Just a few bits and pieces off the top of my head, until (and if) longitudes resumes more substantial essays:
I finished a good book entitled Up From the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times, by Aaron Sachs. It’s a sort of combined mini-biography of both authors that draws parallels between them, as well as the turbulent times in which they lived. If you’re interested, I recently reviewed it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59149225-up-from-the-depths.
Speaking of dark times, the phenomenon (disease) known as Donald Trump shows no sign of abating. As I see it, the problem is twofold: (1) an electorate loaded to capacity with birdbrains, and (2) a political party (Republican) that has completely abdicated its role as a gatekeeper of democracy. Even if Trump were to magically disappear, Republicans would just replace him with another bombastic demagogue, and one with a well-fermented base of willing acolytes. It’s not the individual; it’s an entire ideology and subculture.
I uploaded a couple new YouTube videos since my November post, covering my two nonfiction books (Evergreen Dreaming and Bluejackets in the Blubber Room), located here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgZUrVuzK88YUan7hBqCHWw. Occasionally I think I like being in front of a camera, but most of the time it makes me squirm. Think I’ll stick with the written word over audiovisual.
I began training for another marathon and was up to 16-mile runs, then felt a minor twinge in my knee that progressively worsened, so the April marathon that I so looked forward to is now in jeopardy. I’ve been resting and icing the knee. But considering what certain friends have had to undergo this past year (some of whom have left the planet), I don’t have a right to complain.
My wife has given tacit approval for me to attempt a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in spring 2025. At least, she’s agreed to me hiking California. I figure if I can make the southern boundary of Oregon, maybe I can talk her into my doing the remainder. Whatever transpires, it’s good to have fun things on the horizon to strive for. What do we do given life? We move around (Stephen Stills).
I’d like to start another book, but a proper subject eludes me. I’ve thought of a third entry in my Nick Montaigne detective series, if only to complete a hat trick, but I’ve also thought of doing a biography, or perhaps attempting literary fiction. The Shades Dripped Red has sort of stalled, sales-wise. Not to sound bitter, but today’s publishing world seems to be predominately female: women writers, readers, editors, literary agents. There are probably a number of reasons for this. Want my opinion? Great, here it is! While it’s good that white males no longer monopolize the literary sphere (and many other spheres), I’m worried that identity has now become the key criterion…not quality. That doesn’t mean there aren’t great books by women writers. There are. But when I see publishing houses bragging about their “diversity,” and editors respond to my queries with “it’s quite tough to sell male-driven (italics are mine) crime novels,” and they suggest I make “a female voice central to the narrative,” I know it’s not my imagination. Assuming I’m right, this trend doesn’t bode well for our culture/society.
Sadly, if a male-centric novel like Moby-Dick or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were to be written today, it would have a tough time ever seeing the light of day. I’ve thought about doing a book where the central character is a black lesbian midget. But that might be outside my “wheelhouse,” as sportscasters like to say. (What the hell’s a wheelhouse, anyway?)
And I’ll close with that odd or end. A big “hello” to Neil, Mike, Holly, Frank, Leah, Phil, Robert, Robin, Dave, Tad, Jennie, Mary Kaye, David, Dean, Stephen King, and everyone else who has read or commented on longitudes for so many years…have a great 1924, and see you over the next wave! (And please ignore the fucked-up ad pollution that WordPress jams in here.)
A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read—Mark Twain
Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian—Herman Melville
You must be logged in to post a comment.