tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51816579169612810692024-03-04T23:01:29.224-08:00Pamela Nolf--Writing to A MuseIn Greek mythology, Pegasus was the horse of the Muses. Why can't a horse be a muse for a modern writer? My passion is writing about history, horses, and humor often featuring my Icelandic horse Blessi. My non-fiction articles have been published in multiple magazines and several countries. I am writing a book titled Rough Riding Through the White House: The Adventures of the Pony Algonquin and the Roosevelt Children. Meanwhile, here are my thoughts on writing.Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-69376326509142244692022-11-11T23:24:00.002-08:002022-11-11T23:24:28.079-08:00Twitter Comment - Retribution of the Deadwooders<p> </p><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWodtsE2OuzicpsN0o7ZS6SBvyncxa6iIPasl5VzhyOd15qEqRlS6OlzvnG8vXzZ0g7ugRMorYSQ4jU3JP7VhaZUOq8YjNQVGCphhRjjal4JCQdD-M0S-EehQKUk7bA2V7mN4WL8QTKuw3V8ZjwxzGQdoPM9DbOTRUPNzw1_hE_vzPIvjTw4gUiXu/s850/undead-twitter-comment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="623" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWodtsE2OuzicpsN0o7ZS6SBvyncxa6iIPasl5VzhyOd15qEqRlS6OlzvnG8vXzZ0g7ugRMorYSQ4jU3JP7VhaZUOq8YjNQVGCphhRjjal4JCQdD-M0S-EehQKUk7bA2V7mN4WL8QTKuw3V8ZjwxzGQdoPM9DbOTRUPNzw1_hE_vzPIvjTw4gUiXu/w470-h640/undead-twitter-comment.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><br />There is a twitter posting about the newly published <u>Undead</u>, a collection of horror short stories from Planispher Q publishers. My "Retribution of the Deadwooders" is the only story receiving an individual comment. "Que graaaande" means
"how greeaat" in French.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: large;">The book has lots of great horror stories. You can get a copy at </span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.lulu.com/shop/planisphere-q/planisphere-q-undead/paperback/product-m84795.html?page=1&pageSize=4<br /></span></div><div><br /><br /></div>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-70826129967601284152022-10-16T21:50:00.001-07:002022-10-16T21:52:56.869-07:00"Retribution of the Deadwooders" Published<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0ANBTOHRx4pL1rsi5vsKI7OHdS1JyhGaydR3_w9W2Rpy7fh7WxKYPA0-jc0L3NS1L1Ff72WGj1KAHjWQaAwCZvtdGTZuXzyUjQfws2dHzuXnotrR1OhNvBMhOnIi8b-Jnb9djH9dXyqAZdJG2f68nQsVB0jB8BoXd0EaS8ufBXcwpui_Ck-t1PP_/s775/planisphere%20q-undead.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="513" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0ANBTOHRx4pL1rsi5vsKI7OHdS1JyhGaydR3_w9W2Rpy7fh7WxKYPA0-jc0L3NS1L1Ff72WGj1KAHjWQaAwCZvtdGTZuXzyUjQfws2dHzuXnotrR1OhNvBMhOnIi8b-Jnb9djH9dXyqAZdJG2f68nQsVB0jB8BoXd0EaS8ufBXcwpui_Ck-t1PP_/s320/planisphere%20q-undead.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Planisphere Q has published "Retribution of the Deadwooders" in the 2022 Fall edition with the theme of the "Undead." You can obtain a copy from Lulu.com.</span><br /><p></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-36893468220128330812022-09-22T02:35:00.006-07:002022-09-22T02:35:58.829-07:00Retribution of the Deadwooders Accepted <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXo3tcPIanM0OeNcUT7dcuzzjNY-dNexu-ot_ddmL9x3Rz2GKwEps2c7HwCFT-oS2FMxzCBuJp59_ZKUkhNlAGBjLLoALmUYIg3Y2SQPRKqceOPQOIb-WJnzYFrAtVVSWd-BxXngngeTqckys1XMy7Wqvtn4g5Kj0KqQq9uSl30PzEpk3A4fwO7DIc/s395/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="395" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXo3tcPIanM0OeNcUT7dcuzzjNY-dNexu-ot_ddmL9x3Rz2GKwEps2c7HwCFT-oS2FMxzCBuJp59_ZKUkhNlAGBjLLoALmUYIg3Y2SQPRKqceOPQOIb-WJnzYFrAtVVSWd-BxXngngeTqckys1XMy7Wqvtn4g5Kj0KqQq9uSl30PzEpk3A4fwO7DIc/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Planisphere Quarterly</i> has accepted my flash fiction "Retribution of the<br /> Deadwooders" to be published in its <i>Undead</i> Issue in October. The story is a bit naughty.<br /></span><p></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-66115104209440672042022-06-22T17:00:00.031-07:002022-06-22T17:00:00.198-07:00Catch and Release to be Published<p> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUz8hnut6tYqwsJR5-6j0atsXyya1n9ABYmctW2nY9NfdIcKTcMlioboYA6HmWcuT76PV3GC57Yyj4-O5xyDpfYujltt-OOzXL_hR_QyACuhSMD_ZsFD8shLDmcETMDj8hfqpobYZLrw_Tpty92TIswplPNlJRI6TpHhnkCHTE0KI_gU2Y4PzqbCzR/s995/blair-juniata.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="995" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUz8hnut6tYqwsJR5-6j0atsXyya1n9ABYmctW2nY9NfdIcKTcMlioboYA6HmWcuT76PV3GC57Yyj4-O5xyDpfYujltt-OOzXL_hR_QyACuhSMD_ZsFD8shLDmcETMDj8hfqpobYZLrw_Tpty92TIswplPNlJRI6TpHhnkCHTE0KI_gU2Y4PzqbCzR/s320/blair-juniata.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Anderson photo from Flickr. Posted as part<br /> of Chesapeake Bay Program. Limited license.<br /><h2 class=" meta-field photo-desc " id="yui_3_16_0_1_1654128196617_13411"><br /></h2></td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-size: large;"> My creative nonfiction story "Catch and Release about me and my Dad's fishing misadventures will be published by<i> Glint Literary Journal</i> in December. </span></p><p class="tm5 Normal tm6"><span style="font-size: large;">As Thoreau said, "</span><em><span class="tm8"><span style="font-size: large;">Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.”