Strong Verbs Are Just Better

I haven't made poetry posts for a long long time, so, in lieu of a reading-related essay highlight, have this poem:

English
Chen Chen

the most beautiful pair of words in the english language is
“eggplant parm.”
followed by “friends forever.”
really, a close second.
a distant thirtieth is “research assistant.”
of course the most beautiful single english word is
“friend.”
now some might say it’s “dragonfly”
& others “devastation”
but they would all be 122% wrong.
meanwhile a few might say these are all just other words for
summer. & they would be 211% right. & if we
were to, every last anglophone, including the staunchest
of anti-anglophiles, if we had to
gather & heatedly
debate the beautifulest trio of words intheenglishlanguage
& the shortlist included such mighty contenders as
“i love you”
&
“flaming hot cheetos”
the winner would still,
by the most mile of a mile, be
“jesus fucking christ.”

---

Currently Reading:
Fiction: Alexis Hall, The Affair of the Mysterious Letter. Sherlock Holmes but in a Lovecraftian sci-fi universe. Also the detective is Ms Sheherazad Haas, Watson is trans, and the entire narrator-voice vs actual-narrative-direction play is AMAZING. Watson, as narrator, is trying to keep up a facade of uptight-ness that might, just about, satisfy his religiously puritan homeland; his actual practice is far from that goal. AMAZING.
Poetry: None, although I did read an entire short book of poems.
Lit Mag: Lapham's Quarterly on friendship, although naturally I let it lapse.
Non-fiction for personal interest: Jen Winston, "Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much". So far, less statisfying than Winston's podcast appearances. Assorted others on haitus.
For work: "The Tinker of ..." (I forget where), a later riff on The Cobbler of Canterbury, and more easily available online. I'm promised dirty jokes. So far I've found a peculiar revision of the Reeve's Tale. Also, Marion Turner's Chaucer: A European Life, which I alternately admire and deplore.

Recently Finished, or at least, finished at some point:

Justice Calling by Annie Bellet

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Shallow but I thought it seemed promising.

The Jade Temptress by Jeannie Lin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really loved this book. It's a salutory lesson, because I don't particularly identify with any of the characters - but the balance of characters, the historical detail, and the tight control over the mystery plot, all add up to A++.

Capturing the Silken Thief by Jeannie Lin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Clearly a practice run for the Pingkang Li Mysteries; pleasing enough in its own right.

In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Huh. I was not satisfied by this novella *as a novella*. It felt too... thin. As a queer work, I... look I really have a deep curiosity about human/dragon sex, and I GUESS you don't have to satisfy me on that point. But if you're not going to satisfy me on dragon sex AND you're going to give me short-story level worldbuilding, I will... accept what I'm given and read your full-length novels, I guess!
Murder of Crows by Annie Bellet

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Look, I'm a white Australian, my tolerance for "white colonial author tries to wrestle with their context" is HIGH. But this exceeded it. The child murderer plot not only exeeded it but CRASHED AND BURNED IN FLAMES. (I read this in a summer when a batch of residential school atrocities in Canada were revleaned; I know that's not where this book is set, but also, I am Australian. I recognise "haunted by one's own people's atrocities" when I see it.)
I will read no more Annie Bellet, and I have also lost a few notches of respect for Kevin Sonney on the basis of his recommendation of these books.

That can be all for post-dated reviews, and the lesson from THIS batch is: read more non-white people if you must read genre & pulp fiction.

Up Next: As with last time, I give up predicting what I will read next. My most recent TBR addtions and/or kobo purchases:

Melissa Febos, Girlhood. I think I might finally be Gender enough to read this. Maybe.

Rae Spoon, How to (Hide) Be(hind) Your Songs: having read Spoon & Coyote's Gender Failure, I desire more

Lidia Conklin Rainbow, Rainbow: Queer short fiction. I no longer remember where I got the rec

Tom Spanbauer, The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon: First Nations (Turtle Island) bi+ fiction. I THINK I got this rec from Coyote and Spoon.

Travis Alabanza, None of the Above, queer memoir

Edgar Gomez, High-Risk Homosexual, also queer memoir. Thing is, I listened to Gomez on Gender Reveal (podcast) and I know the memoir is written as a gay latinx man, and they no longer consider themselves a man. I hover over the buy button, but the blurb copy deters me every time.

---

A Few Links:

Elizabeth Freeman (Critical Inquiry Blog), Without you I am not necessarily nothing. With Berlant's passing, the internet swirled with people who felt slighted, crushed by Berlant; people who wrote panegrics to Berlant; and everything in between. This was an in-between.

Lily Osler (McSweeney's), Guys, I swear I'm only transitioning so I can cheat at girl's sports. I THINK this falls on the right side of comedy, but I could be wrong.

99 Percent Invisible, Always read the plaque: mapping 10,000 global markers and memorials. Neat. See also the plaque for the Wild Oat's Underdone Asparagus Boil.

Sarah Moon (The Rambling), A Love Letter for Anne of Green Gables.

James Parker (The Atlantic): Down with morning people.