#s-cynan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fantomcomics · 2 years

Text

What’s Out This Week? 11/2

We say goodbye to Spooky Season this week, but welcome lots of new titles to get us through the end of Fall!

Fruiting Bodies GN - Ashley Robin Franklin

Frances, her brother, and his annoying friend Trent have their Pacific Northwest road trip derailed when a wrong turn strands them in the rain-soaked woods. Luckily, they're found by a beautiful, friendly stranger who is eager to help them-but is her convenient arrival their salvation, or something else entirely?

World After The Fall GN Vol 1 - Singnsong, S-Cynan &Undead Gamja

A mysterious tower one day appeared in the skies - a beacon of chaos and apocalypse. The heroic Walkers cleared its floors to save humanity, until the Regression Stone was discovered and slowly everyone left. Once the last Walker reached floor 100, he no longer knew what to believe...

Behold, Behemoth #1 (of 5) - Tate Brombal & Nick Robles

Greyson's world is crumbling following his brother's sudden and mysterious death... His sleepless nights are haunted by vivid nightmares of a terrifying monster, pushing him to the brink of losing both his sanity and his job as a social worker. But he's truly shaken to the core when his newest case-a young orphaned girl named Wren-is found at the scene of a brutal murder, just hours after first meeting Greyson. The line between nightmare and waking life blurs as Greyson soon discovers that the monster from his dreams might just be real-a mythical, ancient beast that is bringing about the end of the world, with shocking connections to both him and Wren...

The Wonderous Wonders GN - Camille Jourdy

It's perfect weather for a family picnic, but Jo is in a bad mood. Hurt by her parents' divorce and struggling to accept her new stepfamily, she decides to run away and live alone in the woods. But she soon discovers that she's far from alone! Jo stumbles into a magical world populated by weird and wondrous creatures. Her new friends are on a mission: rise up against the devious Emperor Tomcat. Can Jo find the courage to vanquish an evil empire and get back to her family before dinnertime?

Hell To Pay #1 - Charles Soule, Will Sliney & Dave Johnson

The Shrouded College will give you magic... but you'll incur a debt. Until it's paid, you belong to them. Married couple Maia and Sebastian Stone took that deal. They have worked for the College ever since, using their new abilities to track down 666 cursed coins: qurrakh... aka, the Devil's Dollar. Only a few remain. The Stones are almost free... but the devil's in the details.

Nature’s Labyrinth #1 (of 6) - Zac Thompson, Bayleigh Underwood & Filya Bratukhin

In the middle of the ocean lies a remote island complex lined with traps and an ever-changing landscape. Created by a mysterious man known only as "Ahab," the island was designed to test the wills of the world's most notorious criminals. In a battle royale style game, eight violent felons will fight for survival and to the death over the course of three days of relentless action. The winner receives a wealth or riches and complete anonymity, but at the cost of keeping their silence about the island's existence. What Ahab doesn't know is that someone is on to him. Someone has infiltrated his island with the intention of revealing the truth about this twisted game.

Blue Box GN Vol 1 - Kouji Miura

Taiki would have done anything to get closer to his crush, Chinatsu. But now that they are living under the same roof, he may have gotten more than he bargained for. How will he be able to focus on badminton when the girl of his dreams is only a room away?

The Ones #1 (of 4) - Brian Michael Bendis & Jacob Edgar Every single person in every mythology that was told they were THE ONE are brought together for the first time to defeat . . . THE ONE. The actual one. The real actual one. This amazing new vision is brought to life by wunderkind artist and cocreator Jacob Edgar (Batman, Army of Darkness). Watch as he brings explosive comics splendor to this big new world! Think Good Omens meets Ghostbusters meets The Adam Project meets The Goonies meets Everything Everywhere All at Once meets, um, anything else you've ever liked!