</span> </span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-91062005765733892432022-06-15T03:36:00.000-07:002022-06-15T03:36:07.877-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Pk0SzqMKtSeCQilG1yqkISXZHob7D1MWdJhCKDJOEXRThEwfQZ6CS0oFjQ5phpheegQ1ppUQqjCHUfqJ3hCAIQCvWOMzz3zn2qp_A1CLcCNaEm917zJtev_o69Vemj9iw6dD8UsQmnc8AtZEevb1MkXBklQubWKmBVV-jLJgs74lrOnDUsE7AnEY/s1235/blackfox-murderhornet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1235" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Pk0SzqMKtSeCQilG1yqkISXZHob7D1MWdJhCKDJOEXRThEwfQZ6CS0oFjQ5phpheegQ1ppUQqjCHUfqJ3hCAIQCvWOMzz3zn2qp_A1CLcCNaEm917zJtev_o69Vemj9iw6dD8UsQmnc8AtZEevb1MkXBklQubWKmBVV-jLJgs74lrOnDUsE7AnEY/s320/blackfox-murderhornet.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Black Fox Literary Magazine published my flash nonfiction "Writing Advice from the Murder Hornet." The editor did a great job finding the perfect terrifying photo of wasp. You can check it out at:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="https://www.blackfoxlitmag.com/2022/06/15/writing-advice-from-the-murder-hornet-by-ps-nolf/"><span style="word-wrap: break-word;">https://www.blackfoxlitmag.com/2022/06/15/writing-advice-from-the-murder-hornet-by-ps-nolf/</span></a></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-75697894216561387782022-06-14T23:01:00.040-07:002022-06-14T23:01:00.191-07:00The Dust Devil<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgmo5W64DVyJgkh6cYNAQMEV2lXX3_w_lgotjuH8AdZAiiN0-EuDGAS_MjOaXLzM7GRxwJfOU0v52DzKfb55OjO0f2Ag7X8FFprg_GfH_ofydfmWDcOjXzh7nvottAO-CF_Rlqq7GF4ARGsD5X4jMWDmtSH9yK4-x4eJwv4i3ufnkWwxlI3ibphzU/s327/bag%20of%20bones.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgmo5W64DVyJgkh6cYNAQMEV2lXX3_w_lgotjuH8AdZAiiN0-EuDGAS_MjOaXLzM7GRxwJfOU0v52DzKfb55OjO0f2Ag7X8FFprg_GfH_ofydfmWDcOjXzh7nvottAO-CF_Rlqq7GF4ARGsD5X4jMWDmtSH9yK4-x4eJwv4i3ufnkWwxlI3ibphzU/s320/bag%20of%20bones.JPG" width="224" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> <i>The Dust Devil</i> is included in in<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle"> <i>Bag of Bones - 206 Word Stories: A Horror Anthology. </i>You can order this book on Amazon. All profits goes to a children's charity in Britain.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle">This was a difficult prose poem to place. Most of the places rejected it with a personal comment that went like this: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle">"Your piece made it to our second round of readings--we thought the voice and the style were unique and created a very vivid atmosphere, which is just the sort of "otherworldliness" accomplished through language that we're going for in our publication. Ultimately, however, we will be passing on the piece."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle"> This lone little dogie of doggerel starts off:</span></span></p><p>
</p><p class="Normal_Web_">I’m blowin’ cross the plains and Hell’s acomin’ with me. </p>
<p class="Normal_Web_">Ya can’t run from my ragin' red tower of brimstone. </p>
<p class="Normal_Web_">I’ll whirl ya to the boneyard as the souls of the damned scream. </p>
<p class="Normal_Web_">I kin spin those copper rivets right off the levis of Monkey Ward cowboys till their chaps fall off.</p>
<p class="Normal_Web_">Toss any lost little doggies or dang dinosaruses off the plains. Sand the spots off the pintos. </p>
<p class="Normal_Web_">Dare ya to grin. I’ll scour ya phiz off.</p><p><i> Language is based on a cowboy diction of terms from the Western US in the late 1800s.</i><br /></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle"><i>https://www.amazon.com/Bag-Bones-Stories-Horror-Anthology-ebook/dp/B09TJNWP6C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8</i></span></span></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-8555503649486370492022-06-09T02:45:00.017-07:002022-06-09T02:45:00.199-07:00Midnight Shift<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2c4WN-edFX49OdvpJOPK67wuyNMo1SU9GWo2q10BR-fvgIcJfDq0uaWv2kwX3AE0V8ogzZtKRDQoz4Hm0h8Yfj8UrzZItaKKXBdlCG_-9O6Bd68jEvbzUPC1EseWoOnORS9JswWJwVKcNCa4hWIAO3gZuQnYVw-TTZzarRf-YzCpcR9X_aYU9HOj/s464/midnight%20shift.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="464" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2c4WN-edFX49OdvpJOPK67wuyNMo1SU9GWo2q10BR-fvgIcJfDq0uaWv2kwX3AE0V8ogzZtKRDQoz4Hm0h8Yfj8UrzZItaKKXBdlCG_-9O6Bd68jEvbzUPC1EseWoOnORS9JswWJwVKcNCa4hWIAO3gZuQnYVw-TTZzarRf-YzCpcR9X_aYU9HOj/w400-h263/midnight%20shift.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b> Midnight Shift</b> was published by <i>Zero Readers</i>.<p></p><div><a href="https://www.zeroreaders.com/2021/09/midnight-shift-ps-nolf/">https://www.zeroreaders.com/2021/09/midnight-shift-ps-nolf/</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>At the time, the editor was looking for poems about people in the work environment. <br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">This was one of the few times I wrote an interesting bio for my writings.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">"<em>Upon graduating from college, the best paid jobs PS Nolf could find
were in factories: stitching crotches in panty hose, heat sealing snow
mobile cables, gluing polyurethane parts, greasing ball bearings.
