Canadian Poetry Archive:
The Canadian Poetry Archive features selected poems from over 100 early English- and French-language Canadian poets. Digitized from public domain anthologies found in the National Library of Canada’s rich literature collection, the poems represent some of Canada’s most notable poetry from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Canadian Poetry Archive database is searchable by poet, title, keywords and date. Author, title and date indexes can also be browsed.
Biographies of some of the more prominent poets in the database have also been provided.
Posted by Amy as Poetry at 1:56 AM EDT
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Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere: “Use the ballot below to vote for the candidate you like and remember this is the only elected poet laureate in the world. Voting will end on April 29th, 2007 and the 2007 winner will be announced on April 30th.”
I’m ashamed to say this, but I’m not familiar with the works of any of those nominated.
Via Humanyms.
Posted by Amy as Awards, Blogs and Bloggers, Poetry at 1:38 AM EDT
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Darker Matter is a new SF Zine; the second issue is now online. One of the highlights of the current issue is the second part of a 1979 interview with Douglas Adams.
Posted by Amy as Newspapers & Magazines, Speculative Fiction at 1:40 AM EDT
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The Dorothy Parker Society: this has lots of info on Parker and many good photos and links, including quite a few Audio Clips of Parker reading her work.
Posted by Amy as Authors at 1:39 AM EDT
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”Against National Poetry Month As Such” by Charles Bernstein:
National Poetry Month is about making poetry safe for readers by promoting examples of the art form at its most bland and its most morally “positive.” The message is: Poetry is good for you. But, unfortunately, promoting poetry as if it were an “easy listening” station just reinforces the idea that poetry is culturally irrelevant and has done a disservice not only to poetry deemed too controversial or difficult to promote but also to the poetry it puts forward in this way. “Accessibility” has become a kind of Moral Imperative based on the condescending notion that readers are intellectually challenged, and mustn’t be presented with anything but Safe Poetry. As if poetry will turn people off to poetry.
Posted by Amy as Poetry, Special Days/Weeks at 1:16 AM EDT
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The Alcuin Society: “The Alcuin Society is a voluntary association of people who care about the past, present and future of fine books. Founded in 1965 by Geoff Spencer and six other Vancouver bibliophiles, it is the only non-profit organization in Canada dedicated to the entire range of interests related to books and reading. These interests include authorship, publishing, book design and production, bookselling, book buying and collecting, printing, binding, papermaking, calligraphy and illustration.”
See also The Alcuin Society Blog.
Posted by Amy as Books at 1:02 AM EDT
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Ficlets: “A ficlet is a short story that enables you to collaborate with the world. Once you’ve written and shared your ficlet, any other user can pick up the narrative thread by adding a prequel or sequel. In this manner, you may know where the story begins, but you’ll never guess where (or even if!) it ends.”
Via Neat New Stuff On The Web.
Posted by Amy as Writing at 8:45 AM EDT
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”Ow We Spake”: Black County Dialect: “The dialect of the Black Country area remains perhaps one of the last examples of early English still spoken today.”
Some examples include the following:
• “Caggy or caghanded—left-handed”
• “Cag-mag—Bad or rotting meat”
• “Lezzer—a meadow”’
• “Tizzicky—having an irritating dry cough”
Via Plep.
Posted by Amy as Language at 8:43 AM EDT
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I’ve just discovered the term contronym (also known as auto-antonym, Janus word, and several other terms).
Here’s its definition (from Wikipedia):
It is a word (of multiple meanings) that is defined as the reverse of one of its other meanings. For example, the word “fast” can mean “moving quickly” as in “running fast,” or it can mean “not moving” as in “stuck fast.”
For more examples, check out Fun With Words: Contronyms. This really is an example of a page where it’s fun to ponder the words.
Via The Presurfer.
Posted by Amy as Words at 1:32 AM EDT
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Bravo, Kim at Kimbooktu for winning Best Book/Literary Blog in the Best of Blogs awards!
I was nominated, but I definitely think Kim deserves this award—her blog is one of my favourites.
Posted by Amy as Awards, Blogs and Bloggers at 1:41 AM EDT
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Yann Martel, along with many others in Canada, has been dismayed at the attitude to the arts displayed by the current minority Conservative government and its leader, Stephen Harper.
