Powerful prose and an intriguing mystery as to what it all portends...
Incidentally, speaking of German werewolves, I'm sure you know that the 'Nazis-After-The-Nazis', the ones left in 1945 that refused to surrender, were called the Werewolf Organization?
Hey Murph. Yes, I'm familiar with the werewolf organization. I can't have a convo with my dad without him strolling into those good ole Adolf days, which means I often come away with solid story ideas-- this one not included, just to be clear. Most recently we chanced upon a weird commonality, though. I mentioned Zone of Interest and how it sent me into a tailspin and he confessed that he never watches those movies. Never even saw Schindler's List. Can't stomach it. I totally get it. There is such a thing as too much evil-- even for a horror fiend.
Anyway (and as you know), I've loved your pieces this last year. I've yet to catch up to your de Sade collab with HG, but you always have something special going. Thanks to you I'm currently going through Kristeva's Powers of Horror. Her theory of abjection is fascinating. And just so you know, Watchful Wolf is in my mental shopping cart for July!
I'm always up against it but that has never stopped me from buying books, let alone books I want. Factor said book was written by someone I greatly admire and it's a done deal!
Well I won’t refuse a sale but as I said, happy to comp you the ebook version. I can’t do the same for the print version, but I’m not really into print books anyway.
Well put! And considering the romantic subject may approach the sublime through recognizing the endlessness that is the other, Kristeva makes me very, very happy.
It really is an excellent book isn't it? To me it's the triumph of the French critical theory wave of the 1970s. You can stuff D&G and above all Baudrillard, Kristeva is really going for that outcast essence of the rejected and abhorred, which is where you and I have pitched our tents...
I take it we're talking about Derrida and Girard alongside Baudrillard, right? If so, I can't agree more. It also goes a long way towards explaining why most people don't like MFA's... I think. It's the acacacademy of it all. And maybe it also explains why lit professors continue to invalidate a genre they stubbornly put down as "niche", while film studies *do*-- on the whole-- tend to venture boldly. They have sharper minds available, as yet unclogged with dust.
Actually I was talking about Deleuze and Guattari who are a lot more trendy in theory circles these days. Girard I'm just looking into right now and his lit essays are quite good I think though overburdened with theory.
To be fair, not all academia or even MFA programs eschew the gothic tradition, they simply tend to be snotty about the present popular-populist horror genre in the Steven King mould. A good meeting ground between the two is Angela Carter, Iain Banks and Patrick McGrath, Brit authors who do gothic grotesque in an elegant style acceptable to the academics.
And to be absolutely fair to Deleuze, he wrote a lengthy appreciation of the 1971 horror movie Willard about the boy who controlled rats. So there's that...
Thanks Wendy! This comment (and your lovely restack) really made my day! It happened a little faster than I had anticipated but it's good to be (officially) back. The heatwave I'm currently suffering through here is perfect to fuel the screech and clank of Flyingheart prose. Once I'm done updating my commonplace book, I'll be catching up on my TBR so be sure to give me some of your recent favorites!
You might enjoy a jokey fantasy story. This is the start of a series full of loopy characters set in the Dark Ages (650-750 AD, give or take a decade).
Hey Liz! Never *really* left-- see below. I've been keeping tabs on my favorite creatives, which very much includes the mad genius painting in the murky halls of the Palace. I'm so glad to see your stories are growing and I do hope your last two projects make it to print. Remember: every Zimmers original that rolls out on paper ends up on my shelf. That's a promise.
Thank you! And I could say the same of you, Lindsey. I was very happy to see your return to (posted) fiction. I would've said so but I've been facing my own existential/creative issues and that kind of thing can be contagious. As I stated below, I figured this post was just me shouting into to mountains. Now that I'm out, and the echo didn't kill me Frederick Brown style, I guess I'll have to keep going. Right? Right. Anyway, thanks a million, Lyndsey. Glad to be back!
Hey Sean! I've been around... I don't think I've missed a post of yours, scurrying around out of sight, although-- has your output slowed a bit? Busy off-platform? Anyway, I missed the reply because I was under the impression this was an off-the-radar kinda post. I had zero idea this actually had any visibility. So much for my Phantom of the Stack dreams!
Hey, bud! My output is probably higher than it's ever been, but it's all off-platform working on a novella. How about you? Well, accident or not, I loved seeing your post come across in my feed.
Well, it took some time getting over my lost materials. I've started another commonplace book (on paper this time) and I'm musing my way back up to cruising speed. I'm in a weird creative space tho. Pulsating amorphous process mass looking to settle on something and draining it down to fur and bone-- if that makes sense. Maybe it's the heat. And the novella? Print first? Which reminds me, do I have Cherry Kills?? I need to check on that like rn
Powerful prose and an intriguing mystery as to what it all portends...
Incidentally, speaking of German werewolves, I'm sure you know that the 'Nazis-After-The-Nazis', the ones left in 1945 that refused to surrender, were called the Werewolf Organization?