Eventually she figured out how to overcome the stigma of a BA and MA in
anthropology to find a job in technical writing. Producing technical
manuals pre-WYSIWYG had its own hazards. Cut and paste involved an
exacto and a paste pot which is how she ended up walking into the
nurse’s office with a knife stuck in the top of her foot. Eventually she
moved into corporate training and the knife in the back was literal,
but just as painful.</em></span> </div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-13651153099664166052022-06-07T16:12:00.000-07:002022-06-07T16:12:26.926-07:00What Murder Hornets Teach Us about Writing<p class="tm5 Normal tm6"> <span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhg7JNgTMNNm_trqqBN_7qaoTsLl9RqAfTrdVPECSxViDbKip3Hh98mpLDbQKM79grIECPVh22mmMm8yT4hnwp4WqxSzConVoMJx9Ore5eHSt-SOfWPjQxKca9UcurQMR-E5JCGj5ZAnpBYiQx-2sVREbN7mDg55RtqQ1zPQcXOxU1lskdJueLdRE/s639/murder%20hornet%20wiki.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="639" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhg7JNgTMNNm_trqqBN_7qaoTsLl9RqAfTrdVPECSxViDbKip3Hh98mpLDbQKM79grIECPVh22mmMm8yT4hnwp4WqxSzConVoMJx9Ore5eHSt-SOfWPjQxKca9UcurQMR-E5JCGj5ZAnpBYiQx-2sVREbN7mDg55RtqQ1zPQcXOxU1lskdJueLdRE/w320-h243/murder%20hornet%20wiki.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murder Hornet:<br />Source Wikipedia<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My essay "What Murder Hornets Teach Us About Writing" will be published by <i>Black Fox Literary Magazine</i> on June 15. I have learned a lot about writing from insects--"</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">to <span class="tm7">dance with my lyricism, grab your attention like a peacock spider flashing his abdomen with its abstract design and iridescent colors to court his female." </span></span><p></p>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-58138811773067170192022-06-02T02:31:00.005-07:002022-06-02T02:31:00.193-07:00Kyrie Eleison to be published<p> </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvVhMpx5MAUzinCxGBwqkXX9mXd3rLZ-IgLTgG-WsTYfsRcgDHQQXvMiFcOcvzSEvSTG7e-ZlLelBpx5q6ttuMI1hGkZ_fYi9pc4_FbmptwrQNoVBfaRwEh9seNoQapjPNWQGuePOIHWRyn-RxVkdYyQBsO3ugTes_FHXp-LAiDdn24ZUPURjJoPz/s775/Kyrie%20Eleison%20chant.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="725" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvVhMpx5MAUzinCxGBwqkXX9mXd3rLZ-IgLTgG-WsTYfsRcgDHQQXvMiFcOcvzSEvSTG7e-ZlLelBpx5q6ttuMI1hGkZ_fYi9pc4_FbmptwrQNoVBfaRwEh9seNoQapjPNWQGuePOIHWRyn-RxVkdYyQBsO3ugTes_FHXp-LAiDdn24ZUPURjJoPz/s320/Kyrie%20Eleison%20chant.JPG" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyrie Gregorian chant from Wikipedia<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">"Kyrie Eleison," a creative nonfiction story, will be published by LogoSophia around Christmas 2022. This is my only attempt at writing in second person.</span><br /><p></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-25396911255162090002022-05-27T02:20:00.000-07:002022-05-27T02:20:12.589-07:00The Lost Vowel<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJG92hiM1DFc8qv12WR7ZlROBXq_dviXHvrU_KbGQcHC35D3EKKJbszqmxHygmUNKikQpE3jBqVqraxrAC-taSRBlil9iWdoTAFcmPKKWm8hF1IbtaXWIr23mhcLCTnKA09ghkKFL-OEGIFstFMhrBNySpqibnjdU0HxgL06mWDgM2GyVF-WAN-sgg/s844/lostvowel-4thriver.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="725" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJG92hiM1DFc8qv12WR7ZlROBXq_dviXHvrU_KbGQcHC35D3EKKJbszqmxHygmUNKikQpE3jBqVqraxrAC-taSRBlil9iWdoTAFcmPKKWm8hF1IbtaXWIr23mhcLCTnKA09ghkKFL-OEGIFstFMhrBNySpqibnjdU0HxgL06mWDgM2GyVF-WAN-sgg/s320/lostvowel-4thriver.JPG" width="275" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">My creative nonfiction essay "The Lost Vowel" has been published by The Fourth River run by the Chatham University MFA program. This is one of the pieces of which I am most proud.</span><p></p><p><a href="https://www.thefourthriver.com/tributaries-newnature/2021/5/26/the-lost-vowel"><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.thefourthriver.com/tributaries-newnature/2021/5/26/the-lost-vowel</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Scrawl has also published the longer version of this piece at:</span></p><p><a href="https://scrawlplace.com/2022/03/15/my-lost-vowel/"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></a></p><p><a href="https://scrawlplace.com/2022/03/15/my-lost-vowel/"><span style="font-size: large;">https://scrawlplace.com/2022/03/15/my-lost-vowel/ </span></a><br /></p>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-10171758711798138162020-02-26T00:47:00.002-08:002020-02-26T00:48:20.538-08:00Mornings, a Poem Published on Quatrain FishQuatrain Fish only publishes poems of four lines or less. The site published my "Mornings" about a little girl on the beach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aVVG3jKNZSwp5Pb4a1rUp2WCtIdFNIKtKUHixbqvW-O8l0xmXP2PAgxB613g5Rh5tCHQ38mbhW24Mjl3n5BW_EdbivH_RDqkRJS8m9cC3YSO9WDXB-2ZiyjbA-TLZA504qsnSz5CW9c/s1600/Mornings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="323" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aVVG3jKNZSwp5Pb4a1rUp2WCtIdFNIKtKUHixbqvW-O8l0xmXP2PAgxB613g5Rh5tCHQ38mbhW24Mjl3n5BW_EdbivH_RDqkRJS8m9cC3YSO9WDXB-2ZiyjbA-TLZA504qsnSz5CW9c/s320/Mornings.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you like your poetry in morsel sizes, you should check out this site.</div>
