Foodies
2007-09-05 09:21:00
In Shiva's Arms, I often use food to reflect national character. In today's Washington Post, there's a story about three cooking teachers and the challenge of making dinner with ingredients under $50. One of the cooks is Pritha Mehra, owner of The Mystic Kitchen. This cool chutney is from her menu. Other recipes can be found in my clickable title.Cilantro-Mint Chutney Ingredients:1/2 large tomato 1/2 large red onion 2 tablespoons olive oil Juice of 1 large lemon (2 to 3 tablespoons; optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, preferably toasted 1/2 bunch cilantro, including the stems 1 cup loosely packed mint leaves 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste Chili powder Directions:In a blender, combine the tomato, onion, olive oil, the lemon juice, if using, salt, cumin, half of the cilantro, the mint, sugar and the chili powder to taste. Puree, adding the remaining cilantro in increments until the chutney's consistency has thickened (the chutney should not be pourable)
Golden Boy
2007-09-03 18:09:00
Where did I read that "On the Road" was still an excuse for students to hand in junk? Click the title for more Kerouac.
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Process
2007-09-01 22:08:00
I was looking at a list of novels by poets like Jack Kerouac, Kathy Acker, Michael Ondaatje, Randall Jarrell, James Schulyer, Thomas Wolfe, Kenneth Patchen, Djuna Barnes, Henry Green, John Crowley, Tobias Hill, Elizabeth Smart--and started to think about the demands of writing in each genre. I’d say the planning of a work is similar for both. I start with an image, a phrase, or an idea. I envision the general shape of the beast. How will the story begin and end, or how can I make the sequence of images relate to the senses? I think about transformation, the way the characters will change, what conclusion the narrator will come to. I write my way into the piece, trying on different plots, tone, voice. I make choices in half-light; I feel my way. At this point, a strange thing often happens: the characters run amuck. They suddenly have their own plans, and I can’t force them back into mine. Mary Lee Settle advised that empathy without identity was one way to keep control of a charact
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Writers on Writing
2007-08-31 18:22:00
I was thinking about how Alice Walker kept a sign over her office desk which would cause much fall-out later. It was to remind her about obstacles other writers had faced, and stred down: Woolf had madness, Eliot was ostracized, Austen had no privacy, the Brontes died young and dependent, Hurston had poor health. Walker had her daughter --"who is more delightful and less distracting than any of the calamities above."How and why do writers write, despite everything? A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people, Thomas Mann observed.The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone's neurosis, and we'd have a mighty dull literature if all the writers that came along were a bunch of happy chuckleheads, said William Styron.Colette told us to Sit down, and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it. Writing is
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Out of the Book Films: Ian McEwan (Trailer)
2007-08-29 17:55:00
One of a new series of films about authors and their books.
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, Films
New Semester
2007-08-29 13:58:00
I have new work up at Miranda Literary Review and Panamowa, a New Lit Order; click the title to read it. Another of my poems came out in Tipton Poetry Journal, and when I pulled the issue from my mailbox, the feel of paper and the smell of ink pushed me toward fall. This season is like New Year's for me; I'm always tempted to make resolutions. So summer's officially over and today is the first day of school. Pooja Makhijani has a new children's book out, Mama's Saris, which tells the story of a little girl who loves to dress like her mother. For a classroom activity, the teacher's guide for the book suggests the class sing these words to the tune "Frère Jacques":Mama's SarisMama's SarisOrange and blueEggplant tooFolded pleats of secretsFolded pleats of secretsTry one on!Try one on! Cute, eh?
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Cross-culture
2007-08-27 16:26:00
There are several synagogues left in Kerala, including the protected Pardesi Synagogue. It was built in 1568 when Jewish spice traders set up businesses in this small outpost on the South Indian Malabar coast. Photos above.There is a portrait of Sarah Cohen in the Post today. She is one of only 13 Indian Jews left in Kochi,and she lives near this synagogue. She is in her eighties now, and has always blended traditions from both religions. She keeps kosher, but uses chapattis instead of challah; she sews Indian-style beads on her prayer cap. Click on the title for the whole story
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, culture
Carnival
2007-08-26 09:47:00
In my novel, Shiva Sambashivan hails from the southern state of Kerala, where every year at this time the people celebrate Onam. It's a harvest carnival of feasting, snake boat races, caparisoned elephant parades, fireworks, and Kathakali dancers, and it goes on for ten full days. Onam originated with this legend of the reign of King Mahabali: the gods sent Vishnu to earth in the form of a dwarf Brahmin to trample the king down to the netherworld-- but just before that, Vishnu granted the king's last wish-- to come back and visit his people once every year. Click on the title for the full story.One of the carnival's most spectacular sights are the Vallamkali boat races. Hundreds of oarsmen row boats to the rhythm of drums and cymbals. These long "snake boats," or Chundans, are named for long hulls and high sterns that resemble the raised hood of a cobra. Odis are small, swift crafts adorned with gold tasseled silk umbrellas.Churulans have elaborately curled prows and sterns. Veppus
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Grace Paley Dies
2007-08-23 20:58:00
HEREHere I am in the garden laughingan old woman with heavy breastsand a nicely mapped facehow did this happenwell that's who I wanted to beat last a womanin the old style sittingstout thighs apart undera big skirt grandchild slidingon off my lap a pleasantsummer perspirationthat's my old man across the yardhe's talking to the meter readerhe's telling him the world's sad storyhow electricity is oil or uraniumand so forth I tell my grandsonrun over to your grandpa ask himto sit beside me for a minute Iam suddenly exhausted by my desireto kiss his sweet explaining lips.Rest in peace.