Hey Murph. Yes, I'm familiar with the werewolf organization. I can't have a convo with my dad without him strolling into those good ole Adolf days, which means I often come away with solid story ideas-- this one not included, just to be clear. Most recently we chanced upon a weird commonality, though. I mentioned Zone of Interest and how it sent me into a tailspin and he confessed that he never watches those movies. Never even saw Schindler's List. Can't stomach it. I totally get it. There is such a thing as too much evil-- even for a horror fiend.
Anyway (and as you know), I've loved your pieces this last year. I've yet to catch up to your de Sade collab with HG, but you always have something special going. Thanks to you I'm currently going through Kristeva's Powers of Horror. Her theory of abjection is fascinating. And just so you know, Watchful Wolf is in my mental shopping cart for July!
PS if you can afford to buy my volume, fine, but if you're cash-strapped let me know and I'll send you an ebook version gratis. Cheers!
I'm always up against it but that has never stopped me from buying books, let alone books I want. Factor said book was written by someone I greatly admire and it's a done deal!
Well I won’t refuse a sale but as I said, happy to comp you the ebook version. I can’t do the same for the print version, but I’m not really into print books anyway.
Kristeva: "The abject is edged with the sublime". And ain't that what it's all about, this here, what we're doing? Those seven words say everything.
Well put! And considering the romantic subject may approach the sublime through recognizing the endlessness that is the other, Kristeva makes me very, very happy.
It really is an excellent book isn't it? To me it's the triumph of the French critical theory wave of the 1970s. You can stuff D&G and above all Baudrillard, Kristeva is really going for that outcast essence of the rejected and abhorred, which is where you and I have pitched our tents...
I take it we're talking about Derrida and Girard alongside Baudrillard, right? If so, I can't agree more. It also goes a long way towards explaining why most people don't like MFA's... I think. It's the acacacademy of it all. And maybe it also explains why lit professors continue to invalidate a genre they stubbornly put down as "niche", while film studies *do*-- on the whole-- tend to venture boldly. They have sharper minds available, as yet unclogged with dust.
Actually I was talking about Deleuze and Guattari who are a lot more trendy in theory circles these days. Girard I'm just looking into right now and his lit essays are quite good I think though overburdened with theory.
To be fair, not all academia or even MFA programs eschew the gothic tradition, they simply tend to be snotty about the present popular-populist horror genre in the Steven King mould. A good meeting ground between the two is Angela Carter, Iain Banks and Patrick McGrath, Brit authors who do gothic grotesque in an elegant style acceptable to the academics.
And to be absolutely fair to Deleuze, he wrote a lengthy appreciation of the 1971 horror movie Willard about the boy who controlled rats. So there's that...
Welcome back!! Great stream-of-consciousness story, Ken.
Oh, this is a great day! Welcome back!
Thanks Wendy! This comment (and your lovely restack) really made my day! It happened a little faster than I had anticipated but it's good to be (officially) back. The heatwave I'm currently suffering through here is perfect to fuel the screech and clank of Flyingheart prose. Once I'm done updating my commonplace book, I'll be catching up on my TBR so be sure to give me some of your recent favorites!
You might enjoy a jokey fantasy story. This is the start of a series full of loopy characters set in the Dark Ages (650-750 AD, give or take a decade).
https://substack.com/@wendycockcroft/note/c-131363084?r=7vbsc
I started it last year and followed prompts to the most recent installment. I need to give it a proper beginning.
I'll check it out today!
You’re back! And how! Feverishly excellent.
Hey Liz! Never *really* left-- see below. I've been keeping tabs on my favorite creatives, which very much includes the mad genius painting in the murky halls of the Palace. I'm so glad to see your stories are growing and I do hope your last two projects make it to print. Remember: every Zimmers original that rolls out on paper ends up on my shelf. That's a promise.
Thanks, Ken! I’m just sooo happy to see Flyingheart words rolling out!
Amazing...thanks for coming back. <3
Thank you! And I could say the same of you, Lindsey. I was very happy to see your return to (posted) fiction. I would've said so but I've been facing my own existential/creative issues and that kind of thing can be contagious. As I stated below, I figured this post was just me shouting into to mountains. Now that I'm out, and the echo didn't kill me Frederick Brown style, I guess I'll have to keep going. Right? Right. Anyway, thanks a million, Lyndsey. Glad to be back!
We’re all doing the best we can. :) We can do this.
Damn dude gone for days and then come back with a pop! <3
Hey Sean! I've been around... I don't think I've missed a post of yours, scurrying around out of sight, although-- has your output slowed a bit? Busy off-platform? Anyway, I missed the reply because I was under the impression this was an off-the-radar kinda post. I had zero idea this actually had any visibility. So much for my Phantom of the Stack dreams!
Hey, bud! My output is probably higher than it's ever been, but it's all off-platform working on a novella. How about you? Well, accident or not, I loved seeing your post come across in my feed.
Well, it took some time getting over my lost materials. I've started another commonplace book (on paper this time) and I'm musing my way back up to cruising speed. I'm in a weird creative space tho. Pulsating amorphous process mass looking to settle on something and draining it down to fur and bone-- if that makes sense. Maybe it's the heat. And the novella? Print first? Which reminds me, do I have Cherry Kills?? I need to check on that like rn