The Purple Oblivion #1 (of 4) - E&E Plissken & Diego Simone

From the creators of Heavy Metal Drummer. Jessica Knot: Dominatrix, Disciplinarian, Fetishist, Sadist, Goddess... or at least that's what her business card says. Enter Peter, a young man whose just found this card and is about to let his curiosity get himself into a situation with that begins with a cult, but ends with something much more sinister.

Washington White GN - Adam Griffiths

In the District of Columbia, the President authorizes covert testing of a mind-control disease, a greedy developer gentrifies the universe within the disease, and the black owner of a local tabloid threatens to expose the corruption-because his evil, white tycoon dad is the one behind it.

Vampirella Vs Red Sonja #1 - Dan Abnett, Alessandro Ranaldi & Joe Quinones

It's a monumental clash of titans that had to happen, from master storyteller Dan Abnett! Both Vampirella and Red Sonja were recruited by the Project, a cosmic collection of superheroes sworn to protect all known universes. But Vampirella is now considered a murderous criminal - and she's capable of defeating any hero. Unfortunately for her, Red Sonja is no hero...

Whatcha snagging to kick off November, Fantomites?

#WOTW #What's Out This Week?#comic #comics #comic book #comic books #manga #Vampirella #Red Sonja #Washington White #The Purple Oblivion #The Ones #Blue Box #Nature's Labyrinth #Hell To Pay #The Wondrous Wonders #Behold Behemoth #World After The Fall #Fruiting Bodies

0 notes

saphyhowl · 3 years

Text

Own Story

Ok so I finally got the courage to write my story. I was a bit afraid to post it but I still got through with it. I have no idea how to protect my writing so I hope I can figure out where to regularly post it and not be afraid that someone will take it. Although I doubt my story is that great. I just want to protect it because I am like a mother hen.

Here it goes... Please tell me how you like it, leave a comment or a like, I will be forever grateful to you :3 Also please please please don’t pay attention to my bad spelling. It’s a story I wrote by hand in french and translated it here. I am no translator so there will be mistakes. It’s not a final version, it’s an ongoing work. If you feel like stuff is missing that’s normal I am still working on lots of aspects, but don’t hesitate to let me know what you think might be crucial to you to understand the story.

I have a very low self esteem when it comes to my own work. It took me a very long time to get where I am today. I am not trying to get pity or anything, I am just putting you in a context so you understant that all this is historical for me and I hope we can celebrate that historic moment together.

*****************************************************

He should have felt it during the morning, when he woke up. The crispy air from the night still hung in his bedroom, rendering it impossible for him to fall back asleep. Nothing pleased him today. No urgent letters for him. Everything was calm. Although Cynan enjoyed the calm routine that had settled in his life, he could not help to feel as if he should act to prevent what seemed to him an upcoming storm.

After seven years of conquest and negotiation, his friend Meanas could ascend the throne officially. He could finally hold a coronation ceremony without any fear of revolution. Cynan had organized everything with the help of the other members of the counsel. The invitations were sent and had been answered. The preparation had already begun, all was well. After seven years of constant uproar, Cynan almost worshipped the calm and order that had finally settled in and so did Meanas.

As he sat at his desk, basking it this holy stillness, he read utterly slowly the law document he needed to approve. This was part of the many tasks Cynan, advisor of the future king. He should have sensed it in this moment as well, when the sun finally can warm one enough, hinting that the season of spring was approaching. He should have known that as the sweetest and mild season of the year was nearing, his life would enter a season of bitter regret.

***

“If my heart could run, then it would have already passed the coach that was meant to bring me to him.

I am of an impatient nature.

I play the scene out in my mind, like an actress before her performance.

How delectable it is just to imagine their faces when I finally reveal myself in front of them.

I could appear here and there. I could keep him as the last person I meet.

I could hide until the very end and wait until the coronation. Then, I would make the most vibrant of appearances.

Oh no, even better! I could visit him first. That would stir the glowing embers of our past and hint towards a possible story for us. Whatever that story would hold, that I would decide depending on my mood.

So many possibilities lie out there and only a few can be chose as I have only one life.

However, my emotions should not lead me astray and distract me from my true goal.

