BitLit

Amazon's 1984 snafu is what we'll call "awkward"

Word came this week that Amazon.com had very quickly and quietly, via their "WhisperNet" technology (which, incidentally, brings to mind Terminator's SkyNet), deleted George Orwell's classics 1984 and Animal Farm from both the Kindle marketplace and from every Kindle that had ever purchased them, refunding the money to the Kindle's owners.

The irony, of course, is that 1984 is about a fascist media state and their constant alteration of history by changing digital records of what has occurred. 

The hard part here is that Amazon's mass e-book removal was necessary due to copyright infringement.  Whoever had first uploaded those books to Amazon's Kindle store and started selling them didn't actually own the rights to them.  When Orwell's estate found out, down they had to come. 

Amazon certainly could have handled it a bit better, I think.  io9 points out that what they did flies in the face of what you expect to happen when you purchase a book (i.e. that it's a physically thing that cannot be forcibly taken from you).  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the fall yesterday, and Amazon.com claims that they will not revoke books from customers "in this circumstance" again. 

I don't know.  This spells trouble for e-book readers if you ask me.  No e-book or piece of e-information will ever be yours unless you can get it onto a device that is not connected to the internet.  1984 came and went a long time ago, after all.

KAB

Playing Favorites: Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief

I'd like to be able to say, as an administrator to the Literary House, that I love all of the authors who visit us equally. But I would be lying. A small piece of my literary heart is reserved for former Mary Wood Fellow Hannah Tinti, who visited us last October to kick off the Mary Wood Fellowship and spend three wonderful days - filled with readings, laughter, and rewrites - with us here at the House. Hannah's reading of her story "Ms. Waldron's Red Colobus" from her collection Animal Crackers was uproarious and touching, and I'll never forget the image of Hannah, wearing a spelunker's headlamp, perched on a gravestone in the darkness of the Chestertown cemetary during the Graveyard Reading. It was there that she read an excerpt from the book she was working on, The Good Thief.

Well good news for those of you who missed the Graveyard Reading: The Good Thief has just been released, and the New York Times is already calling it "An American Dickensian tale with touches of Harry Potterish whimsy, along with a macabre streak of spooky New England history."

I really encourage you to check out Hannah's website HERE and get yourself a copy!

Maybe one day, *sigh*, we could ask her to come back and visit us again! And Lauren Groff - I'd like her to come back as well. And Neil Gaiman, even though he's not even here yet.

P.S. Is the Red Colobus still in existence after all?

KAB

Neil Gaiman, xbox360, and the computer virus in my head

Neil Gaiman, who happens to be visiting the Rose O'Neill Literary House in April for a reading (a fact which has most of us here at the House stuck in happy awe, our normal preparatory tasks now being done while whistling, while singing to the birds), wrote, in his short story collection Smoke and Mirrors: "I don't play many computer games anymore. When I did, I noticed they tended to take up areas of my head. Blocks fell or little men ran and jumped behind my eyelids as I went to sleep. Mostly I'd lose, even when playing with my mind."

I've spent my scant free time of the past few months working to beat Bioware's Mass Effect on the xbox360, a device which was purchased after I somehow became quite good at shooting alien forces in the game Halo some years ago. It's not a talent you might expect me to have. When I play these videogames for too many hours straight, I dream about them at night. I fight the aliens, drive the tanks, strategize the missions. Game's like Mass Effect, which allow for cross-character conversation using a "conversation wheel" to assist you in choosing your attitude, a certain tact, and exactly what to say even end up imposing a conversation wheel over the images in my dreams, sometimes over my waking conversations as well!

And then I start to wonder - who is writing these conversational options? Who is plotting out these complex story lines? In Mass Effect, each planet that you visit - no small number of them - has a history, a geography, a geology - that you read about in a pop-up menu. In Eldar Scrolls: Oblivion, each one of those small books and scrolls - hundreds of them - that you pick up along the paths, in hidden rooms, on the tables in shops - have side stories that were written by...well, not by the computer programmers! Video games are a lot more than just 1's and 0's. There must be a few clever English majors and creative writers on staff....

What a fantastic career to have. Does anyone know anyone who does this for a living? They'd make a great guest at the Literary House!

A treat for those of you familiar with the woes of the conversation wheel: Ass Effect - "I must know more about these trays..."

KAB

RE:RE:RE:RE:We Have No Manuscript to Discuss Yet

So, I'm in Philadelphia Albany.

It's sort of like Baltimore. Except with no harbor. And more crime. But really it's a pretty cool city -- very eclectic, great music scene (I'm going to see The Ting Tings Saturday, and The Police & Elvis Costello in two weeks), coffee that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and Fence.

I didn't even know what Fence was until about six months ago. I was searching for internships, and Josh kindly pointed me in their direction. I've been a faithful reader since. And, as of May, I've also been an intern.

Fence is more than a magazine, though -- or, should I say, "literary journal." It is also a book publisher. A corporation. A place for young writers to be discovered and for established writers to experiment. And, according to the letters that I've been sending to booksellers all week, it's a "superlatively relevant source of new writing." A "Holy Grail."

But hey, it's 5:40pm on a Wednesday and I'm finally done emailing and reading submissions, so I have to head back to my gloriously messy apartment and prepare for a showing of Project Runway tonight. I'll post later about some of my exploits (i.e. book release parties, Aaron Kunin's new novel, and my new tattoo!).