Martel tells us about his dismay:
“The Prime Minister did not speak during our brief tribute [to 50 years of arts funding], certainly not. I don’t think he even looked up. The snarling business of Question Period having just ended, he was shuffling papers. I tried to bring him close to me with my eyes.
Who is this man? What makes him tick? No doubt he is busy. No doubt he is deluded by that busyness. No doubt being Prime Minister fills his entire consideration and froths his sense of busied importance to the very brim. And no doubt he sounds and governs like one who cares not a jot for the arts.
As a protest to this, Martel has decided to encourage Harper’s appreciation of the literary arts:
But he must have moments of stillness. And so this is what I propose to do: not to educate—that would be arrogant, less than that—to make suggestions to his stillness.
For as long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada, I vow to send him every two weeks, mailed on a Monday, a book that has been known to expand stillness. That book will be inscribed and will be accompanied by a letter I will have written. I will faithfully report on every new book, every inscription, every letter, and any response I might get from the Prime Minister, on this website.”
He’s started out with The Death of Ivan Illych, and here’s an excerpt from the letter he’s sent:
One quality that you will no doubt notice is how despite the gulf of time between when the story is set—1882—and today, despite the vast cultural distance between provincial tsarist Russia and modern Canada, the story reaches us without the least awkwardness. In fact, I can’t think of a story that while completely set in its time, so very, very Russian, so leaps from the bounds of the local to achieve universal resonance. A peasant in China, a migrant worker in Kuwait, a shepherd in Africa, an engineer in Florida, a prime minister in Ottawa—I can imagine all of them reading The Death of Ivan Ilych and nodding their heads.
You can click here to read the complete story behind this initiative and you can go here to follow its progress.
I don’t know what to expect from this, but I’m really looking forward to seeing the results.
Posted by Amy as Authors, Books, Readers & Reading at 1:23 AM EDT
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American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti has some interesting takes on the nature of poetry: What Is Poetry? A Non-Lecture.
Here are some of his comments:
• It is a player-piano in an abandoned seaside casino, still playing.
• It is the morning dove mourning night.
• It is the sea-light of Greece, the diamond light of Greece.
• It’s the trees in spring in a back garden on Morton Street.
• Poetry is eternal graffiti in the heart of everyone.
• It is made by dissolving halos in oceans of sound.
• It is the street talk of angels and devils.
This is definitely a page to re-read frequently.
Via Moose Jaw Writer In Residence Page.
Posted by Amy as Poetry at 1:05 AM EDT
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Usually when Canadians think of British Columbia the things that come to mind immediately are the Rocky Mountains and the mild weather.
But here’s something I didn’t know about B.C.: there are thirty First Nations languages spoken there, and that almost all of them are endangered:
Virtually all of the native languages of British Columbia are endangered: hardly any are spoken by children, and many have very few speakers at all. We therefore provide information on the current status of the languages and of documentation for them, as well as pointers to information on language endangerment and language maintenance and revitalization.
The languages spoken range from those commonly known (e.g. Cree, Haida, Tlingit) to those that I, at least, was not aware of (e.g. Sekani, Tahltan).
There are other links of interest, including one to a short piece on Chinook Jargon (a “trade language that was used extensively in the nineteenth century and first part of the twentieth century for communication between Europeans and First Nations people in much of the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia”).
Via The Electric Eclectic.
Posted by Amy as Language at 1:10 AM EDT
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June Callwood, author of 30 books and the woman known as Canada’s conscience, has died at 82.
Here is a short obituary from the CBC, and here is a longer one from the Globe and Mail.
She will be greatly missed.
Posted by Amy as Authors at 10:16 AM EDT
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For all of you who enjoy writing challenges, here’s a great one: One Sentence Stories.
The premise is very simple:
One Sentence is an experiment in brevity. Most of the best stories that we tell from our lives have one really, really good part that make the rest of the boring story worth it.
This is about that one line.
This is about telling the most interesting or poignant story possible in the least amount of words.
It might be tough to do, but it’s fun to read. Here are a few samples:
• While I lay on my bed, my guinea pig leaped onto my stomach, opened his mouth very wide and ran into my chin.
• Everybody always asks of us if we’re dating, and it’s the worst feeling in the world when I have to tell them no.
• The refrigerator repairman was the first to learn that I enjoy living in the nude.
