Ecce Sigum

Immanentize the Empathy

Author: John Winkelman

Autumn Weather and Autumn Energy

John Winkelman

Yesterday I wandered over to Books and Mortar to help Jenny and her crew move the store from their old location at 955 Cherry Street SE, across the street to their new location at 966 Cherry Street SE. The moving event was supposed to take three hours, and I set aside a couple of hours more because I know about moving locations. I also expected maybe a dozen people to show up (again because I have lots of experience with moving) because the day was cold and intermittently rainy.

But instead, the weather broke and the sun came out, and at least 75 people showed up and formed a human conveyor belt to move the books across the street, and the entire inventory and most of the fixtures were in the new space in less than an hour. Books and Mortar have photos and video of the event up on their Instagram. I look forward to seeing the new space when it is finished (grand re-opening November 5!).

Two new bookish things arrived this week, and one shirt.

First up is the latest issue of Poetry, which continues to be a balm of sorts for when the world gets a little too chaotic.

Next up is Gaia Awakens, a new anthology of climate crisis fiction from a recent Kickstarter created by C.D. Tavenor and Meg Trast of the Two Doctors Media Collaborative. I backed their project at the tier which included the “Eco, not Ego” tshirt, which I will happily wear to conventions, if the conventions I attend ever happen again.

In reading news, I started David Graber‘s Debt: The First 5,000 Years, which should keep me good and angry through the end of November.

In writing news, I am slowly amassing a pile of notes for the kickoff of NaNoWriMo in a week and change. I am trying something new this year – instead of breaking up my writing by chapter or story, I created 30 documents in Google Docs, one for each day of November, and will just put everything I write on each day in each document. I’ll worry about redistributing the words to their final resting places after the end of the month. What comes out of NaNoWriMo is the zero-eth draft of the work. The first draft will appear out of the random pile of typing once I have time to review what I have written.

The Days are Definitely Darker

John Winkelman

Here in the middle of October dusk comes noticeably earlier every evening, particularly on Wednesdays when we have tai chi class in Wilcox Park. Class runs from 6:00 to 7:30, and while the sunsets are beautiful, soon we will not be able to see each other well enough to practice sword work safely.

No new reading material arrived at the house this week. Just as well; I have a big backlog.

In reading news, I just finished Simon Wiesenthal‘s The Sunflower, and I can see that this is a book which I will keep within reach for a very long time.

I also finished George Saunders‘ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, which is now firmly in the top three of the best books about writing I have read in the past thirty years.

In writing news, still no new prose or poetry. I am still in recovery (mental, emotion, sleep) from the past month or year or two years, and hope to get to a place where I can participate meaningfully in NaNoWriMo, which starts in (o god!) two weeks.

Kickstarter, Covid, and Supply Chain Disruption

John Winkelman

This past week was one of little to nothing accomplished. A combination of terrible insomnia and stress, along with some kind of mild illness (not COVID, according to the test I took on Wednesday), left me as brain-dead as I have been in any week this past year.

Three new books arrived at the house this past week.

On the left is Empty Wardrobes by Maria Judite de Carvalho, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Julie Costa and published by Two Lines Press.

In the middle is Jason Sanford’s new novel The Plague Birds, published by Apex Book Company.

On the right is Ekphrastic Beasts, a combination art book and RPG monster manual published by Janaka Stucky by way of his Kickstarter campaign. This book is the basis for the title of this post.

The past two years have been tough on everyone. The COVID pandemic has disrupted the interconnected systems of the world to a level usually not seen outside of world wars. Everyone is having a tough time. Everyone is stressed.

On April 28 of 2020 Janaka Stucky launched the Kickstarter campaign for his RPG monster manual Ekphrastic Beasts. The pandemic was well underway at that time, and quarantines had been going on for well over a month. There was no indication at that time of how long the lockdowns would last, or what the effect would be on the global workforce and supply chains. Simply put, the modern world had never experienced a disruption like this, ongoing, pervasive and unpredictable.