Meanwhile, check out what I've been doing with my weekdays: fenceportal.org

-LC

The Marginal Lit Fest is marginalizing my sleep

I'm often able to discern my own mental state by tracking my dreams. A few months ago, it was dreams about the fax machine in the House being out of ink. A few months before that, it was dreams about getting my skin caught on the nails sticking out of dozens of empty poster frames. This week, it's all dreams about missing chairs, kitchen disasters, and ill speaking guests. This week, the Literature at the Margins Festival and the rest of our March/April events are on my mind.

Doing Things the Hard Way: An Introduction

I suppose it's about time I spoke up.  I'm Emma, the Printer's Apprentice, and you can usually find me in the Print Shop, often at bizarre hours.

I'm not afraid of lead, or dirt, or tedious, repetitive tasks.  I'm old-fashioned, but I love modern architecture and modernist poetry.  I love books, especially hand-made and the act of making them.  I throw pots and make broken glass into jewelry.  I've dallied in chainmaille jewelry, too.  I can crochet but not knit.  I've been known to walk around with oil paint, printing inks, pen, or charcoal on my face for hours before noticing.  Favorite authors include Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett... favorite poets include Wallace Stevens, C.K. Williams, William Carlos Williams, Philip Larkin...

Here's a very basic sketch of what the Print Shop is all about... (and what you can do, too, in the Intro to Letterpress workshop)...

It starts with this:

 

We pick letters out of a case of lead type (individual letters), and arrange them to make something that looks like this:

 

On a C&P Printing Press from 1912:

To produce beautiful broadsides: 

You know all those posters that are finally starting to return to the Literary House walls?  (Hooray!)  We made some of them in the Print Shop, like the Mary Karr in the dining room and the Kathy Wagner over the fireplace.  Check it out. 

And please, come say hi, anytime.  I work Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon, and I'd love to show you around. 

Idiots'Fest 2008: Subscribers that Rock!

IDIOTS'FEST 2008: Subscribers that Rock is a two-day literature and music festival in celebration of the Idiots'Books subscribership. THE LIT HOUSE IS A SUBSCRIBER, SO YOU'RE ALL INVITED! Come see and hear authors, musicians, comics, idiots, and physicists. Come eat slow-cooked Virginia barbeque. Come see lovely, historic Chestertown Maryland in the dead of winter! Just come.

Visit the IDIOTS'FEST website!

GUESTS
Jim Shepard, Brian Slattery, Drew Bunting, Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr, Brian Wecht, Rich Flynn, Aidan Shepard, Victor Wishna

SCHEDULE

Friday, Feb 15, Rose O'Neill Literary House 6:00-8:00pm
Robbi and Matthew read from their work while musicians Brian SlatteryDrew Bunting attempt to distract them with musical instruments
Drew Bunting and Brian Slattery play original and unoriginal music while singing and playing the following: guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and kazoo

Saturday, Feb 16
The Bookplate backroom, 112 South Cross Street, Chestertown, MD
2:30-5:30pm
Victor Wishna, stand-up comic stands up and acts comical
Robbi and Swanson read from their work while musicians contribute tones, both dulcet and jarring
Brian Slattery, author of Spaceman Blues: A Love Song, "rocks" his book while musicians Drew Bunting (guitar), Brian Wecht (keyboard, sax, and clarinet), Rich Flynn (bass), Aidan Shepard (percussion), and Matthew Swanson (harmonica) provide the score. Offensive to the eye and ear
Intermission: Brian Slattery and Victor Wishna will sign their books; also, the audience may rest
Dr. Brian A. Wecht, B.A., PhD., member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, delivers a stirring lecture titled "String Theory for Idiots" which may involve musicians
Jim Shepard, novelist, short story writer, and finalist for the 2007 National Book Award in Fiction will appear before you. Perhaps he will read. Perhaps he will simply stand and stare. Regardless, you will be grateful to have been there

5:30-6:00
Jim Shepard will sign books for adoring fans and bitter enemies alike

6:00-7:00
Virginia barbeque-brisket, ribs, chicken, seafood, veggies; you will eat a lot and feel sick. $10 a head, $5 for WAC students!

7:00-10:00
The Reverend Drew Bunting and his backing band "Textual Healing" take you places that you have never been. Band members are Brian Wecht, Rich Flynn, Aidan Shepard, and Matthew Swanson

Lit House to welcome Idiots!

I'm pleased and excited to announce that the Lit House will be playing host to the creators of Idiots'Books this month!

On Thursday, February 7 at 4:30pm, please join us at the Rose O'Neill Literary House, 407 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD, for HE SAID/SHE SAW, a presentation on collaboration between writers and visual artists with freelance writer Matthew Swanson and visiting lecturer in art Robbi Behr. Together, Robbi and Matthew are the creators of Idiots'Books, which you can visit online HERE. (I recommend subscribing!)

Matthew and Robbi are a true creative force here in town, and are experts at what they do. And let me tell you, what they do is quite unique. Matthew writes and Robbi draws, but it's so much more than that. They also started a book publishing enterprise from scratch! If you are into learning more about the process of graphic narrative or have questions about working as a collaborator with a writer or an artist, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE TO TALK TO!

Should you be interested in taking a peek into the mind of Matthew, HERE is where you should look.
As for Robbi, her mind resides HERE.

February 15 and 16 are also big days for the Literary House, Idiots'Books, and The Bookplate, as we help launch IDIOTS'FEST 2008: Subscribers that Rock! Take a quick peek HERE for more info!

Questions about a Literary House event at the Rose O'Neill Literary House? Email me, Kate Bursick, at kbursick2@washcoll.edu!

Hope to see you soon!

K.A.B.