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Ink & Paper vs.Flicker & Fade
2007-08-22 14:33:00
Click the title for an interesting article by Alan Wall at ReadySteadyBook.com. It's about the difference between learned and accessed knowledge. I especially like the reader who quotes Homer:No one recites my poems today... they just look in their "books." Foul beasts of paper and glue
Sari tutorial
2007-08-21 22:55:00
With major festivals coming up, I thought we needed a refresher course in how to wrap a sari-- just for fun!
The Man Asian Booker
2007-08-21 17:09:00
Some people follow sports; I like to second-guess book awards. Here's a new one. The Man Asian
Literary Prize is the counterpart of the Man Booker
International Literary Prize, and will choose its first winner in November. Galley Cat says that twenty-three candidates, including 11 from India, are up for the inaugural prize, worth $10,000. The award is backed by the same company that sponsors the prestigious Man Booker Prize. I haven't read all the authors, but I really like Xiaolu Guo, author of the Orange-shortlisted A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. She heads up the longlist for this prize with a new novel, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth. Read an excerpt by clicking the title of this blog entry.
Dalits
2007-08-20 08:40:00
Click on the title for an article in the Post today, about changes for Indian Dalits(the oppressed).Conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism in order to avoid the problem of caste was first proposed fifty years ago by B.R. Ambedkar's The Dalit Buddhist movement, and enters into the discussion of set-asides and affirmative action.
Myths
2007-08-17 16:47:00
I was thinking about the stories we tell our children, and remembered a poem I published in Pebble Lake Review awhile ago. It was about Ketu (केतु) ,the snake that swallows the world and causes an eclipse.Click on the title of this post, "Myths
,"to hear me read it.
Fiction Contest
2007-08-17 08:10:00
Writer's Lair Books is sponsoring a contest for fiction writers.This contest accepts only unpublished fiction manuscripts from writers residing in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., or Virginia. The winner will have his manuscript published by Writer's Lair Books and have a local stage production of his work.Phase 1:Writers must submit the following by September 10, 2007.1)A cover letter which includes your contact information (including an email address), a short bio, and a brief synopsis of your manuscript2) A one page chapter-by-chapter synopsis of your manuscript3) The completed first chapter of your manuscript (complete manuscripts sent at this phase will be disqualified)4) A $25 entry fee must accompany your submission5) Only one submission per personThe six finalists from Phase 1 will be notified by mail by November 10, 2007.Phase 2: Finalists must submit a completed manuscript, typed, doubled spaced, and in a Microsoft Word format by December 5, 2007The winne
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, Contest
मेरा भारत महान
2007-08-14 10:33:00
Tomorrow marks the sixtieth anniversary of India's independence. I'm making masala dosas for the occasion.Amma’s Famous DosaFor the sourdough pancakes:3 c. long grain rice2 c. Uncle Ben's converted rice1 c. urad dal1 tsp methi seedssalt, to taste For the masala filling: 3 potatoes, peeled & cubed 1 onion 2 chillies 1 tsp tumeric salt to taste Soak the long grain rice for 6-7 hrs, and the urad dal for an hour.Grind the soaked rice and urad along with methi seeds to a fine paste.Mix with salt. Let it ferment for 2 hours to a day.In an oiled pan, fry seeds, chili, onions. Add potato, salt and tumeric.Continue cooking. Garnish with cilantro.In a griddle or a non stick flat pan pour a ladle of batter. Smooth it with the back of the ladle to make a round shape. Pour oil around the pancake. Flip it after bubbles appear.Dot the center of each pancake with masala filling. Close the dosa. Serve hot with chutney or sambaar. Mera bharat mahan!
