Vylar Kaftan

Long missive on Spain forthcoming this weekend.  Swamped this week with editorial work.

In celebration of International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, I give you “Death Pantoum”. This poem was first published in the Battle of the Bards anthology. A pantoum is a traditional Malay form of poetry with very strict line requirements. I hear it’s easier in the Malay language than in English.

Death Pantoum

It doesn’t matter how you get there
Whether you’re sleeping, or catching a bus
When death arrives, you won’t expect it
You’ll die making brownies or watching TV.

Whether you’re sleeping, or catching a bus
The stereo system is stuck on repeat
You’ll die making brownies or watching TV
Regardless of whether you paid your taxes.

The stereo system is stuck on repeat
Whether you’re paying attention or not
Regardless of whether you paid your taxes
Only your death completes the circle.

Whether you’re paying attention or not
When death arrives, you won’t expect it
Only your death completes the circle.
It doesn’t matter how you get there.

The anthology in which “Godivy” will appear has been retitled “Paper Cities,” so I updated my bibliography.

Very soothing. Click and move, or just click and hold.

Public declaration:  If I don’t blog about Spain by Sunday, I’ll admit that I’m never going to get around to it. *grump*

“Godivy” will appear in the upcoming urban fantasy anthology Moonlit Domes, edited by Kathy Sedia.

Dan Hartland reviews the Glorifying Terrorism anthology at Strange Horizons:

The writers in this collection do a good job of postulating a wide variety of terrorist motivations, which join together to underline the wider point that terrorism is a means, a method, rather than anything solid to be targeted and eradicated. Vylar Kaftan makes this point most successfully with a story in the “choose your own adventure” format. “Civilization” deposits the reader at the birth of a society and supplies them with choices to make. Of course, the choices all lead to the same end. Such is the cyclical nature of civilisation. Terrorism—and every other element of modern life—is to some extent inevitable, predictable, unavoidable. Glorifying Terrorism passionately articulates, then, the futility of a law banning the positive discussion of examples of an abstract noun.

Scars usually have good stories behind them. I don’t have very many, and none of mine are impressive. But here’s what I’ve got:

• Squarish patch under right eyebrow. I was selling pizza coupons door-to-door in New Mexico during a hailstorm. A bee stung me and my eye swelled shut.
• Four white dots on my sternum, in a straight line. From my childhood cat, who didn’t want to snuggle.
• White slash on left forearm. Same cat. He usually liked to snuggle, but when he didn’t, he let you know very quickly.
• White line on underside of left forearm. I was a Girl Scout camp counselor when I was 12. Someone had put a cookie cooling rack over a campfire (to measure something). Unknowingly, I picked the rack up and tucked it under my arm. *sizzle* A tic-tac-toe board of burns up my entire arm from wrist to armpit. After a decade, most of the lines faded away. All that remains is about an inch near my elbow.
• Circular white dot, back of my right hand. I can’t remember at all where this came from, but it’s old.
• Round reddish bump on my back. I think it’s an ingrown hair or a zit that scarred over. I’ve never quite figured out what it is.
• Two pairs of holes, one on either side of each nipple. Hey, the piercings have to go somewhere! These probably aren’t scars, since they were intentional.

That’s it. Although I’m sure I had other scars that have vanished. I used to have a huge scar on my shin from a vicious flesh-eating bicycle.

I’m confirmed as one of the pros participating in the WisCon writing workshop. Time to practice with my electric cattle prod and extra-sharp pencils!

I’ll also be on two panels, both of which sound really interesting:

Lightning Write (The Craft And Business of Writing SF&F)

Is it practice or parlor game? Everyone brings a one line quotation, favorite phrase, or theme. Mix them up and get one back. Write for ten minutes and incorporate in the the line or theme. Then switch, and the next person adds on. Switch with someone again and 5 minutes to finish up. Time is left for sharing the results. Prizes for dramatic readers. No writer credentials required. Silly to seraphic, it’s all about sparking creative minds.

The Human Genome (Science and Technology)

Is our culture changing now that the human genome has been mapped? What does it mean that segments of our genes are now patented by individuals as well as pharmaceutical companies? How important is it to know who our ancestors are?

Why We Banned Legos. A teacher writes about her unique lesson plan to teach elementary-school kids about how power and privilege work in society.

An amazing essay. Go read it.