The original estimated delivery date was well over a year ago. Obviously, since the book just arrived here for my weekly update, that deadline has long passed.

In the comments for this Kickstarter are many, many messages of support, many more messages expressing concern and/or some level of dissatisfaction with the caveat of understanding that times are tough, and a few messages which basically say, “fuck your problems, ship the books.”

There are any number of reasons for a Kickstarter campaign to miss its deadline – shipping issues, production issues, workforce issues. Personal issues. This kind of thing happens. It is unfortunate that it happens, but it happens.

Over the last two years a great many deadlines have been missed for a great many reasons, almost all of them related either to COVID (and peoples’ responses to COVID) or the occasional cargo ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal. This is just as frustrating for the people responsible for fulfillment as the people expecting to be fulfilled.

So coming in when a long-delayed Kickstarter is finally complete, and complaining about the wait, and about the perceived deficiencies in the product, without acknowledging the unique circumstances of the past two years is, frankly, a dick move, and people who feel such a gross sense of entitlement, no matter the amount of money they put down, deserve to be disappointed. It isn’t all about you. Pull your head out and take a look around at the world, and then choose to feel a little empathy rather than kick the one person who held it all together in order to complete the project, come hell or high water.

Here endeth the lesson.

IWSG, October 2021

John Winkelman

Welcome to the monthly Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. This month’s question is the following:

The question: In your writing, where do you draw the line, with either topics or language?

Back when Caffeinated Press and The 3288 Review were first starting up, the bunch of us met to discuss editorial policy. As I was heading up the journal, and intended it to include reviews of West Michigan arts and letters, the first points I introduced were “No poison pens. No punching down.” In other words, the performative sadism of the Hot Take and the Gleefully Nasty Review had no place in any publication to which I would contribute my time and effort.

That being said, I found this to be a surprisingly difficult question to answer with specifics. After much consideration, I think the line I draw is here:

No exploitation of, or punching down at, minority or marginalized or vulnerable persons or groups.

I say this as a middle-aged, straight, white, middle-class, cisgender, progressive, sort-of-Buddhist man whose political sensibilities have moved steadily leftward for the past thirty years. Any art which depends on stepping on necks in order to elevate itself is art which is on the wrong side of history.

While the stories I write may include instances of cruelty and People Doing Bad Things, those scenes will be in service of the story and not merely as gratuitous filler for increased views and sales. And, spoiler alert, those people will probably receive karmic justice by the end of the story.

There are many artists and writers who believe that there is nothing which is out of bounds, and while I do not state my position as a Rule Which Should Be Followed By All, the things I won’t write tend to also be things I won’t read. Write what you want. I ain’t the boss a’ you.

I will not turn this post into a detailed examination of “punching down” as it relates to dominant social structures here in the United States, though I think such a post would be useful for teasing apart the multiple threads of of privilege and power which permeate every facet of modern life. Perhaps I will write it to pad my word count during NaNoWriMo next month.

In closing, note the tagline for this blog.

 

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
is a community dedicated to encouraging
and supporting insecure writers
in all phases of their careers.

Poetry and Cyberpunk

John Winkelman

Another short update, due to some intense family stuff.

This week saw two new bundles of pages arrive here at the Library of Winkelman Abbey. On the left is the latest issue of Poetry. On the right, fresh from his latest Kickstarter, is Rudy Rucker‘s new book Juicy Ghosts.

In reading news, I am closing in on the end of S.A. Chakraborty’s The Kingdom of Copper, and still enjoying it immensely. I am now about halfway through George Saunders’ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, and I consider it one of the best books I have read this year, and one of the best writing books of the many such I have read.

In writing news, as usual, there is no writing news. Perhaps next week. Or the week after.

