#is this poetry format still cool or was that just in 2013?

[graysonnightwing]

Please be honest in all of your answers.

1. Will you ever be free from your guilt? Circle your answer. a) Yes b) No c) I have traveled to other dimensions trying to rid myself of this weight upon my chest. Nothing has ever worked.

2. How else could this have ended? a) I only wanted to spend a night with a boy. b) I never expected to be left behind. c) No one does.

3. Barbara is 15 years, 10 months, and 4 days old. You are 15 years, 7 months, and 3 days old. If she dies on a Tuesday, and you stop looking for her on a Saturday, how old will you be when you let her go? Please answer clearly, in full sentences.

(Not a correct answer: There will never come a time when I don't pick up the phone hoping to hear her voice on the other end.)

4. Define two (2): BFFs | The feeling of a revolver heavy in your hand and the ringing in your ears from firing it | Demogorgon | The way the world collapsed when Hopper and Joyce did not bring her back

5. True or False: i. You heard something that night. ___ ii. The monster's claws and teeth were the last thing she ever felt, while you were upstairs being held with gentle hands. ___ iii. You wish it had been you. ___ iv. You lie to her grieving parents every week. ___ v. They believe you. ___ i. You hunt the one that killed her, but you'll never bring her back from the dead. ___ vii. You told her to go home. ___

-nancy this isn't you (format inspired by x)

[manuscripts-dontburn]

READATHONS: 

Eyreathon (2 books)

Medievalthon (7 books)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Author: Seanan McGuire

First published: 2017

Pages: 187

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 1 day

Given that I was rather underwhelmed by the first book I did not expect any great shakes from its sequel. But I am pleasantly surprised and must say that this one, from the very start to the finish, was just great. I loved the character descriptions and development, and while the first book seemed unremarkable and choppy when it came to writing, here, in a more fantastical setting, the author uses a language so beautiful I could only be amazed.

Wonderstruck

Author: Brian Selznick

First published: 2011

Pages: 640

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 1 day

Wonderstruck is a wonderful middle-grade book that can be enjoyed by readers of any age. The format combining very cleverly (beautiful) illustrations with written word add a certain unique quality to a story which is in itself, frankly, perhaps a bit too straightforward and moves forward steadily and with Ben overcoming every obstacle very quickly and conveniently. At the same time if you are looking for a "quiet" book which will warm your icy heart, you cannot really go wrong with this one.

Hamnet

Author: Maggie O'Farrell

First published: 2020

Pages: 384

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 6 days

Open this book and you open a window through which you will see a moment from a distant past. A family, tightly-knit yet also broken, and how its people came together, lived together, lost something precious and grieved together, yet each on their own. This book is a painting, a portrait of a short span of time, which pulls you within it and fills in all your senses. You see, you hear, you smell, you taste, you touch. You are a part of that moment. You are overwhelmed by the beauty of nature and the depth of feelings. You cry. You hope. You heal. The words dance on the pages. This book, in all its profound sadness, is stunningly beautiful. 

Cybele's Secret

Author: Juliet Marillier

First published: 2011

Pages: 424

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 5 days

It was lovely to revisit the world Juliet Marillier has created for Wildwood Dancing. The magic is still there, though it is flavoured with a different setting and vastly different kind of plot. Cybele´s Secret has a very slow first half, which I enjoyed for the most part but I can imagine many others getting restless reading it. The adventure bit was fabulously paced, even if it made me a little dizzy. The ending need not have been that long. Still, this was a very pleasant read.