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<a href="https://quatrain.fish/">https://quatrain.fish/</a></div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-65079746262531121422020-02-13T10:09:00.001-08:002020-02-13T10:09:09.446-08:00Hark Hark The Dogs of War Do Bark on Scarlet Leaf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ky6abGx4B3I76BX8yQ9t-_1LjAwRBW-THJr0m5PnIjL-Gd3vIbSc0HHwTVesr4jlU7HV5NU82vdWMNO6LPU_r6N_NV3n6f_UFEroFmx_VyjqposryJVe1fstqjyd7IUuE-fGh70ZPCk/s1600/hark+hark.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="768" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ky6abGx4B3I76BX8yQ9t-_1LjAwRBW-THJr0m5PnIjL-Gd3vIbSc0HHwTVesr4jlU7HV5NU82vdWMNO6LPU_r6N_NV3n6f_UFEroFmx_VyjqposryJVe1fstqjyd7IUuE-fGh70ZPCk/s320/hark+hark.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Scarlet Leaf Magazine</i> just published my short story "Hark Hark the Dogs of War Do Bark." I am writing a book <em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; position: relative; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Raising Rough Riders in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt and His Sons Archie and Quentin and Their Pony Algonquin</em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. While researching the death of Quentin during WW I, I discovered serio-comic maps as both art form and propaganda devices. Examining the 1917 map Hark, Hark, the Dogs Do Bark, I wondered what would happen if the characters could talk.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #004000; font-size: large;">You can read this story and other pieces of great fiction at:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories19/category/ps-nolf">https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories19/category/ps-nolf</a></span></span>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-72927198538752597332020-01-14T22:31:00.000-08:002020-01-14T22:31:00.990-08:00Inviaivlw rABBIT HELP WITH CHAR CREATION<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">London 1975. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prince of Wales Theater. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jimmy Stewart, playing Elwood P. Dowd, and the
other cast members enchant me into seeing a </span><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">six-foot, eight-inch tall</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> pooka or rabbit named </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Harvey
on stage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have loved the magic of
theater ever since I could afford the price of a ticket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
highlights of my appreciation of the
theatrical arts include Kevin Spacey (this was a decade before his
alleged sexual harassment history hit the news) as Richard III at the
Old Vic in London
and Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson as mother and daughter in
“Lady
Windermere’s Fan” at the Theater Royal Haymarket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My enjoyment of theater is not dependent on
movie stars in leading roles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I adore
community productions of “Our Town” and “Tony N Tina’s Wedding.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My only attempt behind the proscenium was when
another woman and I (students of non-traditional age in a two-week college
program in Greece) read the roles of Euelpides and Pisthetairos in Aristophanes’s
“The Birds,” a farcical, satirical fantasy written in Greece around 400 BC. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our version of the play was staged on the
Aegean beach on the Greek island of Kos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
suspect we won the roles because the professors thought our maturity would
enable us to handle lines such as “chickenshitter,” “tickling his testicles,”
and “with cocks erect.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t, but
after a glass of ouzo we were better at pretending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">My experience with writing plays
is zilch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I was perplexed by a class assignment on drama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What possible
use could I have for learning how to write plays?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it struck me like a falling medium-arc
iodide spotlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
I was having
problems writing the scene of Quentin sneaking Algonquin the pony into
the boys' bedroom to cheer up his brother Archie who had the measles, I
could re-write the pony in the elevator event as a mini-play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The techniques used in drama should help me to
better visualize what was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
adapting Anne Lamott’s suggestion in <i>Bird By Bird</i> of using a different method of conveying character
information, in my case a play instead of a letter, to free me “from the
tyranny of perfectionism.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I read Burroway's <i>Imaginative Writing</i> to determining
which techniques of the theater might help me in this restaging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since my miniplay needs to occur on a stage,
I choose to set it in Archie and Quentin’s bedroom, which requires reviewing
floor plans for the White House in 1903.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The set designer needs to sketch the location of windows and doors,
style of bedroom furniture, source of light, appropriate props, etc., to help
establish mood and period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Translating
the plot into dramatic terms means that the inciting incident is the
quarantining of Quentin and Archie to their beds because of measles; exposition
can be delivered by two servants explaining the boys’ dissatisfaction with the
quarantine; and the point of attack comes when Archie is denied a visit with his
pony.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Understanding the design of the set is important
so that I can block the movement of the actors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does Archie get out of bed to open the curtains?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From
where does the pony enter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As part of
the stage directions, I can describe any critical actions that Archie or
Quentin perform while reciting a bit of dialog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does Archie jump out of bed to greet Algonquin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does he stay in bed and let the pony approach
him?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A consideration of nonverbal sounds is
necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What diegetic sounds, sounds
that originate from objects present on the stage, need to be considered?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An important one is the sound of the elevator