I did not return to revive past passions. I came here to set this place on fire, to start a new era.

Seven years of preparation and now everything will play out.

But to open the festivities, I must first get my hands on an invitation,”

The coach came to a halt in front of a mansion. Zelina descended and took in the view of the garden before walking towards the entrance, where a quite surprised butler awaited her.

***

Her arrival could not be compared to a thunderstorm. The situation occurred way too fast for Cynan to be overwhelmed. His butler announced her and when she entered his office her aura invaded the room like a rising tide. Cynan had been too dulled out from his peaceful day to prepare himself mentally to face the young woman in front of him.

Two old friends meeting again for the first time.

“You still have an awful taste. Your curtains are a disgrace,” Zelina said as she scanned the room visibly bored.

Silence.

“After all this time, I would have thought you had developed a more luxurious taste,” she added.

Zelina took one step forward and then another. She walked idly in the room with a candid expression.

“What is the reason for your visit... Madam?” Cynan asked.

Zelina suddenly turned her head towards Cynan and her golden eyes squinted with hatred.

“Madam…” she repeated.

Cynan did not react.

“Meanas’ coronation. Would that be a pleasing enough reason for you, Sir?” Zelina finally answered.

“King Meanas,” Cynan corrected.

“My apologies,” Zelina said as she bowed down excessively.

Zelina refused to refer to Meanas as a king.

“Lady Zelina, you are not invited to this joyous event,” Cynan stated.

Zelina smiles causing Cynan to doubt his capacity to stay unfazed for long.

“Oh but I do know that,” she said.

Zelina sat in the chair in front of Cynan’s desk and started playing with her fan. Cynan examined her and slowly he shifted into contemplation. That smile of her, her voice, her gesture, they were all familiar to him. Thousand memories rise again in his mind. He is tempted to dive into them and daydream. As he battled against the temptation of reminiscence, he did not notice Zelina looking at him as well. However, she was not reminiscing, she was waiting for the right timing.

“I simply came as a friend.. An old friend. One cannot forget a friend who did so much,” she added.

Zelina placed her hand on the table in an attempt to draw closer to Cynan. He stared at her hands. She was still wearing her many bracelets.

“And I mean, you know…” Zelina hesitated.

Cynan raised an eyebrow as he noticed her false bashfulness.

“Say, was it intentional to choose only one emissary for the South?” she asked.

Zelina had found the right moment and had struck with her words. She knew his weakness, Cynan was a skilled warrior and noble but not a tactician.

“Lady Zelina, this should not be of concern for you,” Cynan answered.

“Many southern families were quite shocked and felt offended,” Zelina added.

“I thought you came as a friend Zelina,”

“And it is as a friend, Cynan, that I inquire about this issue!”

Cynan sighed and Zelina took it as a sign to continue.

“You know much the merchants' families take pride in their origins. I tried to explain to them that there must have been a reason to send only one emissary. And that you, Cynan, would have chosen the emissary as impartially as possible,”

Cynan remained silent. Her way with words had gotten more skilled after all those years. Sadly for him, there was no impartiality coming from him. Meanas had wished to choose one emissary to demonstrate that under his reign the South was meant to be one unified province. Despite all the tribes in the South, only one person would represent the South. The emissary, chosen from one of the most influential families, would then be promoted to Governor of the South. This would allow Meanas to have one sole correspondent in political and economic matters regarding the South. However, Cynan had no intention in sharing this intention with Zelina, who was herself from an affluent family from the South. However, her family belonged to another tribe. Cynan never investigated further the intrications between the southern tribes. Now that Zelina had returned, he realized how foolish that had been.

Zelina stood up to leave Cynan to his thoughts.

“Why did he not invite me, Cynan?” she asked.

Cynan did not answer nor did he accompany her. The question floated in the air unanswered.

Through his office windows, he caught a glimpse of her crossing the gardens. She passed by a lilac bush. She stopped in her tracks, turned and contemplated the bare branches, noticing the growing flower buds. Cynan continued to observe her as she took off again. His gaze returned towards the lilac bush. With the mild season approaching the bush would bloom again.

