Just a reminder that I have moved to http://www.toothsoup.com/blottingpaper/ The blog is quite full now, and I have more things to add there.
A
Tuesday 2 December 2008
Tuesday 2 September 2008
01/09/08 Meeting 6
Hi everyone,
Before I get to the minutes, here's a
Question about the blog
Manasa suggested that instead of working with the lit mag format, everyone should just post stuff whenever they like, which eases the load on me, and I won't have to send you on guilt trips when you don't send in work.
Or I can just post what has been submitted to me (four poetry submissions, one short story, one image) as an issue. It'll take me a while though, because Film is killing me. Yes, film personified. It's an absolute vile creature, much like a teething baby that while cry and slobber even when it's getting attention.
So please let me know. Vibha included: emails really do work. I'm not going to attempt reading your mind, so please reply to this with your opinion.
Reading about reading
We read some good stuff. A bit from the first chapter of Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveller and some from an essay by Proust that Prasanna ma'am gave us. As promised, ma'am, we didn't discuss it without you. : )
But we had fun talking about Calvino -- at least I think it was fun.
Attendees
Srishti, Neha, Namratha, Vibha, Sana, Sushmita and Aditi
*
About the next meeting, it probably won't be on Monday. Possibly Tuesday. I'll let you know. Also, Sana has volunteered to make posters. And if I'm not free (blame Film), Srishti will handle the meeting.
Best,
Aditi
Before I get to the minutes, here's a
Question about the blog
Manasa suggested that instead of working with the lit mag format, everyone should just post stuff whenever they like, which eases the load on me, and I won't have to send you on guilt trips when you don't send in work.
Or I can just post what has been submitted to me (four poetry submissions, one short story, one image) as an issue. It'll take me a while though, because Film is killing me. Yes, film personified. It's an absolute vile creature, much like a teething baby that while cry and slobber even when it's getting attention.
So please let me know. Vibha included: emails really do work. I'm not going to attempt reading your mind, so please reply to this with your opinion.
Reading about reading
We read some good stuff. A bit from the first chapter of Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveller and some from an essay by Proust that Prasanna ma'am gave us. As promised, ma'am, we didn't discuss it without you. : )
But we had fun talking about Calvino -- at least I think it was fun.
Attendees
Srishti, Neha, Namratha, Vibha, Sana, Sushmita and Aditi
*
About the next meeting, it probably won't be on Monday. Possibly Tuesday. I'll let you know. Also, Sana has volunteered to make posters. And if I'm not free (blame Film), Srishti will handle the meeting.
Best,
Aditi
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Hola
In case anyone still drops in here, you should know that my blog has moved here: http://www.toothsoup.com/blottingpaper/
Saturday 4 August 2007
Hobnobbing with Shashi Deshpande and such
Saturday night was at a book launch by a small publishing firm called Unisun Publications. There were, in fact, four books launched.
I was thrilled at the prospect of hobnobbing with Bangalore's resident literary celebrities, namely, Shashi Deshpande and Girish Karnad
I was with two of my college seniors, and all three of us had atrociously broken the strict khadi rule, it appears. Also the dangling earring rule, the up-turned nose rule and the dressed up rule--as rightly pointed out by one of the seniors. I was saved, thankfully, by the jhola bag I was carrying, that made me look appropriately ethnic.
Before the ceremony began, a senior professor from college, who is closely associated with Unisun, came over to us, and in her typically deep and articulate voice, she boomed at us: "Thank you." For coming, we assumed. And then she said, "Shashi [Deshpande, with whom she is on first-name basis, clearly] asked me where all the young people are. I was stuck. And then I saw you three at the back, so I said yes there are about half a dozen. Come on, I'll introduce you to her."
What? We get to meet Shashi Deshpande. O man o man o man.
Like most important moments, this one fell flat. Shashi seemed either uninterested or shy. Our professor went on at length introducing us. And we squirmed. It was as if -we- had asked her to introduce us to Ms Deshpande. Woe.
*
As for the launch, it was okay. Girish Karnad was nice and witty. There was a weird guy at the back who kept cheering everyone as if he was at some lame-ass talent show. I wanted to tell him to shave his beard. Not because I have anything against unshaved men--they are often more attractive than neatly shaved men. But I had to find faults with him.
*
Once more, I found the poetry deplorable. (There were some 'dramatic' readings.) I'm not saying that the poets couldn't play with words, or that they had nothing new to say; they tended to be witty and somewhat in control of their words. But where was the beautiful extended metaphor? The layers I was meant to crawl through? The brilliant alliteration? Where was the poem I could read over and over again?