which could be heard because it abuts the back of the boys’ bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other diegetic sounds would be the clip clop
of pony hooves down the hall and the opening or closing of drapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I choose not to use any nondiegetic sounds until
I rewrite the play as a musical.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Burroway presents some “things to remember” about
play dialog that I find useful in writing fiction or non-fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Introduce the conflict early so I need to
ensure that Archie asks to visit Algonquin close to the beginning of the play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dialogue needs to be written so that the
actors can speak it in a natural way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Silences can be used to introduce tension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The length of the dialog spoken by characters
can be varied to retain the listener’s interest. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I sent the pony play to my
sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her reactions helped me evaluate
what format works well in telling different parts of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exposition about the measles epidemic slows
down the play format but can work well as a written introduction to
non-fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The elevator scene would
work best in a filmed format since the director can control the frame, angle,
close ups, and points of view to focus on the interactions between person and
pony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mother-sons-pony scene can
work well in film, drama, or non-fiction if the format captures the truth of
the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> My sister, who has met my
Icelandic horse (remember Algonquin is half Icelandic), identifies the truth of
the scene as “Blessi always finds the treats!!!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing the pony in the elevator scene as a
play better enabled me to get to the truth of the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Donald Barthelme says, “Truth ... is a
hard apple, whether one is throwing it or catching it.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apples—and cookies--make it easier to catch the
truth of a pony.</span></span></div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-64584920381286856592020-01-01T13:17:00.000-08:002020-01-01T13:17:08.565-08:00The Night Troll on Corvid Queen<span style="font-size: large;">What a wonderful way to start off 2020--to be able to read my poem The Night Troll on
<i>Corvid Queen</i>. Please take the time to read the other works on this site. Sarah Chevalier identifies Corvid Queen as the space "to celebrate the magic of feminism and the feminism of magic. I am happy my poem found a home here.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://corvidqueen.com/stories/night-troll-ps-nolf">https://corvidqueen.com/stories/night-troll-ps-nolf</a></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS7hK3LkkKrbgSvRdbZ-azyi7r72xBpTe-3vz9HIQqT5gA681DsBTHf_gipdBhXbvuTNT81K29URIwpcYkMVQBty3PMeh_SD9IZGolekajxo_pDJsScWT5q-E6kDkL1laVPgT3iW3tI0/s1600/corvid+queen+1-1-20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="529" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZS7hK3LkkKrbgSvRdbZ-azyi7r72xBpTe-3vz9HIQqT5gA681DsBTHf_gipdBhXbvuTNT81K29URIwpcYkMVQBty3PMeh_SD9IZGolekajxo_pDJsScWT5q-E6kDkL1laVPgT3iW3tI0/s400/corvid+queen+1-1-20.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-92062190495391883422019-11-11T21:35:00.000-08:002019-11-14T01:08:58.264-08:00"Showdown at the Strand" is now published<span style="font-size: large;">Axe
versus whale rib. Sword versus blubber. “Showdown at the Strand” is a
retelling of one of the Icelandic sagas using American Western motifs. I
wrote this story in honor of the heritage of my Icelandic
horse Blessi. I planned to re-enact hunting stranded whales in
Iceland by horseback around 1020 AD in a Society for Creative
Anachronism event. But something happened so I wrote
this story instead.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Chris
Herron created an amazing podcast out of this story. You can listen to
the whale of a tale at Tall Tales TV, which was one of the finalists for a
2018 Parsec Award.</span><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JNPmjOwc2XM" width="560"></iframe>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-79423221181023610272019-10-31T20:14:00.002-07:002019-10-31T20:14:42.075-07:00Blessi's Poem is Published<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfonqfew9zgdzg63vNpz1evpXls_A7QflJZDl1q01Ga-DVKz333ySUzasgUlUWcbl4JjNaDOVIuVFsZAAwOixZXMlLF4qvH4Co9dLesU8-3MY7oLjI6K71Ss_Y81omE3jx1Z-4v3nEMY/s1600/crepepennoct19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="571" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfonqfew9zgdzg63vNpz1evpXls_A7QflJZDl1q01Ga-DVKz333ySUzasgUlUWcbl4JjNaDOVIuVFsZAAwOixZXMlLF4qvH4Co9dLesU8-3MY7oLjI6K71Ss_Y81omE3jx1Z-4v3nEMY/s320/crepepennoct19.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Crepe and Penn Literary Magazine</i> included my poem "If a
Pony Penned a Poem." Guess who was the inspiration? You can read it on
page 66 at the following link.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br clear="none" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">Blessi also asked me to remind everybody that a peanut is a poem to a pony.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr">
<a href="https://fc609d0f-8595-4c23-b944-d27c474cd9b4.filesusr.com/ugd/5f16d4_925ed3e995cb4b37b435c82879f3b670.pdf" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" target="_blank">https://fc609d0f-8595-4c23-b944-d27c474cd9b4.filesusr.com/ugd/5f16d4_925ed3e995cb4b37b435c82879f3b670.pdf</a></div>
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Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-26859722499828042762019-10-15T21:08:00.003-07:002019-10-15T21:08:58.096-07:00Corvid Queen to Publish "The Night Troll"<span style="font-size: large;">Up until the past hundred years, most Icelandic horses had to survive on