***7 years ago***

“Gardening really?” Zelina asked as she had stopped on the path leading towards the mansion. She made her umbrella twirl as she thought about what Cynan had just shared with her.

Cynan carressed the lilacs and smiled lost in his thoughts.

“There is nothing more beautiful than helping mother nature in her creations,” he explained.

Zelina shrugged her shoulders unimpressed by his wise words.

“If I weren’t a noble then I would have become a farmer. However since I am a noble, I have to satisfy myself with mere gardening,” Cynan continued explaining.

Zelina twirled her umbrella once more and peered at him through the laces.

“If I were not a noble, I would not exist as I am before you. I have used over and over again all the privileges that have come with my status to build myself. I clung myself to anything a noble like me could get their hands on. Wishing to escape this world that created me would be idiotic and would turn my life into something insignificant, where I could not be the fully fledge me,”

Cynan listened to her attentively and did not respond immediately.

“I did not know you had such strong opinions about your title. Our aspirations vary a lot,” He finally said.

“And yet we somehow get along,” Zelina added.

A smirk appeared on her face.

“If I ever find myself in dire need of a gardener, I know to whom I can turn to. I’ll make sure to order my lilacs with you,” Zelina said as she made her way back towards the mansion twirling her umbrella.

Cynan bowed excessively. “You are too kind Madam,” he whispered.

***Back to the present. In Zelina’s coach***

“He called me Madam. How monstrous! Poor soul, he does not know what awaits him. Ugh, now I must wait for all of this to stir and boil. Let my words sink in. I must get under his skin. If only Cynan would have more spark then I would not have to wait so much. The day Cynan bursts will be one to remember. I must ensure to be the one to wake the dragon sleeping in him. But that would be only a collateral benefit from what I truly intend to achieve.

#own writing #my story

8 notes · View notes

fel-i-fod · 4 years

Text

Welsh, Scottish, and Irish Writers

This isn’t a definitive list by the way, so please add names if you think I missed someone important (which I probably have).

WELSH WRITERS

Dannie Abse: poet, playwright and physician. A Doctor’s Register; Ghosts; Funland; Song For Pythagoras.

Gillian Clarke: poet, playwright and lecturer. A Difficult Birth; The Sundial; Catrin.

Roald Dahl: author. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 1964; The Twits, 1980; Fantastic Mr Fox, 1970; Danny, Champion of the World, 1975; The Witches, 1983. (I’m not going to list every book he’s ever written so these are just my childhood favourites.)

Ken Follett: author - thriller and historical fiction. The Century Trilogy, 2010-14; Kingsbridge Series, 1989-2020.

George Herbert: poet and priest. The Altar; Easter Wings.

Cynan Jones: author. The Dig, 2014.

Diana Wynne Jones: Welsh-English author. Howl’s Moving Castle, 1986-2008; Dalemark, 1979-93; Chrestomanci novels and short stories, 1977-2006; Derkholm, 1998-2000.

Philip Pullman: Welsh-English author. His Dark Materials, 1995-2000; The Book of Dust, 2017-; Sally Lockhart, 1985-94.

Kate Roberts: author. Traed mewn Cyffion (Feet in Chains/Feet in Stocks), 1936; Te yn y Grug (Tea in the Heather), 1959.

Bernice Rubens: author. The Elected Member, 1969; Madame Sousatzka, 1962; A Solitary Grief, 1991.

Owen Sheers: poet, author, playwright and presenter. Farther; Y Gaer/The Hill Fort; The Dust Diaries, 2004; Resistance, 2007; The Green Hollow (”film-poem”), 2016.

Dylan Thomas: poet, author and scriptwriter. Do not go gentle into that good night; And death shall have no dominion; Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, 1940; A Child’s Christmas In Wales, 1955; Under Milk Wood, 1954.

