Drew Morse (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
drew_morse), I believe, had intended to ask me to read my winning poem, "The Journey to Kailash," at the conclusion of the ReaderCon Rhysling Slan. It's a good thing we didn't try it, because as it turns out the blasted thing takes 10 minutes to read properly, and I don't think it has quite the snap and crackle (or, to quote the short poem winner, "electric shot") that I prefer for performance pieces.
However, Sonya (sovay) asked me to make a recording of the poem, and silly me, I've done it. I hope anyone who knows how to speak Hindi will forgive my guesses at pronunciation. I haven't tried to resolve some of the poem's innate contradictions; in my head, Ganesh speaks with a Brooklyn accent, not an Indian one, but I've made no attempt to approximate either.
Since I need to do it somewhere, I should thank the folks who helped give this poem shape, including John Peery, who gave me the idea and let me cannibalize his life just a little; Vandana Singh, who critiqued my Ganesh lore; Cathy Reniere, who showed me why my first draft didn't feel complete; Ian Watson, who checked over the final draft; my wife Anita, who saw it through all its stages; Harold Bowes and Mardel James at Strange Horizons, who bought it for publication. Folks, thanks so much.
Enjoy?
drew_morse), I believe, had intended to ask me to read my winning poem, "The Journey to Kailash," at the conclusion of the ReaderCon Rhysling Slan. It's a good thing we didn't try it, because as it turns out the blasted thing takes 10 minutes to read properly, and I don't think it has quite the snap and crackle (or, to quote the short poem winner, "electric shot") that I prefer for performance pieces. However, Sonya (
sovay) asked me to make a recording of the poem, and silly me, I've done it. I hope anyone who knows how to speak Hindi will forgive my guesses at pronunciation. I haven't tried to resolve some of the poem's innate contradictions; in my head, Ganesh speaks with a Brooklyn accent, not an Indian one, but I've made no attempt to approximate either.Since I need to do it somewhere, I should thank the folks who helped give this poem shape, including John Peery, who gave me the idea and let me cannibalize his life just a little; Vandana Singh, who critiqued my Ganesh lore; Cathy Reniere, who showed me why my first draft didn't feel complete; Ian Watson, who checked over the final draft; my wife Anita, who saw it through all its stages; Harold Bowes and Mardel James at Strange Horizons, who bought it for publication. Folks, thanks so much.
Enjoy?