The Poetry of the Old Testament

2010-02-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

I was asked to write a little background information on The Poetry of the Old Testament, especially focusing on poetic forms and literary devices used there. You can find the write up at the Hub linked above.

Enjoy!!

Exciting!

2010-02-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

I got some exciting news earlier this week. My poem "Manipulation," first published in the May 2009 online edition of Scifaikuest, was nominated for a 2010 Rhysling Award in the long poem category. This is my first Rhysling nomination, and I'm pretty excited about it.

The Rhysling is awarded by the Science Fiction Poetry Association each year for best poem (as voted by members) published the previous year. There are two categories, short (under 50 lines) and long (over 50 lines). It is the biggest award for speculative poetry.

You can read the full text of my poem at the readers' page, where it was generously showcased by Malcolm Deeley. (You'll have to scroll down to find it.)

Check out the The 2009 Rhysling Anthology at Amazon

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January's reading posted

2010-02-02T05:30:00.001-08:00

I keep a "hit or miss" list for my month's reading and viewing over at my main blog each month. My January Hit (or Miss) List is up now, posted over the weekend.

It's been fun catching up on some reading the past couple of months.

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A Freed Woman's Dance

2010-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

A friend loaned me her copy of Doris Copes A Freed Woman's Dance. She knows a number of the people who appeared in the book, and so when she read it, it seemed to really resonate for her. I found myself, not surprisingly, a little more distant from the narrative than she did (as I don't know the characters personally), but overall still found it a pretty good read. Cope put the story together well, and tells it in a nice enough way.

The story is one of abuse and healing, of learning what Cope calls the Freed Woman's Dance, no matter how bad the events of the past has been. It is a book of strength in the face of the worst kinds of adversity.

For me, I most enjoyed the essay at the end of the book, though I know the story told before it really set the essay up to work well in this format. I believe Cope has a valuable, viable ministry going on (and lying ahead of her) because of the things she's learned and overcome. She is admirable for where she has been, where she is, and where she intends to go. Amazing stuff.

As with a lot of books that are self-published or published by houses like Bennett & Hastings, the publishers of A Freed Woman's Dance, who have a self-publishing aspect to the business, I found more typos in the book than I like to see. One or two I can overlook, but this one has quite a number. A skillful editor's hand is needed, or at the very least a proofreader's. It's just one of those things that I wish would be given more careful attention by self-published authors. The story is too much needed to let things like this become a distraction, and I think giving attention to brushing them up would help a lot.

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Directed Verdict

2010-01-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

I recently finished Randy Singer's Directed Verdict. It wasn't something I loved or hated, but it did definitely keep me turning the pages.

I've posted a fuller review of it at the Christian fiction site, if you'd like to have a look. If you have read it and would like to have your comments or reviews posted at that site, let me know and I can make arrangements.

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I Guess Dante's REALLY Hit it Big Now...

2010-01-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

Huh. Who'd've thought?

Looks like it will be coming out very soon now!

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Speculative Poet John J. Dunphy, an interview

2010-01-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

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Coaching Service for Writers and Poets

2010-01-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

I've recently begun offering a new coaching service for writers and poets.

You can have a look at my website to see how it works and what services are offered. I hope to add a series of online poetry courses in the next few weeks as well.

And now I'll let this particular blog go back to its normal work of discussing what I've been reading lately.....

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Mental Fight

2010-01-14T06:50:00.000-08:00

Mental Fight is Ben Okri's collection of poetry, written to greet the turn from the 1900s to the year 2000. All of the poems in the collection are heavily political, quite direct, and written with a punch.

While the work takes a more direct approach than what I usually prefer in poetry, it does so in compelling terms. The language packs a punch, and the ideas have teeth. There's plenty to think about and challenge the reader in the poems on the pages there.

Though I prefer a more subtle style in poetry, there's plenty to engage the mind in the collection.

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The Book of Salt

2010-01-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Kitchen, sweat, tears, or the sea?

In The Book of Salt, the answer to that question is simply "yes."

The novel tells the story of a Vietnamese cook in Paris, employed by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas. It is a wonderful way of telling a story — the story of a household, the story of an era, the story of a race, and the story of a man. Stories, like salt, come in so many distinct kinds, and The Book of Salt blends them all in.

The book is poignant and thoughtful. It pushes the reader to think about a part of the world we like to neglect — the downtrodden, I am tempted to say, but that doesn't do justice to the character portrayed on this book's pages. True, his life is a hard one, but he never strikes me as truly downtrodden. He is too self-aware for "downtrodden." He knows who he is, even when he doesn't quite know he knows it.

The Book of Salt was recommended to me by a friend several years ago. I let it sit on my shelf longer than I intended, which seems to be the norm these days. All the same, I am glad I got to it now. It's an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

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Intrinsic Night

2010-01-08T02:42:00.000-08:00

I finished reading J. E. Stanley and Joshua Gage's poetry collection, Intrinsic Night, a couple of nights ago. It was a great read. I was impressed by the range displayed in the collection of cinquains offered by this pair of amazing poets.

Intrinsic Night explores a variety of themes, all while experimenting with this form. It is a spectacular display of skill, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

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Brighton Rock

2010-01-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

I have had Brighton Rock on my shelf for years, always meaning to get around to it. I knew that, eventually, I would, especially since it's a book that practically everyone I know has read and enjoyed.