their own over the white, perishing Icelandic winters. Who knows what they saw under the white moon over Iceland?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I wrote a poem "The Night Troll" using that motif. <i>Corvid Queen</i> is publishing it in January 2020.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, here's some lovely film footage of Iceland at night under the moon. Jakobina Ragnhildur sings "Moonlight Shadow" in Icelandic. </span> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1PKlyglFgYc" width="560"></iframe>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-36927316277950206212019-10-12T12:48:00.002-07:002019-10-12T12:48:23.875-07:00"Why Do We Write" Published<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHTP5vl-iAmev0EZOyHe4rskwB0baPGN1RS31RpUxIg5VgDxRz-uzJRYjQeunxyhuoV6w8aVIQOpXp0_GzdMrEwHLVLKc6MOx-nSxudQyt7zXwZ23Fr1Q6kkP2atdKi3OvK0DtuhUTDg/s1600/whywrite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1038" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgHTP5vl-iAmev0EZOyHe4rskwB0baPGN1RS31RpUxIg5VgDxRz-uzJRYjQeunxyhuoV6w8aVIQOpXp0_GzdMrEwHLVLKc6MOx-nSxudQyt7zXwZ23Fr1Q6kkP2atdKi3OvK0DtuhUTDg/s640/whywrite.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Page and Spine Showcase published my essay about why authors write. As Anne Lemott explains, good writing is "telling the truth in an interesting way" which is hard, hard, hard to do "like bathing cats." Yet still we persist.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://pagespineficshowcase.com/the-writers-table/why-do-we-write-p-s-nolf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">https://pagespineficshowcase.com/the-writers-table/why-do-we-write-p-s-nolf </span></a>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-67546815847906831712019-09-18T16:18:00.001-07:002019-09-28T15:10:44.550-07:00A treatise of Stops, Points, or Pauses--Parentheses as Adornment or Distraction<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLfF7zGwd2VSIbn6KKVfvCQogJseUGRGjfG5NAKFg9sWlmqamNrBvt48oWXYGoPXYggduIEUrNJSPe7KnfXU4nGtDLCjnPy1iL6MHkGd-LWVopzHX5xwPrF2bcP2iOXqqa4VXmP0aaSA/s1600/paren-brack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="163" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLfF7zGwd2VSIbn6KKVfvCQogJseUGRGjfG5NAKFg9sWlmqamNrBvt48oWXYGoPXYggduIEUrNJSPe7KnfXU4nGtDLCjnPy1iL6MHkGd-LWVopzHX5xwPrF2bcP2iOXqqa4VXmP0aaSA/s320/paren-brack.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Faced with another heated, online discussion about grammar--on whether or not the use of parentheses
and/or brackets add value to written discourse (and to avoid cleaning
the cat litter boxes), I went off to do some research. Thereby, I
encountered the 1680 book <i>A treatis [sic] of stops, points, or
pauses: and of notes which are used in writing and in print; both very
necessary to be well known and the use of each to be carefully taught.
Composed for the authors [sic] use, who is a hearty wel-willer [sic] to
(and accordingly hath endeavoured the promoting of) the attainments of
children, and others, in the tru [sic] spelling, and exact reading of
English</i>. I suspect all members of this group could use this title
by itself as support for their arguments--regardless of which side they
support.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">The University of Queensland maintains an ebook version in their
library but but it is only accessible to their students. So I
had to search for other online references to this treatise.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Bryan Garner in his "Parenthetical Habits: On the use and overuse of
parentheses and brackets" (1) provides the only only quotes I can find
from <i>A Treatise of Stops, Points, or Pauses</i>. "The parenthesis,
he says, is “a Note made of two great Semi-circls, or half Moons; thus, (
),” adding: “These do, and always must include, or inclose one, or more
words of a perfect sense in a Sentence, which may be used, or omitted,
and yet the Sense remain intire.” The related marks we call brackets he
termed “crotchets,” or “Two Semi-quadrats thus, [ ].” He had little to
say about brackets except urging the reader to go find examples in the
margins of books, so that “you will thereby be the better enabled to
understand their use, wherever else you meet with any.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Point 1: The discussion of parentheses and brackets can make grammarians crotchety.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Second reference to <i>The Treatise of Stops, Points, or Pauses</i>
appears in Alberto Manguel's "Best Punctuation: Point of Order." (2)
Here's a lengthy quote illustrating how some writers can make poetry
even out of a discussion of grammar.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">"Diminutive as a mote of dust, a mere peck of the pen, a crumb on the
keyboard, the full stop -- the period -- is the unsung legislator of
our writing systems. Without it, there would be no end to the sorrows of
young Werther, and the travels of the Hobbit would have never been
completed. Its absence allowed James Joyce to weave ''Finnegans Wake''
into a perfect circle, and its presence made Henri Michaux compare our
essential being to this dot, ''a dot that death devours.'' It crowns the
fulfillment of thought, gives the illusion of conclusiveness, possesses
a certain haughtiness that stems, like Napoleon's, from its minuscule
size. Anxious to get going, we require nothing to signal our beginnings,
but we need to know when to stop: this tiny memento mori reminds us
that everything, ourselves included, must one day come to a halt. As an
anonymous English teacher suggested in the 1680 ''Treatise of Stops,
Points or Pauses,'' a full stop is ''a Note of perfect Sense, and of a
perfect Sentence.''"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Manguel concludes his essay with "'No iron,' Isaac Babel wrote, 'can stab the heart with such force as a full stop put just at the
right place.'"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Point 2: Discussions about grammar can lead to murder.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Most grammar searches usually end up <b><i>reductio ad absurdum</i></b>.
