WHERE TO BEGIN
By Alex Ness
August 21, 2022
Q&A: WOMEN, PACIFIC CONFLICT, GRELL & CONVENTIONS
From a Minnesota reader of this column and of my poetry blog. "Hey Alex... I was wondering if you are going to be at Fall Con or any other convention or show ever again? I think whoever runs shows in town are insane for not realizing how many interviews of comics people you've done, comic, prose and poetry books you've done, and more. I love seeing you and your stuff for sale at shows. If not in the Twin Cities, is any kind of show possible? Aella L."
I love your first name, but don't know if I know how to pronounce it. I looked it up and it is a name that destines a person for greatness. (Meaning one who reaps the Whirlwind)
I'm rather certain the people running all of the shows in the area, if they know who I am, know that I have been covering the comics world* and writing my own stuff for 20 years. What they don't seem to understand is that if they don't invite me, I can't go. I'm not able to buy a table, as they cost more than I make for any such event. I appreciate your kind words, but am truly ok with whatever happens.
I sell my books and used/news books by others via paypal and USPS mail, I have some supporters, and I do have sale albums both on Poplitiko and Facebook. Life is good, don't worry about me.
(* Found @ Robingoodfellow.com, Slushfactory.com, Ugo.com, Popthought.com, Comicon.com/pulse, CBR, & others).
From a reader of this column from a far away place over the sea. "Mister Alex, could you please send me links to this website when your new articles appear? I know you have the Poetry blog email list, and I like your poems, but greatly esteem this page. You cover enormous amounts of territory, books, comics, games, current events and more. Would you ever release a book with these articles? I know I'd buy it. (Yes, I read English so not asking for a Japanese language work). Also, with your knowledge of world affairs, can you tell me, do you think there will be a war over Taiwan, a new war in the Korean peninsula? Thank you, Your friend Akira"
My poetry blog gets hundreds more hits per new entry than Poplitiko, and I seriously doubt I'd have the interest of others in setting up an email list. But I'd be happy to send you links whenever they appear. Thanks for the inquiry.
No, I'm not releasing any book of my prose work. A long time ago a company offered me the opportunity to release such a book with them, and asked me to find a cover for it by one of my artist friends. The artist did the work, they said, hell no we aren't paying for it. I said nuts to them doing the book, and gave the artist $200 in new books and refused to deal with that company again.
I no longer have anything like the prophetic ability to predict world affairs. I used to think I had the ability to logical assess the likelihood of events, and reasons for them, but the world has gone mad regarding war, disease, political division and riots. I'm complimented that you'd want to know what I think about the world affairs you mention, but I am a historian by inclination and education. I looked at my work in political science as being aimed at understanding the field of International Relations. I'm not master of such a field and that area is another that I feel like I'm no longer able to predict and consider.
However, I think that the Korean peninsula is going to see a major war, when the leadership realizes it hasn't the ability to move forward with the regime. The Kim family hasn't cultivated a great amount of goodwill and respect over the last 70 years, and if they don't have an heir of substance to replace the current leader, I can see the desperation leading to war and the worst sort of war.
If Taiwan was an easy target, the Communist Chinese would already have invaded and absorbed the Nationalist Chinese people, their military equipment and all of their territory. In the present, without additional issues present, I can't see any near future action to bring it back under their hand since the situation seems ultimately likely to result in some peaceful reunion. It is just a matter of time. And I think some of President Biden's comments scared many people, with good reason, if the PRC perceived that Taiwan had no allies, it might well act.
From a reader who writes nearly daily, but I don't know their location on the globe. "I recently read your various pieces on great and not so great comics. I'm around your age from what I can tell, and think we like works for different reasons. Where you see the emotional truth of a moment, I love how a work is written to weave a fabric of intrigue and power. I love reading about women superheroes because it tends to be both sexy and different than the typical macho two heavily muscled jerks beating up each other. I wonder who you think writes the best women heroes in comics? J.K.T."
I haven't met many women who read comics who are about my age. That is new to me and I think it to be rather cool. Of the many writers I respect, admire, love in a manly friendly way, I think it is a question that probably doesn't have an answer for a number of reasons I'll get into.* For me the answer is found for me in Mike Grell. I realize he is of an older generation and isn't writing in a modern sense of awareness of issues and politics of gender. He wrote smart powerful women in an era when tropes and stereotypical writing existed rather than mature and intelligent depictions of the same and he transcended the normal to create his own works, and did so very well.**
*I don't think we as writers are yet well able to walk on the balance beam of powerful women without going overboard to repair past problems. We must address women as being their own hero, and try to not use typical male archetypes, only dress it up as a woman. I admire powerful women in life. My mom was tough as nails. My wife is smarter than 98% or more of the people I consider bright. My sister was in military intelligence, and lived the life of a warrior. These and many other strong women inspire me, and cause me to appreciate them in ways that lead me to being a better person. Writing about women has to be to create an agency of their own qualities, not anything transferred from one gender to another.
** REGARDING MIKE GRELL
Mike Grell's kindness towards me and support allowed me to succeed at something that I was unlikely to experience without him. He appreciated my work, contributed to my book A Life of Ravens, wrote a foreword for my book Mythic Memories, and has been a wonderful mentor and older brother. He calls me his "little brother" with a wink, since I am enormous and he is not. But, whatever people wish to say, my appreciation for him does not make the paragraph above true or untrue. It is completely honest, and so, my reading experiences with him are only enhanced, amplified, greater than they might otherwise be, for the kindness and quality of my experience with him. I am aware that people have bad days, or are rubbed the wrong way, so there might well be people who don't care for Mike. The same can be said for every creative person and their interactions with you or anyone else. However, I love Mike, and he never hurt me, said anything that wasn't 100% honest, and he gave his time and work so that I might succeed. In this world of cynicism I wanted to make certain that I share my bias, but since I was being honest, and my experiences were great, I have nothing to hide.