The Road To GAEA - Indian Music
2007-08-13 12:31:00
An excerpt from a GAEA Concert held at a small and intimate mountain location in Kyoto, Japan, on June 23, 2007.
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Bollywood
2007-08-12 08:07:00
In today’s Washington Post, there’s an article on the unauthorized biography of one of the Bollywood stars, Shah Rukh Kan (AKA King Khan). The book is “a lyrical and fascinating portrait of Khan. But it’s also a window on a changing and increasing consumerist India that is leaving behind its socialist and isolationist leanings—a shift Khan embodies,” says Emily Wax in the article.Kahn’s first movie, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, or DDLJ “in a country that never met an acronym it didn’t like,” was the first film to show Indians living abroad as well as in India. It inspired other films about NRIs, “non-resident Indians,” a group of which my character Ramesh is one.I’m casting the movie in my head…
Dog Day Reveries
2007-08-10 15:10:00
Well, the drought murdered four of our cherry trees, and today's temp reached 98, but I can feel Back-to-School time coming on fast. Wonder if a person ever outgrows the desire for a pristine new notebook? A pack of #2 pencils? The need for a quiz? I took this one, designed by Sandra Henderson, over at Lit Park: What state and country are you in right now? MD, USAFavorite drink? Mango lassiFavorite game? PachesiFavorite movie? Aguirre, the Wrath of GodFavorite smell? chocolate chip cookies bakingMost played iTunes/iPod song? Diana Krall, From This Moment OnHero? DadWhat you are reading right now? Sugar Street, by Naguib MahfouzQuality you most enjoy in others? a sense of the ridiculousRecommend a literary magazine. Red River ReviewRecommend a book and say why you liked it. Open Secrets, short stories by Alice Munro, because of her seamless transitions and the fact that she knows everything.
Books & Covers
2007-08-08 10:38:00
I've been reading a title from Tupelo Press for a review I'm doing. The physical features of the volume--French flaps, a satiny finish, beautiful art--make the volume a tactile delight. I tried to imagine the author's reaction when she first laid hands on it.“What do you remember about the day when you saw your finished book for the first time?” Kate Greenstreet asks first-time authors at Every Other Day, http://www.kickingwind.com/interviews.html.I’ve been thinking about the look of the book as the publication date of Shiva's Arms draws close, wondering—fantasizing, even—about the cover, which will represent so much of my experience. What will I do when the books arrive? Will I run to the kitchen, grab the scissors in my shaking hand, stab at the box until it gives, stick my head inside the flaps, b-r-e-a-t-h-e the aroma of ink, burst into tears, snap pictures with my cell phone, send them to everyone I know?Or will I throw the package into the trunk of the car and drive
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, Books
It's casual Friday every day
2007-08-06 21:00:00
Well, that was fun, doing a reading in my slippers, on the couch. Rick plans on more podcasts, so keep your eyes peeled for dates & times.Speaking of slippers, I once read an article about a woman who got tired of writing at home in jammies and bunny slippers. She decided to get glam, and got out of the writer's uniform and into a Chinese kimono. The mailman misunderstood.Webmomz.com sponsored a Wear Your Bathrobe to Work Day last year for women who work at home--even had a contest with a fluffy white hotel bathrobe as a prize. My Alice could have used one of those while looking after her sick mother-in-law:After weeks of pulling the dangling end of her sari out of Amma’s plate, untangling it from the equipment, and soothing the bruises where her bangles had dug into the old woman’s loose flesh, she gave up traditional dress in favor of tee shirts and shorts. She had dressed the part of the good daughter as a sign of respect, but it was impractical in the long run. She needed as m
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, every
blogtalkradio
2007-08-04 09:42:00
On Sunday, August 5, at 2pm pacific time, Rick Lupert of Poetry Super Highway will be broadcasting PSH's first ever open reading. You can call in live and read a poem or two, just like any other open reading, only with a potentially world-wide audience as well as the resource of having your performance archived. Details, including the call in number, here: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/pshlive.htmlI'm going to do it.Check it out!