Gwyn Thomas: author, playwright, columnist, and broadcaster. All Things Betray Thee, 1949.

Sarah Waters: Welsh-English author. Tipping the Velvet, 1998. Fingersmith, 2002.

Hedd Wyn: poet. Yr Arwr; Rhyfel; Plant Trawsfynydd.

SCOTTISH WRITERS

Iain Banks (sometimes Iain M. Banks): author - mainstream and sci-fi. The Wasp Factory, 1984; Walking On Glass, 1985; Culture novels, 1985-2012 (can be read as standalones - I recommend Excession).

Robert Burns: poet. Auld Land Syne; To a Mouse; Scots Wha Hae; Tom o’ Shanter; O, Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast.

Arthur Conan Doyle: author, poet, playwright and physician. Sherlock Holmes stories.

Jenni Fagan: author and poet. The Panopticon, 2012; The Sunlight Pilgrims, 2016.

Janice Galloway: author and poet. The Trick is to Keep Breathing, 1989.

Alasdair Gray: author, artist, poet and playwright. Lanark, 1981; Poor Things, 1992.

James Kelman: author and playwright. How Late It Was, How Late, 1994; Greyhound For Breakfast, 1987.

Val McDermid: author - crime and thriller. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, 1995-2019; A Place of Execution, 1999.

Denise Mina: crime and comic author and playwright. Conviction, 2019; Garnethill, 1998-2001; Paddy Meehan, 2005-07; John Constantine, Hellblazer, #216-228

Maggie O’Farrell: Irish-Scottish author. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, 2007; After You’d Gone, 2000; I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death, 2017.

James Robertson: author and poet. The Testament of Gideon Mack, 2006; And the Land Lay Still, 2010.

Walter Scott: author, poet and playwright. The Lady of the Lake, 1810; Ivanhoe, 1820; The Bride of Lammermoor, 1819.

Ali Smith: author. How to Be Both, 2014; Seasonal 2017-20; There but for the, 2011.

Muriel Spark: author, poet and essayist. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, 1961; The Ballad of Peckham Rye, 1960; A Far Cry from Kensington, 1988.

Robert Louis Stevenson: author. Treasure Island, 1883; Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, 1886; Kidnapped, 1886.

Alan Warner: author. Morvern Callar, 1995.

Irvine Welsh: author and screenwriter. Trainspotting, 1993; Skagboys, 2012.

Louise Welsh: author - psychological thriller. The Cutting Room, 2002.

IRISH WRITERS

John Banville: author, critic and scriptwriter. The Sea, 2005; The Frames Trilogy, 1989-95.

Samuel Beckett: author, director, playwright, poet and translator. Waiting For Godot, 1954; Molloy, 1951; Malone Meurt, 1951; L’innommable, 1953.

Maeve Binchy: author, playwright and columnist. Tara Road, 1998; Circle of Friends, 1990; A Week in Winter, 2012.

Elizabeth Bowen: author. The Last September, 1929; Eva Trout, 1968; The Death of the Heart, 1938.

John Boyne: author. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, 2006; The Heart’s Invisible Furies, 2017.

Emma Donoghue: Irish-Canadian author, playwright, screenwriter and literary historian. Room, 2010; Slammerkin, 2000.

Anne Enright: author. The Gathering, 2007; The Green Road, 2015.

Josephine Hart: author, producer and presenter. Damage, 1991.

Seamus Heaney: poet, playwright and translator. Digging; Strange Fruit; In Memoriam Francis Ledwidge; Beowulf: A New Verse Translation, 1999.

James Joyce: author, critic, poet and teacher. Ulysses, 1922; A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1916.

Molly Keane: author and playwright. Good Behaviour, 1981; Devoted Ladies, 1934; Time After Time, 1983.

C. S. Lewis: author. The Chronicles of Narnia, 1950-56.

Iris Murdoch: author and philosopher. Under the Net, 1954; The Sea, the Sea, 1978.

Edna O’Brien: author, poet and playwright. The Country Girls Trilogy, 1960-64; August is a Wicked Month, 1965; A Pagan Place, 1970.