Lilac Girls

Author: Marthy Hall Kelly

First published: 2016

Pages: 502

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 4 days

At first, I was rather bored. The book felt exactly like many other (interestingly always American written) run-of-the-mill WW2 novels which are so popular. It felt exactly like the underwhelming Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, it was written in a language as unimpressive as the Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons. Then things got more interesting with the introduction of Herta and for a while, I was hoping that getting the story from the point of view of an actual Nazi in opposed to just her victims would turn the whole thing around. Unfortunately, the last part of the book made the whole story just fall apart and there was no redemption to it. The story was told but never "shown". The WHOLE plotline involving Caroline was painfully uninteresting and had she only been introduced as a side character in the final chapters, it would have completely sufficed. What could have been in-depth and heart-wrenching journey into the Ravensbrück hell and the way it functioned was never explored. There is no time given to tell us how the characters learned to live there, how they felt, what their experience was beyond the basic physical realities. Then there were little things I resented. From the use of the extremely formal and detached word "matka" for a beloved mother (Slavic languages have a whole variety of loving addresses for our Mamas) to the thickly-layered sentiment of American culture being everything Eastern Europe craved for (Why would Kassia´s favourite singer be Eddie Fisher? Why would her mother have Gone with the Wind on her night table? Yes, everything American felt exotic and as such was desired, but Polish - and other European - culture is so rich that these mentions felt forced and oh, so very unwanted). This is an example of a good intention of the author to present a case not many people are aware of (and that I definitely count as the biggest positive of the book), but unfortunately, her writing abilities failed to do the topic justice.

Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel

Author: Mariah Marsden and  Brenna Thummler

First published: 2017

Pages: 232

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 1 day

The graphic novel reminded me perfectly why I loved the character of Anne so much. The illustrations do full justice to the poetry of nature that L.M. Montgomery captured in the original novel as well. I am not sure how well some of the relationships would translate on the page if I have not already read the book itself though.

The Dream Thieves

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

First published: 2013

Pages: 493

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 9 days

At times I had no idea what was going on, but this was entertaining

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster

Author: Adam Higginbotham

First published: 2019

Pages: 560

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 4 days

Excellent. Tip: Read alongside The Prayer for Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich to reach the most nightmarish reading experience.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

First published: 2014

Pages: 391

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 4 days

This is just such a cool adventure to be on! And that cliffhanger was really unexpected!

Holy Rus': The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia

Author: John P. Burgess

First published: 2017

Pages: 280

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 19 days

An interesting look at the current Russian Orthodox life by a Protestant American. On one hand, his Protestantism gives him an unemotional and critical advantage. On the other hand, his Protestantism prevents him to actually experience the orthodox faith and therefore we cannot take his words as anything than that - his own opinion.

Kristin Lavransdatter: The Cross

Author: Sigrid Undset

First published: 1922

Pages: 396

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 9 days

What a glorious study of human characters this book is! Also: I cried.

Galatea

Author: Madeline Miller

First published: 2013

Pages: 37

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 1 day

Nobody writes mythology that feels so realistic as Madeline Miller does. And few authors write short stories which are as powerful as a full-fledge novel.

The Raven King

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

First published: 2016

Pages: 439

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 7 days

Do you also like it when there is a big, unexpected reveal in a book? How about 30-40 of them? Yeah, this whole thing was a wild ride! Beautifully written, super imaginative and completely unpredictable.

The Palace of Illusions

Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

First published: 2008

Pages: 360

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 12 days

If nothing else, I am grateful that this book has given me some knowledge and explanation to the epic Mahabharata (which I am not brave enough to read just yet). Unfortunately, this book is more of a telling than a re-telling. The happenings are described only from afar for the most part, some of the most emotional moments are only related in passing. And finally, the main character of Panchaali is without development. She is the same from the first page to the last, which is rather inconceivable given the traumatic events she has to go through. And so I am a bit torn about how to rate this book. The story is stunning, but not the product of the author. I suppose somewhere in the middle of all the possible rating scales will have to be enough.

[inknerd]

January Wrap-Up 2020

I wanted to go back to my old way of wrapping up my reading of the month; hopefully I’ll keep at it this time. While the sheer number of books I read in January is pretty high, a lot of them are shorter or graphic novels, and I just haven’t been that into reading since the end of last year + felt a bit stressed by uni (which might the cause of this little reading slump, now that I think about it) and I’m sort of waiting for that book addiction to kick in as it did at the start of last year. ________________________________________________________________

THE INSTITUTE by STEPHEN KING ★★★☆☆ | 665 pages | 1 week to read | Published 2019

I’m trying to read more books by King - this is the third I’ve ever read and sadly it wasn’t as good as the first two (Carrie and The Shining) + Interesting premise with a fairly good execution. - I can’t say I loved the ending, and I’d hoped it would be scarier overall.