September 2021 Reading List

John Winkelman

I hit the ground running this month with a pile of unread anthologies, which I tend to collect more of than any other type of book. The only books  I read to completion this month were the two anthologies listed below, which contained almost all of the short prose which is listed after. Despite some significant chaos in my personal life, it was a good month for reading, with 37 short stories, which brought me into the triple digits for the year. Still less than half of what I had hoped at this point, but many more than I completed last year.

The last three, in the short prose list are from George Saunders’ magnificent A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. I am less than halfway through, and already it is one of my top five writing advice books.

Books

  1. Smith, Angela Yuriko and Noel, Scot (editors) – Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.08)
  2. Coe, David B. and Palmatier, Joshua (editors) – Derelict (2021.09.15)

Short Prose

  1. Ulibarri, Sarena, “The Spiral Ranch”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.01)
  2. Amburgey, David, “An Infinite Number”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.01)
  3. Teffeau, Lauren C., “Sing! & Remember”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.02)
  4. Bondoni, Gustavo, “A Sip of Pombé”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.04)
  5. Linskold, Jane, “Born from Memory”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.04)
  6. Tork, Tyler, “Tea With Gibbons”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.05)
  7. Colter, L. Deni, “The Weight of Mountains”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.05)
  8. Mana, Davide, “Sapiens”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  9. Linzner, Gordon, “The Dead Don’t Dream”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  10. Gragg, Austin, “Collection Violet”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  11. Palisano, John, “Humani”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  12. Manzetti, Alessandro, “Joy of Life”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  13. Maberry, Jonathan, “Artifact”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.06)
  14. Shelby, Jennifer, “The Feline, The Witch, and the Universe”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.07)
  15. Del Carlo, Eric, “Hands of a Toolmaker”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.07)
  16. Grant, John Linwood, A Farewell to Worms”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.07)
  17. Rogers, Ian, “A Glass Darkly”, Worlds of Light and Darkness (2021.09.08)
  18. Smith, Kristine, “Symbiote”, Derelict (2021.09.08)
  19. Jackson, D.B., “The Wreck of the Sarah Mohr“, Derelict (2021.09.09)
  20. Tyree, Griffin Ayaz, “The Tempest in Space”, Derelict (2021.09.09)
  21. Popovic, Andrija, “Playing Possum”, Derelict (2021.09.10)
  22. Lee, Sharon & Miller, Steve, ” Standing Orders”, Derelict (2021.09.10)
  23. Brandt, Gerald, “Time, Yet”, Derelict (2021.09.11)
  24. Harding, Kit, ” Flight Plans Through the Dust of Dreams”, Derelict (2021.09.12)
  25. Koch, Gini (writing as Ensal, Anita), “Saving Sallie Ruth”, Derelict (2021.09.12)
  26. Bedford, Jacey, “Methuselah”, Derelict (2021.09.13)
  27. Jacobsen, Mark D., “Celestial Object 143205”, Derelict (2021.09.13)
  28. Bledsoe, Alex, “When the Stars Fell and the Levee Broke”, Derelict (2021.09.13)
  29. Brenchley, Chaz, “Derelict of Duty”, Derelict (2021.09.14)
  30. Held, R.Z., “Two Ruins Make a Beginning”, Derelict (2021.09.14)
  31. Campbell, Jack, “Orpheus”, Derelict (2021.09.14)
  32. Czerneda, Julie E., “Decay in Five Stages”, Derelict (2021.09.15)
  33. Farrenkopf, Corey, “Birdwatching During the End Times“, Coffin Bell #4.3 (2021.09.15)
  34. Squirrel, William, “In the Armies of Hell All the Soldiers Are Kings“, Coffin Bell #4.3 (2021.09.15)
  35. Chekhov, Anton (Yarmolinsky, Avrahm, translator), “In the Cart”, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (2021.09.20)
  36. Turgenev, Ivan (Magarshack, David, translator), “The Singers”, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (2021.09.21)
  37. Chekhov, Anton (Yarmolinsky, Avrahm, translator), “The Darling”, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (2021.09.28)

Hello, Autumn

John Winkelman

Brief update this week. I am tired and burned out, and need to focus my attention elsewhere.

