Archive for September, 2018
With a busy week coming up, today’s “Last Sunday Poetry Reading and Open Mic” (cf. August 26, et al.), co-sponsored by the Bloomington Writers Guild and the Monroe County Convention Center, offered featured readings by relative newcomer Breon Rochelle Tyler (see May 29 2017) who read a poem about being free, introducing her own work on freedom, mothers, art, and creation; followed by many-time participant Maria Hamilton Abegunde (August 27, April 1, et al.) with several works in progress, including two inspired by current events, and ending with three selections from her LEARNING TO EAT THE DEAD. In the audience readings afterward, my part consisted of three more poems from VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE), the second of the three recordings done for fall broadcast on WFIU’s “The Poets Weave” (see August 26, et al.), “Why She Started Writing Poetry,” “California Vamp,” and “Chagrin du Vampire.”
Of busy weeks, though, next Sunday’s normally scheduled prose readings will not be held due to FRANKENFEST (cf. August 5), the 200th Anniversary celebration of the first publication of Mary Shelley’s novel FRANKENSTEIN, co-sponsored by the Monroe County Library and the Writers Guild at Bloomington, and made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities with additional funding from the IU Arts and Humanities Council. Running October 3 through 7, events will include a Wednesday evening FrankenPanel, of which I will be a participant; FrankenFilms (FRANKENSTEIN, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, and GOTHIC) on Thursday, October 4; a FRANKENSTEIN Read-a-Thon among other activities on Saturday the 6th; and FrankenTheatre on Sunday, a live radio theater adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN by Russell McGee, who also directs, presenting the creature as an intelligent being who suffered the injustice of mankind. All events will be held in the Monroe County Public Library.
The story concerned a somewhat slightly built, skinny alien with pointed ears who, disguised as a cosplay Mr. Spock, has been gaining intelligence at STAR TREK conventions in preparation for the invasion. But Earth, he learns, is preparing for an annual celebration, affecting virtually every nation, offering an opportunity for him and his fellows disguised this time as Christmas elves to infiltrate department store “Santa’s Villages” in nearly every city of any size on the planet, to start the conquest on Christmas Eve. The story’s title was “Holly Jolly” but somehow calls for invasion stories, with horrific endings, revolving around department store Santas seemed strangely sparse. And so the story languished.
Until. . . .
The call was from a magazine I was unfamiliar with, PLANET SCUMM, but for information on which one may press here. A horror issue? In winter? Not, perhaps, the season you think of when it comes to frights and ghosties and things that go bump in the night, eh? Then again, perhaps your favorite intergalactic editors forgot to send out the submission call in time, and are now one cycle behind on their theme issues? Hmm, yes. Perhaps, perhaps. And [i]f your story plays off the “winter” theme — literally or not — even better. Most of our normal submission stipulations still apply here. Ideally, submissions should be both horror AND have a speculative/sci-fi element — a slasher cutting through skiers with an ice-pick (while fun) won’t cut it.
And Christmas is winter, yes?
The rest is history. Came the reply this afternoon: Scummy is . . . pleased with your science fiction offering. We’d like to publish “Holly Jolly” in our Winter 2019 issue of PLANET SCUMM. A contract was offered which went back today (a little bit of money up front, perhaps a royalty). So buy an issue when it comes out. And look for more information here, or maybe at the link above, as it becomes known.
PONTYPOOL anyone? REPULSION? THE VANISHING (the original 1988 Dutch-French version, not the remake)? THE BROOD? These are but four of “10 Bizarre but Great Horror Movies You Need to See,” by The Lineup Staff on THE-LINE-UP.COM. Subtitled “[t]hese weird horror movies flew under the radar, but they’re worth finding,” the feature adds: Horror movies are inherently at least a little bit weird. These picks lean into it, resulting in some twisted, hilarious, haunting, and horrifying films. Next time you’re in the mood for something a bit off-beat, one of these bizarre but great horror movies should do the trick. I will say I’ve enjoyed the titles here that I’ve seen myself, or, as days grow shorter, here perhaps are some films to shake up your late night viewing, for more on which check here.
Taking the wayback machine back a week, we may recall that my story, “The Great Man,” won second place in OKLAHOMA PAGAN QUARTERLY’s “Spooky Samhain 2018 Contest” (see September 16). There were three actual (i.e., money) prizes for stories in any of three divisions, “True Tales of Terror,” “Spooky Semi-True Stories,” and “Fantastic Frights,” based on degree of actual truth and/or believability, which with seven runners-up added are slated to be published in the magazine’s Samhain 2018 edition. And so, here revealed in order (note that there was a tie for third place), a tip of the hat to:
1. Just Up the Street and Back – Jef Rouner
2. The Great Man – James Dorr
3. Falling Up – John Haas
3. Keep Me Company – Phillip Ivory
4. Last Dance – Bryn Schurman
5. The Last Sacrifice – James Paris
6. Eyes of Corn – Alexandria Baker
7. My Little Katie – Summer Robbins
8. Serpent’s Head – Thomas Vaughn
9. Beyond The Locked Door – Morgan Chalfant
To this OKLAHOMA PAGAN QUARTERLY Editor Belwoeth Harbright has added, noting first that it was a close contest, [w]e had so much fun with this, however, that we definitely intend on doing it again next year! So keep writing, editing, and tightening those horror tales and try again next time!
Let us recall August 17’s post, including a reading of three vampire poetry presentations I taped for local public radio station WFUI’s “The Poet’s Weave.” Today was the day for its TV equivalent at sister station WTIU with, according to producer Payton Knobeloch, possible airing on YouTube, etc., “as early as the end of the week.” Or later, depending on editing, etc.
So, while the vampire readings will wait until closer to Halloween, this approximately three-minute set should appear in such places as YouTube quite a bit earlier, date and link to be shared on this blog if/as soon as I know myself. Also unlike the radio, these poems were not that closely identified with horror as such, representing a celebration of movie great King Kong. And to be sure, his love, Fay Wray. Thus the poems themselves, “Godzilla vs. King Kong,” originally published in DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES, May 2016; “On the Other Hand” in GRIEVOUS ANGEL, 30 August 2015; and “Monkey See” in SPACE AND TIME, Fall 2011.