Gah.
I was thrilled at the prospect of hobnobbing with Bangalore's resident literary celebrities, namely, Shashi Deshpande and Girish Karnad
I was with two of my college seniors, and all three of us had atrociously broken the strict khadi rule, it appears. Also the dangling earring rule, the up-turned nose rule and the dressed up rule--as rightly pointed out by one of the seniors. I was saved, thankfully, by the jhola bag I was carrying, that made me look appropriately ethnic.
Before the ceremony began, a senior professor from college, who is closely associated with Unisun, came over to us, and in her typically deep and articulate voice, she boomed at us: "Thank you." For coming, we assumed. And then she said, "Shashi [Deshpande, with whom she is on first-name basis, clearly] asked me where all the young people are. I was stuck. And then I saw you three at the back, so I said yes there are about half a dozen. Come on, I'll introduce you to her."
What? We get to meet Shashi Deshpande. O man o man o man.
Like most important moments, this one fell flat. Shashi seemed either uninterested or shy. Our professor went on at length introducing us. And we squirmed. It was as if -we- had asked her to introduce us to Ms Deshpande. Woe.
*
As for the launch, it was okay. Girish Karnad was nice and witty. There was a weird guy at the back who kept cheering everyone as if he was at some lame-ass talent show. I wanted to tell him to shave his beard. Not because I have anything against unshaved men--they are often more attractive than neatly shaved men. But I had to find faults with him.
*
Once more, I found the poetry deplorable. (There were some 'dramatic' readings.) I'm not saying that the poets couldn't play with words, or that they had nothing new to say; they tended to be witty and somewhat in control of their words. But where was the beautiful extended metaphor? The layers I was meant to crawl through? The brilliant alliteration? Where was the poem I could read over and over again?
Gah.
Friday 27 July 2007
Sunday 22 July 2007
Sunday 8 July 2007
Acceptance
We-hell! My second poetry submission was to a journal called Umbrella and they've accepted two of my poems. The editor of Umbrella, Kate Bernadette Benedict, is wonderfully kind and helpful. Do check out their current issue which features some lovely poets, not to mention a certain James AL Midgley.
*
I've never been able to take romance writers seriously, but they certainly have their special words and special discussions. If you've never read a romance novel (I admit I have, but I was fourteen and that's forgivable.), well, just read this: The Purple Prose Eater. Just in case, you know, you wanted to know what a love tool was.
"Rake walked into the room, his azure blue eyes blazing. "How dare you treat me like that in front of my colleagues?"
Gina quivered. She wanted to drop down onto the sofa and envelope herself in its soft comfort, but Rake kept staring at her, through her, into her. She was just a secretary and she had a mother diagnosed with terminal cancer to take care of. How could she do this to her career? What would her cold, demanding and undeniably male boss think of her now? She was sure to be fired.
She gathered her courage and looked back into his eyes, and she was surprised to see that they had softened. His lips curved upwards as if to smile. What had changed in those few seconds? Gina waited for him to say something with bated breath. And suddenly, she was in his arms--he was smothering her neck with kisses, and inside, she was melting into a pool of liquid joy.
She knew, then, exactly what she had to do to keep her mother alive for a few more weeks."
It's scares me to know how good I am with this.
*
I've never been able to take romance writers seriously, but they certainly have their special words and special discussions. If you've never read a romance novel (I admit I have, but I was fourteen and that's forgivable.), well, just read this: The Purple Prose Eater. Just in case, you know, you wanted to know what a love tool was.
"Rake walked into the room, his azure blue eyes blazing. "How dare you treat me like that in front of my colleagues?"
Gina quivered. She wanted to drop down onto the sofa and envelope herself in its soft comfort, but Rake kept staring at her, through her, into her. She was just a secretary and she had a mother diagnosed with terminal cancer to take care of. How could she do this to her career? What would her cold, demanding and undeniably male boss think of her now? She was sure to be fired.
She gathered her courage and looked back into his eyes, and she was surprised to see that they had softened. His lips curved upwards as if to smile. What had changed in those few seconds? Gina waited for him to say something with bated breath. And suddenly, she was in his arms--he was smothering her neck with kisses, and inside, she was melting into a pool of liquid joy.
She knew, then, exactly what she had to do to keep her mother alive for a few more weeks."
It's scares me to know how good I am with this.
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