Well, I finally got around to it, thanks in large part to the Fill in the Gaps 100 Book list. When I made up my list, I knew I wanted Brighton Rock on it, partly as a way to make me finally get started on it and get it read.

I am glad I did. While I can't say that it is going to crack my list of 100 favorite books of all time or anything, I can say that I enjoyed the read. It's a quick-moving tale, and it makes you want to keep going on to see how it all turns out.

None of the characters in the book were likable, for me, but I did feel they were sympathetic in that they draw you into their story. You want to read along and see what they will do next, and how they will settle all the messes they've gotten themselves into. The Boy, Pinkie, is loathsome and yet pathetic, and seeing him move about the scene that Greene has set for him at Brighton makes one aware of just how good a writer Greene is. Those of his novels that I have read always seem to work this way for me — there are characters that I don't quite like (though I somehow care about them) moving about in these finely developed worlds at a pace that keeps me wanting to move forward. The story opens up, the end comes, and I end up feeling just a little stunned by how quickly it is over, and by the way the story has finally come to its inevitable conclusions. That's how it always seems to work with a Greene novel, at least for me, and it is enough to keep me coming back to read more of his work.

The world depicted in Brighton Rock is the rough arena of gangsterism, gambling, and murder. Pinkie is overmatched. You just know from early on that the guy doesn't stand a chance. And seeing his drama unfold, you can't help but care.

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Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys

2010-01-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

I recently finished Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, and posted a little review over at HubPages.

As with all of Gaiman's work, it is a really fun read. Hope you enjoy the review, and the novel.

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Happy New Year

2009-12-31T03:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!

May 2010 be filled with good things for you and your loved ones!

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Virginia Woolf's Night and Day

2009-12-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I finished Virginia Woolf's Night and Day as a part of my reading in the Fill in the Gaps challenge. I really got into the book, and enjoyed Woolf's writing immensely. She is always good, and I love the way her stories let us inside the minds of the various characters we read about.

I still have a ways to go on my Fill in the Gaps list, but so far Night and Day has been one of my favorites (along with Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and G. O. Clark's Mortician's Tea.

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William Tyndale and the Tyndale Bible

2009-12-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

I've recently added a hub on William Tyndale and the Tyndale Bible, for those who are interested in the history of the English translation of the Bible.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all readers of the Recommended Reading blog!
I hope you have a good holiday season with your family and friends!

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Edwin Morgan

2009-12-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Edwin Morgan is one of my 3 favorite poets of all time, alongside John Donne and W. H. Auden. His work is always quite clever, with loads of twists and turns, and playful uses of language.

Before I even knew there was such a vast field of poetry catering to those of us who are interested in speculative poetry, the science fiction elements of Morgan's work impressed me, and allowed me to be a little more daring in including more science fiction in my own writing. I'm glad I did, as it really opened up a way for me to explore ideas in poetry that I love dealing with. In that, I have to credit Edwin Morgan for the influence his has been on my own writing.

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The Mutability of the Written Word

2009-12-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

I recently finished Washington Irving's short story The Mutability of Literature," and found it quite amusing. It was a fun read in itself, as it is, but all the more because it makes me wonder what Irving would say about today's world, with the dearth of information new technologies have provided us.

Funny, it seems like this is a new reality, but Irving was saying almost exactly the same things that you hear people today saying about the "information age" almost 200 years ago. Amazing!

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The Shack

2009-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

I recently finished reading The Shack, by William Paul Young. The book had been recommended to me by two different readers, but it took me a while to get to. Mostly that was because both readers told me it was something that would be "hard" because of the subject matter — a little girl getting abducted, brutalized, and murdered. But I found, in reading it, that this was not really a hard book to read, as it is not very graphic in describing those scenes.

It is also an easy read in its style and flow. Over all, I found it quite enjoyable, and it certainly was challenging. There are ideas presented in the book that I think are worth reading and contemplating. It's one of the better Christian novels I've come across in a while.

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Back up and Running

2009-12-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

My blog poetically challenged has been offline for a while due to some difficulties I had accessing the site for a while. I think the issues are now resolved, and I will be updating it regularly again.

The blog focuses on publication opportunities for poets. I hope you'll find something useful there.

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New Life!

2009-12-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to hear the news from my friend Malcolm Campbell that his book The Sun Singer will receive new life. The Sun Singer is going to be re-released by Vanilla Heart Publishing later this year.

Great news! I've read The Sun Singer in its earlier incarnation, and enjoyed it very much. I am glad to hear that it will be given new life in this 100th year of Glacier National Park, where the book is set.

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John Wycliffe and the Wycliffe Translation of the Bible

2009-11-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Glimpses of Truth, a novel about a boy whose life is tangled up with John Wycliffe and the Wycliffe Translation of the Bible. It was a pretty good read, about a subject I've thought much about over the years. (I even wrote a series of poems about the early translations of the Bible.)

Cavanaugh is a good writer, and obviously really knows a lot about the times represented in Glimpses of Truth. It's a fun read, well worth the time.

I Don't Know Much About Writing

2009-11-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

I've just found a new home for a post I used to have at an old blog site that is now defunct. The article, I Don't Know Much About Writing, is about good (and bad) reading habits, and can now be found at HubPages.

Enjoy!

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dark 'til dawn, video catalog

2009-11-16T19:50:00.001-08:00

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