something wonderful is happening...

O Sovran, vertuous, precious of all Trees
In Paradise, of operation blest
To Sapience, hitherto obscur'd, infam'd
And thy fair Fruit let hang, as to no end
Created; but henceforth my early care,
Not without Song, each Morning, and due praise
Shall tend thee, and the fertil burden ease
Of thy full branches offer'd free to all;
Till dieted by thee I grow mature
In knowledge, as the Gods who all things know;

       -- Paradise Lost, Book IX, 795-804

Drawn Closer by Amy B. Trosino

On behalf of International Authors, I am happy to announce the publication of Amy B. Trosino's collection of pen and ink drawings, Drawn Closer.

"The pen and ink drawings in this book are samples from my life placed under a microscope. They are highly autobiographical and invite the viewer to look closely for hidden and obvious meanings in detail. Through this technique, the immersion into every aspect of being, from the minute cellular level of the physical to the vast intangible potency of the spiritual, is revealed."                                                                                      --Amy B. Trosino

Click here to view the Amazon sales page for Drawn Closer.

Interview

Philip Murray-Lawson and I discuss academics, modern philosophy,  the avant-garde, literary publishing, International Authors, and Emanations in his new interview blog, EVOLUTION-ABC.  Click the title to view our witty repartee.

Reclamation by Elkie Riches

On behalf of International Authors, I am happy to announce the publication of the novel Reclamation by Elkie Riches.

Leda Varsis is a shaman--more precisely, she is a member of the Shaman Division, serving the global military order that has survived the apocalyptic event known as the Turning. Adapted from past mysticism to military specifications, the Shaman Division provides communication channels between the enemy and mankind. When Leda is assigned to the military base of ex-London, she intends to carry out her role but the communications that come to her are not what she expects.

Characteristic of Elkie Riches' previous work are her readable, precise and often-elegant prose, and her preoccupation with nature, manifested in its creative force. Both things are to be found in this novel, set in a rapidly-changing environment becoming ever more hostile for human beings. Excellent observation and a mounting sense of danger combine to create an outstanding novel that presents humanity in a way that is unflattering but which leaves room for hope.                     
                                                                        --Langdon Jones

Click here to view the Amazon sales page for Reclamation.

Elkie Riches

From the Desk of Vitasta Raina

Dismembered she lies...

..in the jungles of her mind


Vitasta Raina is the author of Writer's Block.  Her latest work will appear in the forthcoming Indo-English Poetry Anthology, to be published by Hidden Brook Press.

Emanations: Second Sight in the University Classroom

This morning I met with students from Professor Donald Hassler's Literature Studies and Honors courses at Kent State University to discuss International Authors.  This semester, Professor Hassler has students reading Emanations: Second Sight.

We covered a variety of topics, which I'll list here while they are fresh in my memory:

International Authors
Commercial Writing v. "Literary" Writing
Harry Potter
Argo
John Milton
Milton to Locke to the American Revolution
Critical Synoptics and Analytic Philosophy
The International Authors edition of The Scarlet Letter
Dario Rivarossa's  Dante was a Fantasy Writer
The Avant-Garde
Richard Kostelanetz
Michael Moorcock
Langdon Jones
Michael Butterworth
New Worlds
Jerry Cornelius
Jeffery Hodges
Vitasta Raina
Terrance Lindall
Ruud Antonius
Hayden Westfield-Bell
Dev Makhija
Elkie Riches' novel Reclamation 
Prototype X
Shamanism
Science fiction
Fantasy
"How to write"
Taking risks
Academic publishing
The concept of the refereed journal, and the role of readers and the editorial advisory board
The hegemony of the English language, globalism; corporations and globalism

Kent State University students at the meeting:

Many thanks to Professor Hassler and his students!

Inside North Korea

Secret Highbrow Dance Movements Revealed

Oonga

Congratulations to director Dev Makhija, whose new film Oonga will premier May 3 at the New York Indian Film Festival.  Produced by Speaking Tree Pictures, Oonga presents an odyssey from rural to urban India, set against a backdrop of civil strife, mining, and the commercial exploitation of the environment. There is a fair bit of myth involved as well. Dev is a member of the International Authors board of editorial advisors.

Deadline: May 30

The Emanations III deadline is May 30.

Click here to view the Call for Submissions.

The deadline approaches...

Click here to view Emanations III Call for Submissions.

In Paris this Weekend?

You are invited to

A Satirical Salon

with writer

Philip Murray-Lawson

Sunday, April 7 at 6 pm

Erin Byrne's apt, Ile St Louis

RSVP by email to reserve your spot (limited space) and for details

(contact International Authors: iasubmissions@hotmail.com)

“Parody, despite its humorous effect, is involved in the very serious business of pointing out what is to be avoided in a real world of pain and suffering.”

                  - Carter Kaplan, Critical Synoptics

What do the following works of fiction have in common?

The Satyricon, Guargantua, Gulliver’s Travels, Candide, Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick, Lolita, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy...

They are all examples of Menippean Satire.

In this talk, Mr. Murray Lawson will be giving a personal analysis of Menippean Satire. He will be discussing its classical origins, its main characteristics, its resurgence in postmodern literature and its aims which go beyond the purely literary to reach a philosophy of life itself.

Philip Murray-Lawson

Philip Murray-Lawson studied History in the University of Aberdeen. He lives in Paris where he runs Evolution-abc, a language consulting company.