• I didn’t make you a bridesmaid because we’re friends, I made you one so that you would have to wear that horrible bridesmaid’s dress (and therefore have less of a chance of getting laid at my wedding, whore).
• The worst thing about secret girlfriends is that when they get hit by cars you’re not supposed to cry.
Lots of variety!
Via Tech_Space.
Posted by Amy as Writing at 1:58 AM EDT
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I’m a huge fan of Hugh Laurie. I first saw him in House, and now I’ve found some of his very funny work with Stephen Fry.
Here are two sketches they’ve done on matters relevant to this blog: The Subject of Language and Censored.
If you’d like to see some more links to Hugh Laurie’s comic work, most demonstrating his musical ability, check out this post on my other blog.
These are all entertaining ways to start your day.
Via Centre Of The Universe.
Posted by Amy as Humour at 4:35 AM EDT
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Various people in the blogosphere have been blogging lately about something I’ve been thinking about too: books that I’ve read and forgotten.
I’m afraid I have too many such entries on my list. Here are the ones that I own that I’ve read but don’t remember:
• The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
• The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
• Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
• Evelina by Fanny Burney
• Felix Holt by George Eliot
• Caleb Williams by William Godwin
• The Plumed Serpent by D.H. Lawrence
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
For other bloggers’ takes on this, see this entry at Book World and this entry at 50 Books.
Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:25 AM EDT
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To help celebrate National Poetry Month, check out the Ninja Poetry site.
Lots of fun—a good reminder, in case any were needed, that poetry isn’t just serious stuff (or disquisitions on flowers and hey nonny nonny).
Via The Bibliothecary.
Posted by Amy as Poetry at 1:15 AM EDT
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Another week, another book list. This time it’s the Great Books List: 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written.
I’ve heard some people say that the Bible is the most influential book ever, but that’s not the case in this list. It’s divided into the Old Testament (#2) and the New Testament (#18).
I was also interested to see that the Dhammapada (#14) and the Analects (#7) placed as high as they did.
I was pleased to see a good cross-section of books: not all originally written in English, not all 20th century. There were way too few books written by women, though.
Via The Presurfer.
Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:02 AM EDT
3 Comments »
There’s an interview up at FantasyBookSpot.com with Patrick Rothfuss, lecturer in English and first-time author (The Name of the Wind
).
Rothfuss gives an interesting interview, and one of the sections that I particularly like is his discussion of the terms “genre fiction” and “literary fiction”:
As time goes on I grow increasingly irritated at the term “Genre Fiction.” It seems to imply that one type of fiction, “Literary” fiction, is the only real fiction, and everything else is its ugly bastard cousin-in-law.
I say unto you. Literary fiction is a genre just like everything else. It has its rules and its foibles just like every other genre. And, like all other genres, 85% of literary fiction is pure shite. Pretentious, self-involved, artsy bullshit that neglects the things that make stories worthwhile. I’m talking about good language, good plot, good characters, and, hopefully, some sort of worthwhile content mingled throughout.
He goes on to discuss ways in which his own genre, fantasy, is full of cliches but also archetypes.
Via SF Signal.
Posted by Amy as Writing at 1:03 AM EDT
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You’re St. Melito of Sardis!
You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins.
Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!
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Via Bourgeois Nerd.
Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 1:39 AM EDT
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I’ve always been a fan of Tolkien, and probably my favourite minor character from the Lord of the Rings trilogy is Tom Bombadil.
I’ve just discovered that there is a page devoted to him: Who Is Tom Bombadil?
Although there is some general trivia here (e.g. “Within the Tolkien household Tom Bombadil was originally a Dutch doll belonging to one of Tolkien’s children”), the bulk of this page is a long essay speculating on his origins within Middle Earth and examining the role he plays in the saga.
For Bombadil fans, there are also numerous links to other sites that focus on him.
Via Plep.
Posted by Amy as Speculative Fiction at 1:29 AM EDT
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I’ve just learned that Donald Hamilton, creator of the Matt Helm series, died on 20 November 2006.
I’ve always loved the Matt Helm books; when I was a child my father discovered them, and I began reading them when I was 10 or so. Maybe they weren’t the most wholesome reading for me at that age, but what the heck—I read Greek and Roman mythology, too, so at le
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