Hurrah! No repairs needed on the derailler

By the time I got the bike wrestled back out of the Jeep, the front wheel back on, and wheeled it into the bike shop, the derailler apparently decided it was over its snit and was working fine. The friendly mechanic put it up on the rack and checked the chain tension, and everything looked A-okay. "That's the way it is with this old deraillers sometimes," he told me. "Just don't shift so fast, especially when going up a hill or heavily loaded."

I can handle that. And no repair bill. Hurrah!

Call for Papers: Fantasy Matters conference, November 16-18, 2007

Here's a call for papers for a conference right here in my own backyard, at the University of Minnesota. My thanks to David Lenander (of the Rivendell Group, the local arm of the Mythopoeic Society) for sending it to me. Hmm. I may try to come up with something for this. I think it would be fun to attend and present!

Call for Papers: Fantasy Matters conference, November 16-18, 2007
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Extended Deadline
June 15, 2007

Fantasy literature is everywhere these days. Whether it’s Eragon at the box office or the latest Harry Potter at the bookstore, fantasy literature seems to have captured the public’s imagination and run away with it. In spite of, or perhaps because of this popularity, however, fantasy literature still isn’t taken as seriously as other, more "canonical" literature.

This conference takes the position that fantasy literature does matter, and plays an important role not only in popular culture, but also in the realm of literature itself. Neil Gaiman, author of the Sandman series of graphic novels, and Jack Zipes, noted scholar of fairy tales and folklore, will be the keynote speakers at the conference.

All papers related to fantasy literature are welcome, but participants are encouraged to consider the question of the importance of fantasy literature when forming their submissions. We also welcome authors to participate in this discussion, either by serving on panels or by sharing their own creative works.

Potential panel discussions include:

The relationship between fantasy literature and "canonical" literature

The role of fantasy literature in childhood

Narrative strategies in fantasy literature

Issues of race, gender, and sexuality in fantasy literature

The use of source material in fantasy literature

The relationship between fantasy literature and its adaptation(s) in film

Scholars of fantasy literature at any level (fan, undergraduate, graduate, or professional) are invited to submit abstract proposals of 250 words. Scholars should plan for a 15-minute presentation with 5 minutes for questions; they may also submit entire panels for consideration, planning for three 15-minute papers per panel.

Authors of fantasy literature who would like to present their work are encouraged to submit a 5-page sample of the piece they intend to read. Authors should plan for a 30-minute reading.

All submissions should be sent to

submissions@fantasymatters.org.

For further information, please visit www.fantasymatters.org or send questions to inquiries@fantasymatters.org.

Those submitting proposals will be notified of their status by July 31, 2007.

Happy birthday

Happy birthday to lydy!

Children of Húrin

Oh, Túrin, Túrin, Túrin. When will you ever learn?

Talk about hamartia. Oy.

Possible paper ideas

While juggling a pretty heavy work load at the office today, my back brain was quietly mulling over possible proposals I might make for the Fantasy Matters conference. A few observations:

1) the deadline is in two weeks, so I don't have much time to come up with something, but on the other hand, they only are asking for a 250 word abstract.

2) I guess I'm thinking of submitting to present a paper rather than an author's sample to do a reading; I have fiction I could present (from the ice palace book), but I don't know if I'm ever going to finish that book, and I'm not actively working on it now. It feels more honest, somehow to do a paper. I need to find out how long of a paper they want (and would it get published?); it doesn't say in the Call for Papers. They only give you fifteen minutes for your presentation (it says with five minutes for questions; is that part of the fifteen minutes or an additional five minutes?)

3) What category I'd submit it under is a bit fuzzy. I am a writing professional, although not working actively on fiction now. I have a graduate degree, but am not in a program at the moment. So which category do I submit under? This is probably a question I can send to the inquiries e-mail for clarification.

Vague idea # 1

Something about the heart of flesh/heart of stone theme I've been chewing over with such fascination for so long. I've talked about tracing this theme throughout all the fiction I've loved (including, say, Dickens and Austen, among others). Looking at the specific call for papers for this conference, what can I say about the heart of flesh/heart of stone theme specifically in fantasy literature? Is there something about the working out of this theme that is particularly distinctive in fantasy? The whole germ of my thinking about this theme, after all, came from a fantasy novel, from pameladean's Author's Afterward to Tam Lin. I'd look again at Emma Bull's essay "Why I Write Fantasy," which in turn, touches upon Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories." (Although that latter essay is such a seminal work in fantasy criticism that it is hardly necessary to thrash it out again; and anyway, in terms of the presentation, that alone would more than take up the entire time allotted.) I'd love to touch upon this using Snape's character in the HP books as an example, as I spoke about during my snapecast essay. It might be a bit difficult to pitch a proposal on this for two weeks from now, however, when final story arc about his character won't even be coming out until mid-July.

*Sigh* I am not sure that my thoughts would coalesce enough on this idea, or I would be able to develop the structure of a solid paper.

Vague idea # 2

The fantasy element of transformation, specifically of the mortal becoming a bird. I'd have a particular authority to speak on this subject, as I've written a book doing exactly that (although perhaps presenting a paper where your own fictional work is part of the subject might be viewed as rather tacky? I have no idea what academic etiquette would be here.)

kijjohnson once gave me a swan card from a sacred animal tarot deck. The notes accompanying it talked about the swan entering Dreamtime (perhaps the collective unconscious, or even Death), ushering into a time of altered states of awareness and development of intuitive abilities.

"Swan medicine people have the ability to see the future, to surrender to the power of the Great Spirit, and to accept the healing and transformation of their lives. The Swan card is telling you to accept your ability to know what lies ahead. If you are resisting your self-transformation, relax; it will be easier if you go with the flow. Pay attention to your hunches and your gut knowledge and honor your intuitive side."

Could trace these ideas through a variety of works: The Children of Lir, Grimm, The Wild Swans--my re-telling, Nicholas Stuart Gray's, Juliet Marillier's works (which I'm rather embarrassed to admit I haven't even read yet), touching even perhaps The Goose Girl or The Ugly Duckling. There are actually loads of stories using this theme, the challenge would be limiting the subject matter.

Thoughts?

Of course, I reserve the right to do neither one of these paper ideas. I even might not submit anything at all. But do either of these ideas sound faintly interesting?