Frank O’Connor: author. Guests of the Nation, 1931; My Oedipus Complex, 1952; The Majesty of Law, 1936.

Nuala O’Faolain: author, journalist, producer, critic and teacher. Almost There: The Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman, 2003; Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman, 1996.

Bram Stoker: author. Dracula, 1897.

Jonathan Swift: author, satirist, essayist, poet and cleric. Gulliver’s Travels, 1726; A Modest Proposal, 1729.

Oscar Wilde: author, poet and playwright. The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890; The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895.

W. B. Yeats: poet and playwright. The Lake Isle of Innisfree, 1890; Adam’s Curse, 1903; Easter 1916, 1916; The Second Coming, 1920; Cathleen Ní Houlihan, 1902.

#irish literature #scottish literature #welsh literature #ireland #scotland #wales #i have now written the word author so many times #it doesn't look like a word anymore

53 notes · View notes

jd-arts319 · 4 years

Text

transformers oc

Jennifer J. Primeveire

《Information》

Full name:Jennifer J. Primeveire

Nickname(s): jenny,jen

Status:alive

Age:

-TF(18)

-TF!ROTF(20)

-TF!DOTM(23)

-TF!AOE(27)

-TF!TLK(28)

Species: tech-organic

Fabricius:1/4

Human:1/4

Cybertronian:1/4

Personality:quirky,mature,playful,sweet,kind,intelligent,creative,mischevious

Likes:music,hanging out with the autobots,drawing,stargazing

Dislikes:mearing,galloway,egotistic,her past

"factions doesn't matter they all are cybertronians"

《Looks》

Original Hair Color:teal

Current Hair Color: black with teal gradient

Eye Color: brown(former!y),teal(currently)

Glasses/Contacts:glasses

[Outfit] ↓

Accessories : Oracle pendant

Scars:

Tattoos/birthmark: fleur psyche

Piercings:small rings

"we may lose everything,but i wil Stand by your side,to the end"(juno to optimus)

-she met Sam when he was in middle school & always have been protecting him,in highschool she a council president that was gentle yet firm & strict,that not even trent nor any mean populars or bullies try & test her patience,she even work to pay for the house despite that,she is always full of energy,she met the autobots after following Sam's car & after the movie,with her saving jazz thanks to her pendant,optimus becomes her guardian,who she started to get more closer to.

TF!ROTF

-she goes to the same college as Sam,she palms to join the nest after she graduated,she was usually in nest meetings mostly because of who she is, particularly by someone,when the time optimus was killed off it deviatsate her & she soon join the others on the battle in Egypt,she also ends in a wrong foot with galloway,after she helps sam revived Optimus,she soon helped in battle with the others,ending them being victorious,after the egypt, she came in to check with the others,mainly Optimus.

TF!DOTM

-after her graduation,she became autobots official ambassador for all cybertronians,like galloway she end it on the wrong foot with mearing,who she ends giving a nickname of "cynanical old hag",mearing was offended & was about to retort when someone said if she keeps up with that attitude,she might end living up to her nickname,around time sentinel prime came she grew with a bad feeling & wanted to tell Optimus but couldn't do it,so so when sentinel is about to end ironhide's life,she intervene using her powers,in the end she joins the fight but with an early warning from the pendant about the permanent broken alligaince,she & the others end up leaving secretly with the help of Will & epps.

TF!DOTM

TF!TLK

-it was revealed she was a wittwiccans & Edmund's last relative that will inherited his home along with cogman,with the appearance of hot rod & smokescreen,soon she & the others had to deal with the TRF,keeping a talisman safe,& fighting with quintessa,it never change the fact that earth is Unicron,in the end after getting the knights,saving optimus & defeating quintessa, because after her great grandpa's death,she soon move into a old palace,with cade & his daughter living with her.