STARTER BOOKS Part 1
I get asked by people what books to read from authors I mention. Some authors have a work that evolves, and so the writer you read to begin with is much different than the one you read by the end of their work. Others have evolving skills but their interests and ideas aim at the same sort of concepts. And there are some literary universes that share creators, they might change over time, but that is more about who it is you are reading than the evolution of the concept.
Click upon each image to see in detail the books offered.
FANTASY & WEIRD FICTION
Robert E. Howard
The Essential Conan, or similar volume can capture most of the best adventures of Conan. Despite the volume of works by Robert E. Howard being prolific for his era, he worked mostly in short stories. So, collections are able to gather the many works. The same is true for Kull, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn. But REH's poetry has not been collected well enough, with images appropriate for the author's aesthetic. The book shown is excellent.
Lord Dunsany
The King of Elfland's Daughter for me was the opposite of anything by Robert E. Howard. Where REH writes with economy, power, action and more, Dunsany pours lavish detail, lush word use, and exquisite beauty in his work. The King of Elfland's Daughter is the highest example of this. The Hashish Man and other books shown, are displays of how the world considered by Dunsany is beautiful, if also dangerous, it is full of destiny and opportunity, but one might be forced to obey fate.
Juliet Marillier
I offer the works of Juliet Marillier here because where satisfying fantasy is concerned, she excels in the telling, the depths of the dialogue and motives, and she capture the magic in the setting. Her work does not focus on combat, but it exists, she tells stories that are beautiful examples of what fantasy can achieve, that is both positive and uplifting.
HORROR, GOTHIC & WEIRD FICTION
Anne Rice created tales that were mythic, romantic, dark, and hopeful. Her vampires were cursed with eternal life, and had to find ways to exist, within and outside of the ethical and moral concerns that mortals have to face. Immortality led to alliances over centuries, personalities that went off the charts insane, or exalted, and led to love and romance that went beyond human perceptions. Her works Violin and Cry to Heaven are included because they speak of tragedies and triumphs in human experience, but have the same sort of power of inquiry found in the more familiar mythic characters.
Arthur Machen
I love myth and legend. I write about it, feature it in my original work, and pursue it. Arthur Machen both researched and wrote from myth and legend, and created his own myths. Among these are his work The Angels of Mons, which became confused by some for a true, if bizarre, story. He wrote in ways that most writers of his era did not. Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne and their ilk had created the genres of science fiction and crime and weird fiction. They wrote in ways that were new, while Machen took the reins of such genres, and created different, thoughtful, scary works.
I've written for about 20 years discussing how much I appreciate Brian Lumley's work. His entries into the shared universe of Cthulhu are brilliant, and should be read, with ample light and blankets, it is scary stuff. I am less a fan of Vampires, of the sort he describes, but his Necroscope series is a valid entry into that genre. Perhaps they scare me too much. But the one thing I love of about Lumley is that he writes in the spirit of those who wrote 100 years ago, does poetry, and it is all quite quite excellent. His worlds are dark, but his character manage to give you hope. That isn't an easy thing to accomplish.
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Earthsea Trilogy was a moment for me when I realized that there is fantasy that doesn't revolve about tropes, combat, and muscular heroes. It can have dragons, who are wise, it can have magic that is healing, it can have a world, where beauty reigns. And there can be conflict, that is resolved other than through death. I have always been moved by Ursula K Le Guin's work, but it functions for me as long form poetry, rather than story based prose. Every line has meaning, and beauty, and while it presents a world that I wonder how I might survive or thrive there, it is real, but beautiful. Her works include powerful considerations of the power of gender, long before the present era thoughts, her works consider the consequences of actions, far into the future, and how we might survive, despite our own designs. I am unsure if I can express her impact to others, but for me she was the master of her chosen field. I think her awards and esteem suggest that she was considered such by others as well.
Elizabeth Moon
The works of Elizabeth Moon are powerful in numerous ways. I'd suggest that her wide spanning abilities to write and consider came from her personal experiences, which came in the military, and as an EMT, along with getting advanced education in biology and other fields of academia. Her obvious talents and mind informed her books, which work better for me than most other authors. Her fantasy work presents a woman warrior, and legendary hero, in a complex but practical and realistic epic story. Her work The Speed Of Dark considers autism and how the mind works from a very personal perspective. And frankly, in her works of space and science fiction, I see her in the main characters, bright, moral but pragmatic and thoughtful women of quality. Of the many authors who cross genres with regularity, she does it better than most.
Alan Dean Foster
I almost didn't include Alan Dean Foster, since I've reviewed his work, interviewed him, shared his news and thoughts, and people should already be aware of the books I'd recommend. But then I remember, and it humbles me, the 2 or 3 dozen people who might have read previous articles I've written, and I realize, I live in a kingdom of my madness to think anyone remembers a damn thing I might have said. ADF's Humanx universe is one that is consistent, complex, always interesting, and considerably more hopeful than the world and universe I see around us at the moment. For Love Of Mother-Not introduces readers to a major character's origins, and places the reader in a place to understand that character's motives and reasons to be. Icerigger and MidWorld could be considered adventures in extreme climates, that have a role in the kind of worlds and first contact events across that Humanx universe. Spellsinger is lighthearted fantasy. And The Damned is a series that gets down to the very nugget of what makes humans tick, and why alien races might fear us, and avoid us. His work is excellent and moves me with every read.
TO BE CONTINUED...
About Getting Reviews from Me
I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post box, although I regret that. It was a crushing defeat to no longer have a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
MY LINKS:
My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
Amazon Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Cthulhu Horror CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
All works and art remain the property of the owners/creators and nothing more than fair use is asserted.
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