The only new pages to arrive in the past week belonged to the latest issue of The Rain Taxi Review of Books, which never fails to be interesting and full of compelling titles. I considered cancelling this subscription as part of the Great Expenses Purge of 2021, but as it is only $24.00 a year, and the magazine takes up less than a quarter inch of shelf space, it easily made the cut.

In reading news I am about 200 pages into S.A. Chakraborty’s The Kingdom of Copper, and it is really good! I read the first book in the series, The City of Brass, well over a year ago, and I now regret not immediately diving into Kingdom.

I am also somewhat over 100 pages into A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. So far he has gone through Chekhov’s “In the Cart” and Turgenev’s “The Singers”. We have just started Chekhov’s “The Darling”. I don’t think I have read any of these stories previously. Saunders is brilliant at showing how the stories are constructed without resorting to jargon to deconstruct the text. Though ostensibly aimed at undergrad or graduate level readers, these essays/teachings/contemplations are accessible and well worth the read.

In writing news, still not a lot to report, though I do have some more notes jotted down. I doubt I will find a useful intersection of time and energy for creative pursuits before the first of November.

Buh-Bye, Summer

John Winkelman

This is my last post of the year wherein the days are longer than the nights. In just three days Autumn will arrive, and with it the slow slide into the winter months. Though if the outside temperature of the past month is any indication, we may well still be able to visit the beach well into December.

Three new volumes arrived in the Library of Winkelman Abbey in the past week.

On the left is the new anthology from the Calico imprint of Two Lines Press, Cuíer: Queer Brazil.

In the middle is the latest from And Other Stories, Oldladyvoice.

On the right is the new issue of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, which is one of the few remaining subscriptions I have kept, though through the intermediary of their annual Kickstarter event.

In reading news, I finished Derelict, which I found to be an excellent collections of stories, and am now about 50 pages into The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty, the second book of her Daevabad trilogy. So far, I quite like it!

In writing news, I now have a plan for NaNoWriMo, which should give me the interest, the latitude, and the momentum to pump out at least 50,000 words in November, assuming the world does not, to be blunt, get even worse in the next three months.

Is This…Cold?

John Winkelman

This morning (Friday, as I write the first draft of this post), for the first time since early May, I had to put on a sweater in order to practice on the porch. It didn’t last long; tai chi and chi kung, though they are slow and gentle, heat up a body almost as well as a hard kung fu workout.

In any other year I would be happily sunburned and exhausted after a summer of hitting the lake at least once a week. This year (and last year) I managed to dip my toes in Lake Michigan maybe four times. And that’s in the entire year. Disruptions in my schedule (and also my partner’s schedule) due to the ongoing COVID pandemic meant that leisure time, once available in small amounts, is now a precious commodity to be hoarded for special occasions.

But as we all need to re-learn every day, time is not fungible. A little saved here can’t therefore be used there.

But enough of this navel-gazing nonsense!

This week two books arrived at the Library of Winkelman Abbey.

On the left, newly published by PM Press, via their recent Kickstarter, is The Day the Klan Came to Town, written by Bill Campbell (of Rosarium Publishing fame) and illustrated by Bizhan Khodabandeh.

On the right is The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal, which I picked up after it popped up in a Metafilter thread discussing the odd circumstance that some GamerGaters have approached Brianna Wu, asking for forgiveness. The conversation therein was, as always, interesting and nuanced, and I imagine this little book will hit the top of my to-read stack well before the end of the year.

In reading news, I am still immersed in short stories. I finished Worlds of Light and Darkness and am now on Derelict, another anthology published by the talented folks at Zombies Need Brains.

In writing news, still not a lot to report. Recent family events have sapped most of my energy, and even now I have my doubts about being able to rally myself in time for NaNoWriMo. Time will tell.