Historical trysts with Victorian grace; new bad and good from VP; cavalier fashion PPT available
I posted this on Facebook, but it's so delightful I had to share again here, for those who missed it: Literary Trysts It Gives Me Great Joy To Think About: Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman.
The sex lives of famous historical people seems to be a continuing interest of mine. Um.
I think what delights me the most about this article--aside from the subject matter--is the writing style. It's positively Victorian--as befits the topic. I was so delighted by it that I went and searched out other articles by this author (Mallory Ortberg, who is also one of the editors of The Toast), but was a little saddened to see they were not in the same style, and I didn't find them quite as entertaining. Although this article--Every Time The Narrator In Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth Passes Out--deserves an honorable mention.
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I'm getting anxious about VP. I don't write enough, or fast enough. I don't read enough, or fast enough. I'll be so busy working on assignments/critiquing other people's stuff that I won't have time to just have fun with the instructors and other students. I'll make more enemies than friends.
I dunno. Imposter syndrome, I guess. Help, I'm trapped in this enormously large poster!
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On a related VP note, there have been both sad and happy news from the Island of Misfit Writers. The sad news is that Sherwood Smith has had a minor stroke. She is doing well, and recovering expeditiously, but won't be able to travel for the next month, and so won't be teaching at VP. Alas. I have heard her described as the "maiden aunt you always wished you had," so I will regrettably be missing out on that.
I was very pleased by the next part of the announcement, however. Perhaps unreasonably so! Stepping in as a replacement is Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora and who you may remember is unaccountably hot. He is the natural choice, really; he is dating Elizabeth Bear, and--at least last year--travels with her to the workshop. And I have to admit, the stuff he writes is closer to what I write than Smith's was, so having him there is personally a better fit for me.
There's a downside to this, too, though. I don't read fast, and I've already invested some time in reading Smith's works. I have never read any Scott Lynch, despite being told his series is very much Something Lise Will Like (tm). I must remedy this in the next sixteen days. Somehow.
Oh, yeah, and I'm listening to the audiobook right now of Steven Gould's Jumper. Also not really what I write or typically read, but compelling. When was this written? It's uncanny to have the protagonist looking at the skyline of New York City and noticing the twin towers of the World Trade Center...
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Oh, I almost forgot to mention--I finally finished annotating Cavalier-era fashion for the Well-Attired LARPer presentation. I've stuck it up on my Google Drive for public consumption in various formats:
PPTX format
PDF, no annotations
PDF, with annotations
The sex lives of famous historical people seems to be a continuing interest of mine. Um.
I think what delights me the most about this article--aside from the subject matter--is the writing style. It's positively Victorian--as befits the topic. I was so delighted by it that I went and searched out other articles by this author (Mallory Ortberg, who is also one of the editors of The Toast), but was a little saddened to see they were not in the same style, and I didn't find them quite as entertaining. Although this article--Every Time The Narrator In Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth Passes Out--deserves an honorable mention.
--
I'm getting anxious about VP. I don't write enough, or fast enough. I don't read enough, or fast enough. I'll be so busy working on assignments/critiquing other people's stuff that I won't have time to just have fun with the instructors and other students. I'll make more enemies than friends.
I dunno. Imposter syndrome, I guess. Help, I'm trapped in this enormously large poster!
--
On a related VP note, there have been both sad and happy news from the Island of Misfit Writers. The sad news is that Sherwood Smith has had a minor stroke. She is doing well, and recovering expeditiously, but won't be able to travel for the next month, and so won't be teaching at VP. Alas. I have heard her described as the "maiden aunt you always wished you had," so I will regrettably be missing out on that.
I was very pleased by the next part of the announcement, however. Perhaps unreasonably so! Stepping in as a replacement is Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora and who you may remember is unaccountably hot. He is the natural choice, really; he is dating Elizabeth Bear, and--at least last year--travels with her to the workshop. And I have to admit, the stuff he writes is closer to what I write than Smith's was, so having him there is personally a better fit for me.
There's a downside to this, too, though. I don't read fast, and I've already invested some time in reading Smith's works. I have never read any Scott Lynch, despite being told his series is very much Something Lise Will Like (tm). I must remedy this in the next sixteen days. Somehow.
Oh, yeah, and I'm listening to the audiobook right now of Steven Gould's Jumper. Also not really what I write or typically read, but compelling. When was this written? It's uncanny to have the protagonist looking at the skyline of New York City and noticing the twin towers of the World Trade Center...
--
Oh, I almost forgot to mention--I finally finished annotating Cavalier-era fashion for the Well-Attired LARPer presentation. I've stuck it up on my Google Drive for public consumption in various formats:
PPTX format
PDF, no annotations
PDF, with annotations