Just thought you should know
2007-08-03 20:27:00
You all know that Charles Simic has been named the country's new Poet Laureate, and you might know that The National Endowment for the Arts appointed Jon Parrish Peede as the agency’s Director of Literature, Grants Programs. But did you know that NEW WRITING VENTURES has shortlisted several writers for its big award, among them a Bangladeshi performance poet ? His unusual voice is the result of a gunshot wound to the throat. Read the Guardian article here--http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2139333,00.html
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First and Last
2007-08-01 16:06:00
I like lists. Like Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake, right?This afternoon, as I sipped a mango lassi (blend ice, plain yogurt and mango slices; add sugar to taste) I thought about how much ink has been spilled on the importance of first lines in a novel. There must be a list for that, I thought—and one appeared at a quick click -http://www.litline.org/ABR/100bestfirstlines.htmlFrom the haunting (Rebecca), to the stately (Anna Karenina), to the breezy (Howards End) to the detached (Jane Eyre), first lines “are more or less context free, whereas final lines carry the contextual burden of the entire novel and, for maximum effectiveness, often need several sentences to do their work." says Charlie Harris.So where’s the list for last lines? American Book Review promises to publish a list of best last lines next year. Lance Olson, on his blog, observes that "last lines often carry what I think of as a sort of rhythmic burden, a sort of aural crescendo that depends on the lines just before
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Vacation
2007-07-27 13:11:00
I just looked up from my task of guest-editing {the poetry} WORM, and began to think about vacations.Cape Comorin, also called Kanniya Kumari, after the goddess pictured here, was a favorite vacation spot for my fictional Sambashivan family.It's at the southernmost tip of peninsular India, where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet-- and where, on balmy evenings, one can watch the sun set while the full moon is rising in another part of the sky. I liked the image so much that I used it as motif and metaphor throughout Shiva's Arms.Temples often have columns portraying dancing damsels or musicians playing their instruments, but the pillars in this temple can sing. Gentle taps on the cluster of columns hewn out of a single piece of rock produce the keynotes of ragas. The stone pillars were set in place in the 7th century during the reign of Pandyan king Nindraseer Nedumaran and this is what they look like. One more thing about the temple--the door facing the sea
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Book Review: Bad Karma
2007-09-26 14:55:00
Writer, photographer, and critic Cheryl A. Townsend is my guest blogger today. The author of over thirty collections of poetry, she is publisher of Impetus magazine, poetry editor for epitome magazine, and reviews books for MiPo, Alsop and other magazines. Here she offers us a review, and will be back later to talk about the art of the review.Bad Karma: Confessions of a Reckless Traveler in Southeast Asia by Tamara Sheward / 303pps / Academy Chicago Publishers / 978-0-89733-565-2 / $17.95 A travelogue of laugh out loud escapades is a must for the adventurous woman. After overhearing a fellow Aussie talk of his travels in Asia, Tamara decides it’s off the backpacker path enough for her and calls up her “bestie” pal, El, to join her. Tamara is between jobs and El is off for the summer from her teaching job. This is not their first go at sightseeing. On a train out of Bangkok, they pull out a phrase book and start trying some of the ridiculous sayings given for examples, whi
Books on Blogs
2007-09-24 15:20:00
At a panel discussion hosted by The National Book Critics Circle recently, Salman Rushdie talked about book reviews on blogs. “It’s difficult if you just look at the newspapers now,” he said, “and remember how much more attention, how much more space was given to books in the very recent past...It used to be much easier to start out as a young writer because you could be sure that a book would get review space all over the place...The problem is: how do you draw attention to books by new writers who are not well known, who don’t have name recognition...That’s 99 percent of all writers! That’s the reason why this is important...I think it’s rather unfortunate that some of the coverage tries to pitch print reviewing against the new media. I think they complement each other very well.” That's right.
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, Blogs
Review of The Kimnama
2007-09-22 07:28:00
The Kimnamaby Kim RobertsVrzhu PressISBN 978-1-4303-1407-3 In the lines of this book-length poem, Kim Roberts distills for us the essence of India. Braiding past and present with sensual detail, she summons up the contrasts-- houses on a narrow dirt lane sharing the wall of Muhammadpur’s tomb, men in dhotis squatting “like giant grasshoppers” near “a chandelier vendor,/his wares hanging from a tree//so the cut glass shimmered/where the sun/filtered through the dusty leaves,” her observations of the outer world complemented by inner realizations arrived at organically. “Despite the push, the rush,/the clouds of hovering blue-grey smoke/rising from the traffic,//there is all the time in the world.” The book is based on the journal Roberts kept during a two-month stay with a host family in New Delhi. “It was strange to be so well taken care of, and so little in control of my personal decisions (such as what to eat: a cook delivered my meals). While much of my experience n
What's in a Name?
2007-09-21 16:33:00
Maud Newton says:Among the most common titles of submissions received at Virginia Quarterly Review in the past year are Smoke, Insomnia, Voyeur, Butterfly.Gulp...
My Short Story in The Flask Review
2007-09-19 15:59:00
Brag post. NovocainI'm buzzed.
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