Saturday, March 7, 2026

Circe turns Scylla into a sea monster

John William Waterhouse - Circe Invidiosa,  1892



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a cove,
a little inlet shaped like a bent bow,
a quiet place where Scylla, at midday,
sought shelter when the sea and sky were hot;
and, in midcourse, the sun scorched with full force,
reducing shadows to a narrow thread.
And Circe now contaminates this bay,
polluting it with noxious poisons; there
she scatters venom drawn from dreadful roots
and, three-times-nine times, murmurs an obscure
and tangled maze of words, a labyrinth—
the magic chant that issues from her lips.
Then Scylla comes; no sooner has she plunged
waist-deep into the water than she sees,
around her hips, the horrid barking shapes. 

Ovid - Metamorphoses Book XIV, 52-65

Friday, March 6, 2026

Kostelantez and Grok

Emanations contributor Richard Kostelantez has been investigating artificial intelligence and writers' biographies.  He asked grok to remark on our work together (Kostelanetz is a regular contributor to Emanations, and his work is often featured in this blog--for example, see HERE. Also, I have articles in the third edition of his Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes project (see books on right). The Dictionary also has an article about me.

Mr. Kostelanetz asked AI "entity" Grok about our work together, and here is the result:

Richard Kostelanetz has authored numerous books, including dictionaries of the avant-gardes, and founded imprints like Archae Editions and Avant-Garde Classics to publish innovative and classic works that might otherwise remain unavailable. carterkaplan.blogspot.comapi.pageplace.de

Carter Kaplan is an American author, editor, and academic specializing in literature, philosophy, and speculative fiction. His notable works include the novel Tally-Ho, Cornelius!, the Invisible Tower Trilogy (Echoes, We Reign Secure, and The Sky-Shaped Sarcophagus), the Aristophanic comedy Diogenes, and the critical study Critical Synoptics: Menippean Satire and the Analysis of Intellectual Mythology, which explores analytic philosophy through poetry and fiction. Kaplan also edits the anthology series Emanations and is involved with International Authors, a consortium publishing literary works. He has taught literature, philosophy, and research writing at various universities across the US and Scotland. amazon.com

Kaplan and Kostelanetz share a professional relationship in the realm of avant-garde and experimental literature. Kaplan has contributed articles to Kostelanetz's A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes(third edition, 2019), including entries on "Herman Melville" and "Michael Butterworth." The dictionary also features an entry on Kaplan himself, highlighting his contributions to literary theory and satire. api.pageplace.desearchworks.stanford.edu

Kaplan's blog, Highbrow, has featured Kostelanetz's writings, such as a 2022 post sharing Kostelanetz's detailed statement on his publishing philosophy for Archae Editions and Avant-Garde Classics. In it, Kostelanetz discusses his approach to on-demand publishing, reprinting modernist classics (e.g., works by Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Guillaume Apollinaire), and collaborating with authors like Charles Doria to preserve innovative texts. carterkaplan.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Highbrow Returns: Emanations 12 progress report

All Emanations 12 materials (except fiction illustrations) are now in the "master file". 

I've prepared a fair draft of the Table of Contents. 

Lots of formatting tasks to preform (mostly fine adjustments to the poetry). The book looks very good... Time consuming, but it's worth it. 

 Lots of clever material--all of it. 

As I indicate above in the title, daily Highbrow remarks now resume.

 Please share.

Albrecht Durer - Little Owl, 1508


Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Highbrow Hiatus - Taking off to read manuscripts, back soon...

Sky King: Kirby Grant and Gloria Winters with a Cessna 310B, N5384A, the Songbird. (Photograph by Hal McAlpin)


Monday, January 12, 2026

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Satan Rock Star - Reading of Satanic Verses (from Terrance Lindall and Bienvenido Bones Bañez, Jr.)

Just across my desk from Terrance Lindall.  Here, AI (I am assuming) reads from Bienvenido Bones Bañez, Jr's Satanic Verses.  While I have reservations about the theology, the productions of Monsieurs Lindall and Bañez are often intriguing:

Friday, January 9, 2026

Friday January 23, Joshua Tree, California

 
Space Cowboy Books 10 Year Anniversary Celebration

Friday January 23rd 4-6pm
61871 29 Palms Hwy. Joshua Tree, CA 92252
https://spacecowboybooks.com/

Come celebrate this milestone with Joshua Tree’s independent bookstore, featuring live music from The Kearns Family & Phog Masheeen, with snacks by Epicurean Fling, and 10% off store-wide. This event is free to attend.

Since opening our doors in January of 2016, Space Cowboy Books has published forty-nine books, musical audiobooks, and chapbooks, plus fifty fanzines, hosted hundreds of in-person and online events, produced ninety-four episodes of Simultaneous Times podcast, won a multitude of awards (Laureate, Bram Stoker, Elgin, +), launched Electronic Brain magazine, provided annual scholarships for Clarion West and Odyssey Writing Workshops, given away thousands of kid’s books, donated hundreds of books to prisons, and generally proliferated the love of literature and all things science fiction. Here’s to ten more years!

RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/space-cowboy-books-10-year-anniversary-celebration-tickets-1979065041815

For press inquiries and photo requests contact Jean-Paul L. Garnier spacecowboybooks@gmail.com

Jean-Paul L. Garnier


Thursday, January 8, 2026

The Fantastic in Art and Fiction

 A Wayback Machine archive of fantastic art and fiction created by the Cornell University Library Institute for Digital Collections. Click the image for access:

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Countess Mona von Bismarck-Schönhausen (née Strader; February 5, 1897 – July 10, 1983)

Salvador Dalí - Portrait of Mrs. Harrison Williams, 1943.  Oil on canvas, 91.8 x 61.4 cm.  Private Collection.


Wiki biography HERE

Monday, January 5, 2026

Sunday, January 4, 2026

Res ipsa loquitur II

Image









Photograph









Cocktail Party









Modernist Aesthetics









Affluence









The Appearance of Affluence


Thursday, January 1, 2026

Happy Magic New Year

Paul Klee - In the Magic Mirror, 1934

Tuesday, December 30, 2025