LITTLE WOMEN by LOUISE MAY ALCOTT ★★★☆☆ | 449 pages | 3 days to read | Published 2004/1868

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while and then I thought I should read it before seeing the movie, so! + It was nice. and the girls’ daily adventures were fun to follow. - BUT I don’t quite understand the hype, sorry. It was fine, but a large portion of the time I spent wondering when the story would actually start?

WITCH HAT ATELIER VOL. 2 & 3 by KAMOME SHIRAHAMA ★★★★★ | 384 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2019/2017

I finally bought the recently translated volumes of this adorable manga and hggggh I’ve missed it! + The art still STUNS me like it is SO PRETTY. The plot is starting to get a move on as well, and I’ve got a better look at the characters, and they keep getting depth!

THE GOLDEN SHEEP by KAORI OZAKI ★★★★☆ | 232 pages | 3 days to read | Published 2018

I loved the The Gods Lie, and I wasn’t aware that the author had started a new series, but this is very promising! + Love the art, the characters might be somewhat stereotypical but they are very vibrant and it feels like there’s a lot to unpack so I’m looking forward to reading volume two.

DRAKAR: STORA BOKEN OM BEVINGADE BESTAR by PETER BERGTING ★★★★☆ | 125 pages | 2 days to read | Published 2019

This was a Christmas present from my Mum. + You noticed the author was a true fan of dragons; all the art was his own and it was really cool-looking! - At moments the spelling was a bit wonky and while I’m a fantasy-nerd I’m not at all into games and such, so all D&D dragons flew over my head - but still interesting to read about!

WICKED AS YOU WISH by RIN CHUPECO ★★☆☆☆ | 432 pages | 2 days to read | Published 2020

I got the arc from this in a fairyloot box and was really excited to read it! It sounded very whimsy and magical and the cover looked amazing. + This book had a pretty big cast and the diversity in the group was so fun to see. - Sadly! The characters felt somewhat flat to me, I didn’t love anyone, the plot was cliché, somehwat awkward, and info-dumpy.

CHINESE EROTIC POETRY by TONY BARNSTONE (editor) & CHOU PING ★★★☆☆ | 257 pages | 5 days to read | Published 2007

+ First of all, the Everyman’s Library pocket version of this is just so cute, and I have to buy more poetry books in this format. Cute! I rather liked this collection, soothing and sometimes funny and, well, erotic, I guess, though nothing exactly explicit. - I don’t know if I consider myself a big fan of ancient Chinese poetry just yet, but well see once I read some more...

EN ROUTE VERS DE NOUVELLES AVENTURES by JULIEN NEEL ★★★★☆ | 48 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2018

I was unaware there was a 8th volume to this series until I ran into it at the library - but apparently the journey continues! + I mean...this series has become so weird but it’s also good about it??? I still love the art and have sort of started accepting the weirdness, so I’m looking forward to the 9th volume - it there’ll be one!

PRINCESS PRINCESS EVER AFTER by KATIE O’NEILL ★★☆☆☆ | 53 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2016

+ As it is with Katie O’Neill the art is gorgeous and super cute! - The story wasn’t bad, but it was pretty basic and while the book was charming it wasn’t charming enough to cover it up.

THE TEA DRAGON FESTIVAL by KATIE O’NEILL ★★★★☆ | 136 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2019

The sequel (prequel?) to The Tea Dragon Party which I LOVED, so I really looked forward to reading this! + The art is still so soothing and cute - even though I think I preferred the lighter palette in the first novel. - I wasn’t as engaged in the story of this, but it was still cute and engaging and also nice to see some of the older characters from the first novel being young!

THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER by JEN WANG ★★★☆☆ | 277 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2018

3,5 stars! + The art was nice, the story engaging and the main characters were very cute! - With that said I feel like I didn’t love this as much as everyone else seems to do? I don’t know...it was good but not fantastic.