《Relationships》

Close Family:Rana L.Primeveire & Ernest L.Burton(unknown)

Distant Family:sir Edmund Burton(great,great grandpa/alive(saved by smokescreen)

Significant Other: Optimus prime(platonic-TF-TF!TLK,TF!AOE-TF!TLK(canon)

Crush:

Sexuality:bisexual

Friend(s):Sam witwicky(friend),miles lancester(friend),William Lennox,Robert epps,figs(friends), autobots (friends/Optimus is her guardian),barricade(mutual friend),Simmons Seymour(friend)

"I will keep fighting for our freedom!!!"

《Other》

Abilities:Mana manipulation, Quintessence Force

Weapons:spear,scepter/Oracle opendant(talisman)

Spear of Amphirite

Groups: neutral(autobots)

"in the name of our freedom,we will fight for peace!!"

former home(TF-TF!DOTM)

Current home(passed down after Edmund's retirement)

__________________________________

Transformers (c)Michael Bay,hasbro

Jennifer primeveire(c)me

#original & stableverse #oc #lmao #inspiration #undertale #undertale aus #undertale au #ships #transformers #tfverse #movieverse #bayverse #chronoverse #archiveverse #Jennifer

6 notes · View notes

farsouthproject · 4 years

Photo

Books 2019-20

I didn’t bother with one of these booklist blog posts last year but I got curious as to what books I’d read this year. I don’t write a regular book blog so here are some short comments on the books that I’ve read starting in January 2019, more or less

Virginie Déspentes’ Vernon Subutex 1 & 2 made me feel that she is the author who best expresses in fiction a clear vision of the world in the first fifth of the late capitalist 21st Century, the first volume in particular.

I haven’t read a lot of poetry this year but I did begin 2019 with Pey Pey Oh’s Pictograph and Shadowplay by Phillip Gross; Lutz Seilor’s In Field Latin (thanks to translator, Alexander Booth) Later in the year, Alexander Booth’s own collection Insulae. All treasures. Another poetry pleasure was a re-read of Ifor Thomas’s Body Beautiful, a vision of the body as it the writer faces cancer. This is also the year that I delved deeply into Cavafy (which led me to re-read Durrell’s Justine.) This poetry created for me a feeling of space, opening up areas away from the rich density of prose.

After a second Moroccan visit, prose reading continued to circle the Levant: Abdellatif’s The Law of Inheritance; Olivia Manning’s The Levant Trilogy; Amin Malouf’s Ports of Call; and a new Mathías Énard Tell Them of Battles (translated by Charlotte Mandell).

Not so much reading on the noir/crime front this year but John Lincoln Williams’ Fade to Grey was an intriguing and action-filled investigation that exposed a complex Cardiff/Bristol underworld. James Lee Burke’s In the Moon of Red Ponies managed to skewer undercover American politics and arms trading while involved in a story of an Indigenous American on the run for crimes he may or may not have committed.

A group of writers that kind of fall together subject-wise are Chris Kraus, Olivia Laing, and Maggie Nelson: New York, Kathy Acker, S&M, Artaud, sex positive, art-queer. Have to include Cosey Fanny Tutti’s Art Sex Music here, too.

To put another couple of books/writers/artists together with them: Dreamweapon by Angus MacLise; and LouReed: A Life, by Anthony DeCurtis. They deal with directions in which I’m interested in taking my own creative work to some extent: nonfiction and performance art, particularly Butoh. After training in Butoh with Yuri Nagaoka and Seisaku, I picked up the anthology, Inside, Japanese women write on Japanese women. Inside covers in short fiction every stage of life from birth to menopause. Yuri’s daughter, Rio Minamoto, who has won a plethora of Japan’s most prestigious prizes, has a story in this, the only piece of her work that I could find in translation.

After re-reading the hardback copy of ICE by Anna Kavan, I read and re-read a lot more Anna Kavan, inspired by that and the Machines in the Head anthology from Peter Owen Publishers. I reviewed Machines in the Head for 3AM magazine. In connection with the review article, I also read Rhys Davies’s Honeysuckle Girl, a novel based on Kavan’s life. https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/missives-from-a-parallel-dimension/

Speaking of anthologies, I was pleased to have story – Our Lady of Penrhys – in High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories, edited by Jonathan Taylor and Karen Stephens.