So let's conclude with Megan Garber's "Screamer, Slammer, Bang...and 15
Other Ways to Say Exclamation Point." (3) Many authors, instructors,
and advisors on the craft of writing deplore its use. Garber writes that
"The exclamation mark, I am trying to say, is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_references_to_cockroaches">cockroach</a>
of the punctuation world. And that's particularly so in the digital
space, which so infamously encourages its proliferation (!!!!). The
exclamation will, despite and because of all the things that make it
terrible, survive us all." Here are the various synonyms used for the
exclamation point through the centuries : admiration mark, bang,
Christer, control, dembanger, dog's cock, dog's dick, gasper, pling,
screamer, shriekmark, shout pole, slammer, smash, soldier, spark-spot,
startler, wonderer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Point 3: Discussion of proper use of grammar can be an extreme waster
of time leading to infinite delay in putting off cleaning cat litter
boxes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: </span><br />
(1) <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/garner_parenthetical_habits">http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/garner_parenthetical_habits</a><br />
(2) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/18/magazine/best-punctuation-point-of-order.html">https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/18/magazine/best-punctuation-point-of-order.html</a><br />
(3) <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/screamer-slammer-bang-and-15-other-ways-to-say-exclamation-point/274687/">https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/screamer-slammer-bang-and-15-other-ways-to-say-exclamation-point/274687/</a>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-48953151796879779132019-09-16T14:15:00.003-07:002019-09-16T14:15:49.359-07:00"Why Do We Write" to be published In Page and Spine Oct 11, 2019<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #17365d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Page and Spine will publish my essay called </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #17365d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZwUcTjLISjjWJWNOBg54wkUvO_kUKdF8GWkk8j1-CWeSMpm8lk5hyphenhyphenENQrURbJhz9qn52hiTWsGpX9K5woBTsGYoq-UN3GYrzTIFFhafAuMchbarb1M5Xf1B8cKzcamPT98nLk255qLw/s1600/DSCF2982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1118" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZwUcTjLISjjWJWNOBg54wkUvO_kUKdF8GWkk8j1-CWeSMpm8lk5hyphenhyphenENQrURbJhz9qn52hiTWsGpX9K5woBTsGYoq-UN3GYrzTIFFhafAuMchbarb1M5Xf1B8cKzcamPT98nLk255qLw/s320/DSCF2982.JPG" width="223" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #17365d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Why Do We Write" on October 11, 2019. This is the second piece of mine that the site has selected. Here's the first sentence: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #17365d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Bruce<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chatwin in <i>The Songlines</i>
visualizes that primordial moment when the First Man on the African Savannah
shouts out his first words “‘I AM!” to defy the terrors of the African
Savannah, which is the beginning of all songs and all stories.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;"> " </span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-66123183967556459922019-09-10T14:47:00.003-07:002019-09-11T15:29:10.644-07:00"Hark, Hark the Dogs of War Do Bark" to be published in January<span style="font-size: large;">I am currently working on a narrative non-fiction book titled
<i>Raising Rough Riders in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt and His
Sons Archie and Quentin and Their Pony Algonquin</i>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While researching the
death of Quentin during WW I, I discovered serio-comic maps as both
art form and propaganda devices. I wondered what would happen if the characters could
talk. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Hark, Hark the Dogs of War Do Bark" is the result. Scarlet Leaf is publishing this satire in January 2020.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWCCWgutC8PI7pxB3y07ioPtv3c5_CMcPWyC3qyXhIne2lpc1-bxVS1N1iwdgLTa6nG8OvG-z72nSC3Dw0XAx5DGh3JLaUhV1zgfTr3tXgmECvJeYYB8NMG6OacpJ1OFaREBsmVH8PCw/s1600/Satirical-9-Hark-Hark-The-dogs-do-bark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="1600" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWCCWgutC8PI7pxB3y07ioPtv3c5_CMcPWyC3qyXhIne2lpc1-bxVS1N1iwdgLTa6nG8OvG-z72nSC3Dw0XAx5DGh3JLaUhV1zgfTr3tXgmECvJeYYB8NMG6OacpJ1OFaREBsmVH8PCw/s640/Satirical-9-Hark-Hark-The-dogs-do-bark.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-86837619110963040672019-09-08T15:22:00.003-07:002019-09-08T15:22:56.279-07:00"If a Pony Penned a Poem" to be published<span style="font-size: large;">The online literary journal <i>Crepe & Penn</i> is
