gwynnega

My poem "scenes from a marriage" will appear in Strange Horizons, one of my favorite publications. cafenowhere suggested I write a poem about this photograph by Elliott Erwitt, and "scenes from a marriage" was the result.

Last night on TCM I watched The Return of Dracula (1958), which I'd never seen before. It's not great, though the "vampire posing as a family member idolized by a young girl" premise gives it a Shadow of a Doubt vibe. Also I watched House of Dracula (1945), which I've seen a few times and like very much, especially for the part where mad science cures Larry Talbot's lycanthropy, and Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966), which I'd heard about for decades (and okay, I didn't watch the whole thing, but wow, John Carradine's Dracula is a lot campier in this film than in the Universal movies).

My poem "The Golem of the Gravestones" is in the new issue of Uncanny Magazine. It's a great issue, including work by N.K. Jemisin, Fran Wilde, C.S.E. Cooney, Delia Sherman, Catherynne M. Valente, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, Jo Walton, and more.

My poem is available now to subscribers and will be online October 3rd. I wish it were less relevant now than when I wrote it, but I'm very pleased Uncanny has published it.

My poem "ode to Dwight Frye," inspired by one of my favorite actors, is up at Strange Horizons.

On Friday I finished the final chapter of Out of Uniform. I'm going to take a break from the book for a month or so, then read it and make whatever changes it needs. Meanwhile, I have stories and poems to work on!

These are happy things, amid the Nazi horribleness of the past several days.

My poem "50 Foot," inspired by Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman (1958), will appear in The Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Technical note: the poem is comprised of 50 poetic feet.)

In other news, we are now past the peak of jacaranda season. It was glorious while it lasted--though it will be awhile before the purple flowers are completely gone for the year.

My day began with two excellent things. The first: Charles Payseur's in-depth review of the latest Mithila Review, which includes my poem "family (a form somehow must)."

The second: My finalized WisCon schedule!

This Genre Kills Fascists
Sat, 1:00–2:15 pm
Capitol B
Gwynne Garfinkle (moderator), ANONYMOUS, Alexis Lothian, Victor J. Raymond
Let's dig into the history, the present, and the future of genre fiction as resistance texts. The uses of genre conventions to speak out in ways that would be dangerous if stated baldly in a realist or non-fiction text, the power of imagining a way forward, the issuing of warnings, the rallying cries. The epitaphs and the freedom songs. The voices that endure and the voices that are needed.


Fanfic, Retcon, and Zombies, Oh My!
Sat, 9:00-10:15 pm
University B
Carrie Pruett (moderator), Gwynne Garfinkle, KJ, Victoria Janssen
Let's talk about what happens in the murky territories where fanfic meets original works. Do writings that use original works in the public domain—modern-day Sherlock Holmes characters, zombies in Jane Austen's worlds—count as fanfic? When a series gets unwieldy or unpopular, it can be rebooted or rewritten with different parameters: maybe a character comes back to life, changes gender, or gets a new backstory. Are there differences between retcon and fix-it fic, other than who owns the copyright?


Personal Demons
Sun, 10:00-11:15 am
Conference 4
Carol Anne Douglas, Gwynne Garfinkle, Cath Schaff-Stump , LaShawn M. Wanak
What haunts us, what scares us, what makes us tick. Works that deal with metaphorical and actual demons.


When the Monster Isn't the Monster
Sun, 4:00-5:15 pm
University C
William Paimon (moderator), Gwynne Garfinkle, Leigh Hellmann
Science fiction and horror have always displayed a unique ability to play with allegory and metaphor by making monsters. Sometimes, though, the monster is more than just a flesh and blood (or protoplasm) villain to be defeated. As these genres have had a resurgence over the past few years, high concept genre work has undergone something of a renaissance. From big screen successes like The Babadook, It Follows, and The Witch, to television like Jessica Jones and Mr. Robot, science fiction and horror are finding commercial and critical success by having something to say again. Let's talk about what we loved in works with horrors that are more than meet the eye, note where they fell flat, and share hidden gems we might not have run into yet.

I'm pleased to announce that my poem "ode to Dwight Frye" will appear in Strange Horizons, one of my favorite publications.

Also, Charles Payseur has reviewed the "Animals" issue of Lackington's, and he had some very nice things to say about the issue, including my story "The Hedgehog and the Pine Cone."

I'd been without internet (aside from my smartphone) and landline since Tuesday morning. My service provider completely dropped the ball, so now I've switched providers. The only good thing about having less access to the internet was a slightly lower daily Trump quotient, but I'm still very relieved to have it back.

I thought this was coming out in 2017, but here is my poem "The Last Word" (an homage to Colin Clive) in the winter issue of Kaleidotrope.

It feels good to see the year out with the publication of a monster movie poem, despite the dread of Looming Trump.

Also, it is Patti Smith's 70th birthday. I am deeply grateful for Patti's continued presence in the world. Seeing her perform at the Hollywood Bowl in October (so long ago, it seems!) with Lyman was one of the highlights of my year.

My poetry feature is up at Postscripts to Darkness. It includes two poems ("People Change: A Love Story," beautifully illustrated by Carrion House, and "Linda Blair Pantoum"), plus an interview I did with Sean Moreland, in which I talk about, among other things, poetry and horror movies and poetry about horror movies.

The election is tomorrow. I am veering wildly between apprehension and cautious optimism.

My poem "Una O'Connor unleashes her scream" appears in the new issue of The Cascadia Subduction Zone. The issue also includes poetry by sovay and an essay by L. Timmel Duchamp on Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick.

Also, the April 2016 issue of CSZ is now available as a free PDF; it includes my poem "Poetess Strikes Again."

I'm delighted that my poems "People Change: A Love Story" and "Linda Blair Pantoum" will appear in Postscripts to Darkness. They (like "Una O'Connor") are part of my horror movie poetry project.

It actually rained in Los Angeles last night. I woke up during the night, and it took me a couple of minutes to register what the "water dripping" sound signified. (I guess it's been awhile since we've had any rain.)

Here, have a clip of Una O'Connor unleashing her scream in The Invisible Man.

My poem "Una O'Connor unleashes her scream" will appear in The Cascadia Subduction Zone. The poem is a tribute to the character actress, who appeared in many films, but perhaps most memorably in The Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man. As I recall, I sold a poem last Labor Day as well. I would be fine with this becoming a tradition.