, etc. 

Of course, it’s a rant, but go read it.

Category: Blogroll

Two Good Takes on Picoult

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I realize the Picoult-NYT hubbub is simmering down, but I would like to share two of what I consider to be the best pieces I’ve read throughout the entire storm.

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Lincoln Michel at The Faster Times picks apart Picoult’s charges of sexism as well as her understanding of literary history.

Jim at Dystel & Goderich also calls into question Picoult’s dedication to literature, and claims she’s picked the wrong battle.

Category: My Two Cents
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