Not-So-Cancelled (or, Hey, We’re Still Talking About the Wrong Things)
In a semi-recent piece for The Nation, David Klion discussed what is by now no longer the “latest” bit of Internet “free speech” theater in response to the cancellation of a collection of Norman Mailer’s essays. I shouldn’t say “cancelled,” really. The publisher passed on publishing the book, which means it could very well be published somewhere else (even by Mailer’s estate), thereby making the meaning of a “cancellation” rather dubious at best. Can you really be “cancelled” in the lofty meaning that term has now taken (undeserved, really) when you’re both very much dead and your work is otherwise still available? I mean, the presumed offending work, “The White Negro,” is literally right there on the Internet. Google it if you must.1 As far as I can tell, this essay has been legally published online in Dissent since 2007. While I can’t say that all of Mailer’s non-fiction will be available in similarly legal venues, it’s not exactly hard to find his writing out there. ↩
2022 Hugo Awards Reading List: What Should I Have Read? Tell Me!
It’s been many years since I’ve done one of these. As I mentioned on my 2022 resolutions post/rant, I want to do a lot more reading and a lot more positive interactions in fandom. The first step: opening myself up to a public conversation about the Hugo Awards, the things I particularly loved, and more. But I don’t want to do that alone, which is where you come in. For several years, I asked folks to tell me what stories (fiction of all lengths and comics) they particularly enjoyed in the prior year. I then used those suggestions to together a longlist of works I consider worth checking out. This helped me narrow my focus for my nominating ballot and give other folks some insight into my process (and help narrowing their lists, too). So here we are. The comments are open, and I want to know:
The Cruelty of School-tees: The Worst Witch and the Hogwarts Problem
Like many readers who have a modicum of Internet awareness, I’ve spent a fair bit of time trying to find a thing to replace Harry Potter as my go-to “wizard school” series. There are, of course, many to choose from. Ursula Le Guin infamously said of Harry Potter that the work is, to paraphrase, derivative of a genre of boarding school tales, some of them featuring magic and some of them not. Indeed, one doesn’t have to go far to find obvious influences on the HP series, some of them so blatant that they border on plagiarism (or, in the case of the author claiming they were unaware, incredulity). The Worst Witch (1974) by Jill Murphy preceded the first HP novel by 23 years and is perhaps the most obvious of more popular novel’s influences. It is also an example, if you’ll forgive me saying it, of a book whose story and tropes were better presented when pilfered by successor novels in the same genre. The first novel in the series follows Mildred Hubble, a first-year at Cackle’s Academy, a boarding school for young witches. The main plot centers on Mildred attempting to teach her new familiar (a cat she names Tabby and which is the only cat that isn’t black) while avoiding the ire of rival student Ethel and potions master Miss Hardbroom and making a fool of the school. Naturally, she mostly fails at all of these things and only avoids an uncomfortable “interview” with headmistress Cackle by uncovering a convenient plot by Cackle’s sister to take over the school. The cat may or may not learn to balance on a broom by the final page…
2022 is Here (or, Hell, I Need a Different Year…)
1. 2021 is a Thing That Happened, But Nobody Wanted It 2021 is gone. It’s back there. Submitted to the book of time for appraisal, and it will be found guilty of being largely a miserable affair. Some scholars might even say it was an avoidable mistake. Now, we’re in 2022, and unlike 2021, when I thought that maybe we’d get our shit together and push forward to some new future worth living in, I just don’t have a lot of good things to say about 2022. Omicron is here, and if Google statistics are anything to go by (pulled from NYT), we’re looking at yet another year of this shit. 824,000 people dead. Possibly as many as 50% of COVID survivors get some version of “long COVID,” which can, in some cases, be debilitating for months or life. I mean, just look at it…
My Worldcon 79 / DisCon III Schedule
Welp. In 14 days, I’ll be off to D.C., where I hope I’ll get to have a good time while avoiding COVID. *crosses fingers* And since I’ll be in D.C., I think it’s worth noting that I’m on programming because apparently people mostly like me! Here’s what I’m up to (all times are in EST): Wed 4:00 PM (Older; Virtual): Not Just D&D: Great Tabletop RPGs Wed 5:30 PM (Calvert; Mod): What Makes a Classic a Classic? Wed 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Thu 5:00 PM (Ambassador Ballroom): Public Hugo Finalists Reception Thu 7:00 PM (Lobby): Sip with the Stars Fri 7:00 PM (Calvert): Teaching and Analyzing Genre Fiction Fri 8:30 PM (Blue): The Work of Nalo Hopkinson Sat 11:30 AM (Blue): Is the Genre Too Big for Meaningful Hugos? Sat 2:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Finalist Rehearsals Session Sat 5:30 PM (Congressional Room; Virtual): How to Star a Fan Podcast Sat 2:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Finalist Rehearsals Session Sat 10:30 PM (Regency Ballroom): Hugo Awards Photo Opportunity A quick note: these are current as to my schedule, but the names, locations, etc. may change on the day. In particular, I suspect “Sip with the Stars” will have an additional name each time as one of the folks originally listed had to cancel their attendance. Make sure to check your program book! I did leave myself open to allowing other folks to take slots if they were able, so I suspect a big part of this VERY heavy Worldcon load is the fact that we’re still in COVID time. And why do I suspect that? When I helped with World Fantasy this year, we ran into a brick wall when a lot of folks who had intended to come in person decided not to, which opened a lot of in-person programming items. To be clear, those folks were justified in their decision and I am in no way judging them (really, I’m not; just pointing out a fact about what happened). So, I suspect this happened here, too. Add to that the fact that I’m apparently notoriously easy to program for, and, well, here we are. All that said, I’m very much looking forward to modding and participating at Worldcon, if for no other reason than I miss being in that environment quite a lot. If you’re planning to be there, scream at me. We should catch up like regular people…but with masks and vaccines!
A New Joy Factory Monthly Podcast: Discussion w/ Alex Jennings on The Immortal Hulk!
A brand new episode of JFM just dropped. I’m joined by author Alex Jennings to talk about Marvel’s The Immortal Hulk! Together, we discuss this rendition of the Hulk, some of the series’ themes, and more! You can find the episode on Acast, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also stream the episode below or right here on my website!