His first works were translations of fin de siècle author Marcel Schwob. They appeared in Udolpho, the Gothic Society periodical, to which Philip also contributed non-fiction.

A collection of horror stories Heresies was published in 2000.

He is published in Vignettes & Postcards published by Shakespeare & Co and has contributed to Emanations, an annual anthology of avant garde writings published by International Authors.

Highbrow Compassion in Action: Marshall McLuhan counsels Norman Mailer

Update

The International Authors website has been updated to show Dario Rivarossa's new book, Dante was a Fantasy Writer. Click here to see the new description.

The Art of the Sales Link

For the consideration of Highbrow readers, here I have arrayed a sample of the various sales links available to small presses wishing to channel sales traffic to Amazon, the internet retailer.  For the purposes of demonstration, I am using International Author's most recent publication, Dante was a Fantasy Writer by Dario Rivarossa. The links not only display sales information and provide a connection to the relevant sales page, but they are also coded in such a way that the owner of the link receives a small percentage of the sale.



Dante was a Fantasy Writer

Il traduttore del mese

The international translation agency Studio Kosmos has recently named Dante Was  Fantasy Writer author Dario Rivarossa "Il traduttore del mese" (Translator of the Month).

Taken form the Studio Kosmos blog (which is in Italian), here is a translation of Dario's statement regarding the art of translation:

Translator (why otherwise would I be here? By the way, thanks to Daniela Fava [the Kosmos boss] and hello to readers), blogger (like everybody ...), writer (a late but quite successful one: the book Dante was a Fantasy Writer, recently released, has already been published also in America), journalist (with a glorious future behind), lecturer (much appreciated), illustrator (but not a prophet in his homeland, because my publishers and collectors are all in the U.S.). I try to deal with serious topics as science-fictionally as possible.

In addition to Kosmos, where I work out the Italian version of specialist articles, novels and websites, my main task consists in the translation of sci-fi novels for the classic series "Urania", with a slew of titles made in a few years.

Moreover, in these last two years, and again for at least a year, I was absorbed almost 100% in the pool of translators who takes care of the international project "The Complete Works of Raimon Panikkar," an Indo-Spanish thinker.

In my opinion, the first requirement to translate well from English is to know Italian and enrich the nuances of words, so I cultivate a series of mental gymnastics:

- Sit-com conversations with my sweet wife;
- Epic, philosophical, experimental poetry, such as Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, Milton;
- The lucid, witty, evocative art of Hokusai and Surrealism;

- The alternative science, from "what-ifs" to the most funny theories;

- The cosmic philosophy of Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Nietzsche;
- All, in the balance between the Piedmontese ironic Guido Gozzano and English epic Beowulf

Dante was a Fantasy Writer: Vampires, Werewolves, Elves, Dragons, and Other Little Things Obvious to Medieval Readers

On behalf of International Authors in association with GuardaStelle Edizioni, Italy, I am happy to announce the publication of Dante was a Fantasy Writer by Dario Rivarossa.   

The word “Middle Ages” evokes fairies, elves, dragons, witches, magical enchantments, the mysteries of the Knights Templar, and popular events such as Palios, rides, and tournaments. Did all of these things already “exist” in the Middle Ages narrated by Dante, or are they just modern fantasies? And if Dante talks about such wonders, where does he? And how?

 On a quest to answer such questions, Dario Rivarossa leads the reader on a journey through the “open secrets” of the poem par excellence of Italian literature. Here is an original and unusual essay, capturing many aspects of The Divine Comedy that remain hidden to modern readers. Conveyed in a humorous and engaging style, the study is notable for rigorous scholarship and insightful critical observations. It is a wonderfully engaging book for both students of Dante and the non-expert audience. 

The book features 100 color drawings — as many as the Cantos in The Divine Comedy — prepared by the author.

Dario Rivarossa was born in 1969 in Savigliano, Italy, hometown of the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He currently lives in Perugia, internationally known for the Renaissance painter “Perugino” (Pietro Vannucci), who was considered the greatest artist ever, at least until eclipsed by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. He is a translator (English, German, Classical Languages to Italian), essayist, journalist, lecturer (especially for the Dante Alighieri Society), and illustrator. Two series of his illustrations based on Milton’s Paradise Lost belong to prestigious collections in the United States. His experimental Miltonian haiku PL 575 have been published in the anthology Emanations: Second Sight, also published by International Authors. Happily married to Paola. Website.

To visit the Amazon sales page, click here.

© Copyright 2013 by GuardaStelle Edizioni

Original title: Dante era uno scrittore Fantasy

profound insight? courageous speculation? one thing's for sure, this "nota bene" and $1.65 will buy you a cup of coffee

In Space: Consciousness!

Gaze long into the stars

Across the steep fields above

Scan those points amidst 
Deeps of far and empty darkness

Where is consciousness?

Where out there are they?

The Pleiades, where bright

Lights reside, and they are here

angles and lines against depthless parchment background

Dream of Structure, Mechanics, Vague Emotion

I woke from a dream of no ordinary

Finely-configured craft of the air

Erstwhile biplanes, drawn extensions

Fashioned from lines and surfaces

Exotic machines with men in them

Five engines, say, arrayed around

The front of one such machine

Each propeller whirring in precessing

Phase with all the others

A rotating wave rotating as

The propellers rotated, and another

Was long and sufficient, moving deftly

As a slender dragonfly, another

Box-like, light on the air and pivoting

They were shooting at each other

Altogether at peace, wanting meaning

Intentions with nothing to resolve