going to publish my poem "If a Pony Penned a Poem" at the end of
October. Of course, the poem was inspired by Blessi. Many thanks to
friends who persuaded me to attempt to write poetry and submit it for
possible publication. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Blessi is getting treats today for being my muse.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2KucvVZM5W_zo5-GqK3gadrkphCHOiUTPN3FZhuXWqAHnbqUX6IEX_Z0lXNtB2k8R4v7W-58um1M7r2W_W6pNoh3gPg0-0ecGTeJ83zaaY2yt24XZhW45-dWTN_0A63Ys429oc0Hqh4/s1600/blessi-reads.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="663" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2KucvVZM5W_zo5-GqK3gadrkphCHOiUTPN3FZhuXWqAHnbqUX6IEX_Z0lXNtB2k8R4v7W-58um1M7r2W_W6pNoh3gPg0-0ecGTeJ83zaaY2yt24XZhW45-dWTN_0A63Ys429oc0Hqh4/s640/blessi-reads.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-50485145185506928762019-08-20T02:43:00.002-07:002019-08-20T02:49:12.872-07:00IFCE and Le Cadre Noir added citation to my "Riding with Theodore Roosevelt" article<span style="font-size: large;">The IFCE (Institut francais du cheval et de l'equitation), Les Haras
nationaux, and Le Cadre Noir sponsor a library of equine references. "A
unique, scientific, technical and patrimonial documentary collection
dedicated to equine industry of more than 50,000 references, in constant
evolution. " </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My article on "Riding with Theodore Roosevelt" was added
to this site. Unfortunately, the organization used "Ridding" rather than "Riding." Regardless, I am honored to be associated in any way with these organizations.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jm2IwqjbBfKhQUhid7HF6UWEi4ShSOnGfGZimr8SD4Dpq4UHVTE6SvMJTveNrMQwbLicQ4QlHvJQsjwFLlCJgCfcz8jTB9oWJGhGdXuZQtaMXBPevoVH7XXcQnC_Xopx71cYLLAfdj4/s1600/ifce-cad-noire-tr-nolf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="1291" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jm2IwqjbBfKhQUhid7HF6UWEi4ShSOnGfGZimr8SD4Dpq4UHVTE6SvMJTveNrMQwbLicQ4QlHvJQsjwFLlCJgCfcz8jTB9oWJGhGdXuZQtaMXBPevoVH7XXcQnC_Xopx71cYLLAfdj4/s640/ifce-cad-noire-tr-nolf.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-27807623529335862642019-07-24T22:48:00.003-07:002019-07-24T22:48:51.037-07:00"Showdown at the Strand" to be published<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLG8UbKMmf0TtFP3km2xCpe0PPslYKyVIntFLPyN16nPvrd_B_h0E56NKsXjvNtyTIOBd478aLv8Lxfb0pWKwdRo2iYU7aQ3HsQAqmPw-OG5BPNCxYqxr3gLngp3dOZUxDbT8XpMEOAI/s1600/ice-manuscript-1500sAM345fol%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="981" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLG8UbKMmf0TtFP3km2xCpe0PPslYKyVIntFLPyN16nPvrd_B_h0E56NKsXjvNtyTIOBd478aLv8Lxfb0pWKwdRo2iYU7aQ3HsQAqmPw-OG5BPNCxYqxr3gLngp3dOZUxDbT8XpMEOAI/s640/ice-manuscript-1500sAM345fol%25281%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tall Tale TV is going to publish my "Showdown on the Strand" as a podcast in mid-November. Per their website, "Tall Tale TV ranked in the final five for its category in the Parsec Awards, a prestigious award given only to the best story podcasts." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Axe versus whale rib. Sword versus blubber. 'Showdown at the Strand' is a retelling of one of the Icelandic sagas using American Western motifs. I wrote this story in honor of the heritage of my Icelandic horse Blessi. I planned to re-enact hunting stranded (dead) whales in Iceland by horseback around 1020 AD. But something happened so I wrote this story instead.
</span>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5181657916961281069.post-69503715073437826692019-02-24T22:00:00.002-08:002019-02-24T22:03:07.494-08:00"Jack Spriggins, Villain" Published by Bewildering Stories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpkH4hApaBvEAfYUd1PS2TVOuoUvr6AAcG_7rrvnzH3r7nR-PP8vmWs6ldn8UVF9T8YkaIeoFq2YElMOzkmP2HDn1-VASNxMIFnOr8d4nLiRlcFOlngeGr78faC0tjxPeFt3hpecPK_o/s1600/bwst-scr-cap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1079" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpkH4hApaBvEAfYUd1PS2TVOuoUvr6AAcG_7rrvnzH3r7nR-PP8vmWs6ldn8UVF9T8YkaIeoFq2YElMOzkmP2HDn1-VASNxMIFnOr8d4nLiRlcFOlngeGr78faC0tjxPeFt3hpecPK_o/s400/bwst-scr-cap.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">E-magazine Bewildering Stories published my fractured fairy tale "Jack Spriggins, Villain." This </span><span style="font-size: large;">exposé documents what really happened to the Geants of Cornwall and the impact of Brexit on this minority group. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue798/jack_spriggins.html" target="_blank">http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue798/jack_spriggins.html </a></span>Blessiownerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282656776930461678noreply@blogger.com0