giants and motorcycles
Gentlest of readers,
It has been a weird month--and, in Michigan at least, a paradoxically beautiful one, with glorious warm fall weather that foreshadows harsher climates to come.
I have lots of things to tell you about. Here's the short version:
- A book reading and a book signing in Cleveland
- A recommendation for books about protest and social change
- A graphic novel review
- A cheerful interview about North Continent Ribbon
- Some fascinating kinetic art at the Simons Center
- A cat.
The book reading is at Mac's Backs in Cleveland on Saturday, November 23, at 5 PM. I'm teaming up with Marie Vibbert to chat about North Continent Ribbon and celebrate the re-release of her motorcycles-in-space novel Galactic Hellcats. Ask us about unions, class dynamics in outer space, and whether it's better to drive a spaceship or become one.
I'll be back in Cleveland the following weekend for a signing at Loganberry Books. Look for me at 4 PM on Saturday, November 30 as part of the Larchmere Holiday stroll.
When I was writing North Continent Ribbon, one of the references I relied on was Why Civil Resistance Works, a book by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan that describes the strategic logic of nonviolent protest, with case studies of successful and unsuccessful movements from all over the world. Chenoweth has a shorter guide, Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know, that came out in 2021. If you're trying to imagine what a successful protest movement would even look like, Chenoweth might have the framework that you need.
I reviewed the new graphic novel We Called Them Giants, which is about a onetime foster kid navigating the world after most of its inhabitants disappear. The story runs more or less on fairy tale rules, if you remember that fairy tales can be terrifying.
On a lighter note, I did a mini interview recently with the I Heart SapphFic site. Check it out if you're curious about names or celebrations on Nakharat!
This week I've been at the Simons Center on Long Island for a research conference. Today I hiked over to the harbor and caught a loon in between dives:
But my usual between-talks distraction has been a fascinating art installation by Daniel Rozin, who designs kinetic sculptures that mirror the viewer's movements. This YouTube video gives you a sense of the gentle cascades from the wood-and-metal chopsticks mirror.
Here's Kosmas in a state of bliss, with fangs:
Yours,
Ursula.