RELISH: MY LIFE IN THE KITCHEN by LUCY KNISLEY ★★★★☆ | 173 pages | 1 day to read | Published 2013

I’ve really been getting into cooking and baking again lately, so this was so inspiring! + The art was nice and the recipes in each chapter are so mouth-watering! I can’t wait to try some of them! So motivating for people with some passion for cooking.

[vileart]

Poetic Dramaturgy: Neil Hilborn @ Edfringe 2017

Synergy Concerts and One Inch Badge present

NEIL HILBORN

The most watched poet of all time makes his UK debut

11:15pm 9th -15th August @New Town Theatre

12PM 21st – 27th August @Stand 3

Tickets: http://ift.tt/2vi9BtI

With a debut sold out UK tour under his belt NEIL HILBORN makes his Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut August 2017. Neil Hilborn is the most watched poet of all-time with over 100m views online. He is the viral poet behind the internationally successful poems “O.C.D.”, “Joey” and “The Future” and is also the author of the Amazon Bestseller “Our Numbered Days”.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

This performance was inspired by my issues with my mental health. Many of my poems deal with mental illness, and with this show I wanted to find a way to put them together with storytelling and jokes. I’m trying to show my journey toward self-acceptance, but hopefully in a subtle, unpretentious manner.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

I think it’s one of the best spaces we have. It’s easy to dismiss someone’s story when you have the distance of a TV or computer screen, but with live performance there is an actual, physical being in front of you. It’s difficult to ignore an idea when a performer embodies it in the real world. You can’t change the channel on someone standing on stage.

How did you become interested in making performance?

Being a performer kind of snuck up on me. I had been a writer since I was a small child, but I had never even considered reading any of my poems out loud until a friend introduced me to spoken word poetry and took me to a couple poetry slams. It just seemed like a cool way to think about poetry, so I wrote a couple performance-oriented poems and entered some competitions. I lost them all horribly, but I enjoyed the instant feedback I got from audiences and their energy, so I kept writing and kept coming back, and now it’s nine years later and somehow I’m a professional writer and performer. I'm still astounded that this is a job and that I get to have it.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

I’ve been developing this show over the past couple years of touring, and the process has been pretty organic. I had certain poems and stories that I did every show in pretty much the same place, but I changed some poems out, moved them around, allowed myself to improvise and go on tangents, and I always paid attention to audience reaction with any new bit I was doing. I think of my set as though it were a combination of music and comedy: some poems I’m going to do every single show, but everything around them changes so that the show doesn’t feel stale and so that I seem invested in and surprised by every performance.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This show is my only production, so I would say yes, definitely, yes.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I try to hit a full range of emotions in my show, so I hope that I can make the audience ugly cry, then laugh until it’s uncomfortable, then cry a little more, and ultimately I hope they leave feeling inspired.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I don’t think I have a conscious strategy when it comes to audience experience. I design the set around a certain emotional arc so that the audience goes through joy and sadness intermittently, but beyond that I just pay attention to the audience’s reactions and energy when I’m in the room, and I try to give them more of what it feels like they want

Neil began writing and performing slam poetry whilst a sophomore at Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He joined the college’s slam poetry team and in 2011 placed first in the College National Poetry Slam.

After graduating with honors in his Creative Writing degree Hilborn began performing with Button Poetry, a Minnesota collective that produces and distributes poetry in various formats, such as published books and YouTube videos.

In 2012 Neil toured the mid-west with Button Poetry’s “The Good News Poetry Tour” and self-published his first chapbook “Clatter”, which was re-published the following year by Button Poetry.

Having been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child, and later with bi-polar disorder while at university, Hilborn has often used his poetry as a means of therapy and of exploring the issues of his own mental health. In 2013, a video one such poem "O.C.D.” went viral, garnering millions of views across social media platforms. As of 2017 the video has garnered more than 62 million views and is the most watched slam poem on the internet.

Hilborn's second book, “Our Numbered Days”, was released on May 14, 2015.

“Our Numbered Days” features some of Hilborn's most well known poetry, including "Joey" and "OCD" and has become an Amazon best-seller.

A Synergy Concerts & One Inch Badge presentation

@SynergyConcerts / @OneInchBadge / @Neilicorn / @New_TownTheatre / @TheStandComedyClub

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2vimggj