Outside of any reading pattern, I read three by Cynan Jones, Richard Hughes’ A High Wind in Jamaica (kind of like the Famous Five on an acid trip), two by the extraordinary Christa Wolf. Sam Shepard’s Spy of the First Person, Patti Smith’s The Year of the Monkey, Ann Quin’s Berg. Wayne McCauley’s Simpson Returns. Jean-Luc Nancy’s The Fall of Sleep.

Happy New Year Everybody

Here’s the full list more or less in the order of reading. All power to the makers.

Vernon Subutex 1 Virginie Déspentes (trans. Frank Wynne

Art Sex Music Cosey Fanny Tutti

Ports of Call Amin Malouf (trans. Alberto Manguel)

The Law of Inheritance Yasser Abdellatif (trans. Robin Moger)

Ice Anna Kavan (re-read)

Tell them of Battles Mathías Énard (trans. Charlotte Mandell)

Fade to Grey John Lincoln Williams

In Field Latin Lutz Seilor (trans. Alexander Booth)

Bright Magic Alfred Döblin (trans. Damion Searls)

Pictograph Pey Pey Oh

Shadowplay Phillip Gross/Jenny Pollack

High Spirits Jonathan Taylor/Karen Stephens eds.

The Levant Trilogy Olivia Manning

The Fall of Sleep Jean-Luc Nancy (trans. Charlotte Mandell)

The Balkan Trilogy Olivia Manning

Crudo Olivia Laing

Simpson Returns Wayne McCauley

The Lonely City Olivia Laing

Aliens and Anorexia Chris Kraus

Vernon Subutex 2 Virginie Déspentes (trans. Frank Wynne)

Star Yukio Mishima (trans. Sam Bett)

City of Angels Christa Wolf (trans. Damion Searls)

News from Berlin Otto de Kat (trans. Ina Rilke)

The Case of Anna Kavan David Callard

Sleep has his house Anna Kavan

Julia and the Bazooka Anna Kavan (re-read)

Accident Christa Wolf (trans. Heike Schwarzbauer/Rick Takvorian)

Don’t Hide the Madness William Burroughs/Allen Ginsberg

Stranger on Earth: A biography of Anna Kavan Jeremy Reed

The King, the Witch and the Priest Pramoedya Ananta Toer

My Soul in China Anna Kavan

Honeysuckle Girl Rhys Davies

Aleister and Adolf Douglas Rushkoff/Michael Avon Oeming (graphic novel).

Asylum Piece Anna Kavan (re-read)

Machines in the Head Anna Kavan

Berg Ann Quin

Inside: Japanese Women by Japanese Women (Cathy Layne editor, trans. Louise Heal Kawai)

Body Beautiful Ifor Thomas (re-read)

Transit Rachel Cusk

Cavafy: Poems C.P. Cavafy (trans Daniel Mendelsohn)

Justine Lawrence Durrell (re-read)

Granta Book of Travel Liz Jobey editor

The Art of Cruelty Maggie Nelson

A High Wind in Jamaica Richard Hughes

Freya of the Seven Isles Joseph Conrad

Flights Olga Tokarczuk (trans Jennifer Croft)

Insulae Alexander Booth

Dreamweapon Angus MacLise

In the Moon of Red Ponies James Lee Burke

The Dig Cynan Jones

The Long Dry Cynan Jones (re-read)

Lou Reed: A life Anthony DeCurtis

Stillicide Cynan Jones

Spy of the First Person Sam Shepard

The Year of the Monkey Patti Smith

In the middle of reading now:

A Dream Come True Juan Carlos Onetti (trans. Katherine Silver) (halfway through)

Bluets Maggie Nelson (halfway through)

The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa Kawabata (trans. Alisa Freedman).

10 notes · View notes