Deadly Class, 1987 Reagan Youth
I want to worry about these kids, but they won’t let me. They could kill me. They’re alright, even when they’re really not. It gets a little wrong: working as intended. #deadlyclass @Remender #comics #review
Posted to Twitter @primalspiral
For the last Full Moon Gathering of 2019 at CoSM: Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in NY on Dec. 14 2019, I set up my Hermes 3000 (TRIS) and did something new for me at this event. People were invited to sit down at my station to write a line of associative poetic wordplay, going back and forth with me, which we then cosigned and they kept. Didn’t really have a name for what we were doing at first, but found the easiest way to explain it on the artifact was “words between.”
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
I guess I was finally ready for this. Ready for my notions to be disabused and then magically rebuilt. For the disillusionment to turn back around on itself into another fulfillment, breaking expectations in order to deliver. Life’s complicated. There’s the human perspective, which can’t be abated for meta-awareness because that’s what it’s built on. Frank Herbert, people. Dealing with the hard stuff. It’s still so beautiful while it’s so dark, beautiful in its otherness. Science fiction.
I stationed my typewriter at my autographing space during the 2019 Los Angeles Nebula Awards Conference Mass Autographing at the end of last October. Since there would be many people circulating with books, I decided to offer a 3-line composition from any book someone handed to me. Above is one example of the bunch; there were many enjoyable surprises.
Captivating and deadly! An indomitable spirit of due justice moves against heart-clenching struggle in a culmination of ancient mysteries. Characters of deep psyche in a finely envisioned setting.
(review added to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads)
It’s a dadaist philosophical ramble that lovingly reshuffles all idols and ideals with a slew of good laughs and intense abyssal gazes. An artistically faithful reproduction of a legendary underground primer & zine art classic. I traded a poetry broadsheet for my copy at Barter Faire. Mmmmmmmm. This edition via Last Word Press.
Yesterday, the day that the great poet Mary Oliver passed away, I finally hung a sign for Primal Spiral Studio: a snapped wooden rudder I found on the beach, painted and stenciled in ‘old school scholastic’. Here’s hoping any intrepid boaters made it to shore, as did their rudder.
This collective typesheet has been laying in wait since a Meet The Authors event on San Juan Island, last August 8/2018! And lo, the treasure is released.
Leaving a note here that I’m no longer affiliating with the group called Authors of the San Juan Islands, though they will continue to have a presence representing some local authors.
The energy investment balance doesn’t fit well with the things I already have going, and I was also told that voicing my concerns with rapidly changing layers of policy was a group disturbance. Regarding an accusation, I attest that there is at least one embroidered detail in the account as it was last relayed to me, and I am willing to discuss that with anyone who wishes further knowledge.
I will continue to support various local community organization, and serve as a touchpoint for other individuals on creative journeys. We can brainstorm strategies and celebrate milestones over a sip, as I love to see ideas reach fruition! I hope for anyone exploring their creative social network, that one bad group or personal chemistry doesn’t convince them that they’re out of options toward a calling.
My work (Bones of Starlight novels & beyond) can be found locally at the Library, Griffin Bay Bookstore, by order/appointment, and occasional consignment options. Everywhere else, I am carried by the major online channels and can be found or requested at your own fine bookstore, while of course specials & exclusives are available at my personal events.
I had the fantastic opportunity to commission a table scroll from Leo Shallat, Seattle-based muralist & gallery painter, and Bones of Starlight hardcover artist. I asked for it to feature my initials, ELE… and he made them rise with illumination from opened pages! I wore it on my table at ACE Comic Con Midwest in Chicago, and it was a nice piece of the background in many cosplayer photos. I’m pleased with this investment over a deluxe roll-out banner. I have tied the scroll to two halves of a beaver cutting that was found on a beach combing day at the lovely place of my habitation, San Juan Island. (I also happen to favor the curved capital E in my penmanship.)
The Witchwood Crown, by Tad Williams
from the series, The Last King of Osten Ard
This story is woven closely – almost seamlessy – with the previous Osten Ard series (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn), turning a generational saga into an intergenerational epic. This world bears analogous resemblances to our religious and political entities, with richly flavored populations of magical beings and items. Williams’ style of interwoven storytelling is evenly paced and suspenseful, full of sentiment and personality.
