The Tale of Genji

I recently just finished reading Japan’s national epic, “The Tale of Genji.” As far as epics go, it’s pretty different from Western stories like those of Homer or Virgil. There are no battles, not much in the way of Gods or Goddesses, or even magic. Perhaps, most intriguing, however, the tale was written by a woman, Murasaki Shikibu.

Written sometime around the year 1000, this epic reads more like a novel. Since most male authors at the time in Japan wrote in Chinese, considered the higher form of calligraphy at the time, courtly women were actually the first to write epic poetry in Japanese. As a result, “The Tale of Genji,” which centers on a man, deals mostly with concepts central to courtly women during the ancient/medieval period. Genji, a good-looking aristocrat, is something of a male Helen of Troy, around which the central female characters (who inevitably become his lovers) revolve. Much is made about his good looks, and the clothes of women at court, as well as the political and romantic intrigues.

This book isn’t for the fainthearted. Most translations run in excess of 1200 pages. Nonetheless, it has striking characters that seem as real today as they must have been a thousand years ago. Genji’s lovers, like Fujibutso (the Emperor’s Consort), Murasaki (a young beauty, but too young for marriage yet), and the Lady Akashi (a rural governor’s daughter) all provide worthy heroines in of themselves. Forbidden love and courtly values, instead of detracting from the story, only add a distinctly Japanese flavor that allows the reader to truly travel back in time and immerse themselves in the tale. 

Non-Fiction November

Along with NanoWriMo, November is also known as Non-Fiction month. This month, non-fiction writers are encouraged to strut their stuff regarding their favorite topics and/or subjects of most expertise. Although I’m primarily a fiction writer myself, I do like to spotlight this unusual aspect of November when great non-fiction contests and publications flood the scene.  

So, if you find yourself as a budding writer and may have found fiction not quite your thing, try out some non-fiction this month. In the publishing world, nothing comes easy, but writers of non-fiction do have slightly better odds at getting published and with such a wide variety of real life material to choose from the genre only grows more fascinating by the day. Everything from history to biography to science counts as but a few of the wide range of subjects from which to choose.

Writing non-fiction can also be a good career move. If you work in academia, publishing non-fiction can often be a requirement and a means of not only gaining prestige, but also securing better teaching opportunities.  Some of my favorite non-fiction books were written by professors I had in college. So, even if you don’t write some non-fiction this month I suggest you find some to read, and experience just a taste of what’s out there.

Publishing in the New Yorker

Today I wanted to give a brief shout-out to Brian Crawford, a fellow writer I met at the San Francisco Writer’s conference, who just got some of his short fiction published in the Hint Fiction Anthology run by the New Yorker. An anthology of very short stories and some very big talent, it’s definitely worth checking out. A pretty darn impressive feat!

Brian has a blog entitled The Leaf Blower and is also worth a browse. He writes thriller novels and like myself is still looking for that big break into the publishing world, namely through a literary agent. But with something published by the New Yorker I think he’s well on his way.

So give yourself a treat and check it out this weekend. Happy Friday everyone! 

World Series Champs!

Well, it finally happened! The San Francisco Giants won the World Series. The partying in and around the Bay Area has been relatively non-stop as the team begins their parade through the city today. 

My wife and I enjoyed watching my favorite player, Brian Wilson, pitch the last strikeout of the game, clinching it for the Giants. Our neighborhood promptly erupted in shouts of joy and fireworks. We drove to a nearby pub to meet up with friends where along the way everyone honked their horns and came outside as the entire city and environs commenced with the celebrations. 

People in the Marina stopped traffic and stood on buses and the cops didn’t even mind. It’s been a heck of a year and a heck of a season, and I’m just glad I was here to see it. And yes, I finally shaved (but not until after we won). 

NanoWriMo

November first kicks off NanoWriMo, otherwise known as National Writing Month. A friend of mine recently hipped me to this site and all the great literary endeavors happening this month. One contest I’d like to highlight in particular is the NanoWriMo contest for starting and completing the first draft of a 50,000 word novel all within the span of the month of November. Very cool, but, of course, easier said than done.

The website has detailed instructions, but the gist of it revolves around dedicating every day this month to crafting a new novel. It’s a tall order that would require a writer to finish over sixteen-hundred words a day with no breaks in order to meet the deadline of November 30. Needless to say, I’m game, how about you?

Personally, I’m not in it so much for the contest, but more as a personal challenge to see how much I can write. If I could keep up that kind of writing pace even for only a few days I’d feel pretty good, but I’ve never tried to sustain that level of productivity for an entire month straight. Currently, I’m in the throws of a historical novel and about halfway through. But I figure I’ve got another 50,000 words to go before I complete the second half. What better way than to challenge myself to a dual of words during NanoWriMo? So, the real question is, what creative breakthroughs will you challenge yourself to tackling in the great month of November?   

Don’t Fear the Reaper

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In wishing you all a Happy Halloween weekend I thought I’d make today’s post short and sweet. I was just listening to easily my favorite song ever, Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” and thought to myself for the trillionth time what an awesome song it is and what a great Halloween-ish tune it is as well. Need I say more?

I don’t believe in categorizing art much, and I feel one kind of writing is much like another in many ways, whether it’s for a play, a novel, or a song. So this weekend while you’re giving out candy or at a party don’t forget to blast a little Blue Oyster Cult for me. Have a great weekend and a very Happy Halloween.

P.S. I gotta have more cowbell!

Horseman, Pass By

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Last evening or so I saw on Jeopardy a category referring to famous gravestones. I, of course, immediately though of William B. Yeats’ grave and what with Halloween just around the corner I figured I would mix in some literary lore with the spooky spirit of the season. For those of you unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, allow me to briefly explain.

If you ever find yourself in west Ireland, on the road north of Sligo, you will find beneath the breathtaking mountains near the sea a grave in a chapel churchyard from the great poet Yeats. My wife and I visited his grave there and paid homage to the Irish writer, but I must admit that the famous last line on his gravestone has always both intrigued and befuddled me…“Horseman, Pass By.”

Ireland is of course replete with famous last words, such as Oscar Wilde’s famous remark on his deathbed about the terrible wall paper in his room, joking that between himself and the wallpaper, one of them must go. But Yeats’ gravestone has inspired many writers, including Pulitzer Prize winning Larry McMurtry who borrowed Yeats’ famous quote as the title of his first novel. Other gravestones of authors around the world are probably equally famous as well, like Edgar Allen Poe’s, which every year receives anonymous bottles of booze to commemorate his birthday. There are others I’m sure I’m forgetting to mention or do not yet know about. So this Halloween season, let me know of any other such unusual grave markers from poets and playwrights past. And who knows…you may just glean something from beyond the grave…