The last two weeks of the fiction class I’m teaching are essentially solid workshop. We’ve had a few breaks to discuss general questions about writing and one very good discussion about “Hills Like White Elephants” (including a bit of a digression re: absinthe, the legality and appeal thereof), but it’s almost all student fiction at this point. We have one week left and they’re going strong; I’m really pleased.
It’s strange to feel September coming and not be preparing to teach or take classes. I do have a couple of interviews in the works, so expect more Alcestis-related posts here soon. And, of course, I have links:
- An interview with Jeffrey Kurland, the costume designer for Inception.
- A promo site for Inception with a mock-up manual for the PASIV device used to sedate dreamers.
- One of the most bizarre things I’ve read in a while: an account of the oral history and mythology of South African prison gangs.
- A new book on surprising Greek and Roman cultural practices, including Alexander the Great’s request to be embalmed in honey after death.
- A historical mystery about the disappearance of Joseph Force Crater, a New York State Supreme Court judge, in 1930.
Did you listen to the piece on NPR and hear the part about the mad honey? Apparently honey made from a particular plant in the area was, well, highly intoxicating, rather than toxic, and the soldiers used to leave pots of it out for their enemies to find. Intoxication resulted, and their demise. Pretty clever, huh?