Svithrir
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This crossed my Twitter feed today, some selected thoughts from Donald Barthelme to chew on. Talks about art, language, and (particularly relevant to volume VII) knowing and not-knowing in writing:
in The Other Bookshelf (Possible Spoilers) Comment by Svithrir April 2014 -
Gosh, this volume. I'm two-thirds of the way through a second reading to solidify some thoughts, but I can't wait to get this out there (it would have been a good one for the questions thread if I had thought of it sooner):
In every volum… -
You're right, of course, that there are many variations of the Orpheus tale, as there are for any myth. My apologies for not taking that into account in my earlier comment.I still think there's a difference between making a con…Oh, I should probably mention since I doubt it's common knowledge: The power to transform into animals, especially a wolf or bear, is a heroic trait throughout Russian folklore. Russian werewolves like Vassily here are heroes, not monsters.@Daniel: You're absolutely right that Todd Faber needs to be set apart. It's an excellent framing device, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was semi-autobiographical. F…"Fables and Reflections." With the exception of Todd Faber in the beginning, every story in this volume includes figures from history or myth: Emperor Norton, Robespierre, Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless, Julius and Augustus, Marco Polo, Orpheus…Some more thoughts, or half-thoughts, or expansions of thoughts:Marian, I appreciate this observation: "It does happen, often, that people so disadvantaged meet abrupt and sad and senseless ends in real life, while privileged p…(Sorry for going quiet there for a couple days, I'm catching up after having been away for the weekend.)
Marian, you make a great point about the diversity of characters in SANDMAN. But at the same time, that can't be the only way to avoi…Anyone? Living or dead?
Because given the power, I'd reach back for Peter O'Toole in his prime and have him read for Morpheus.
Like Ginger, I'm still (and probably always will be) learning how to be a good ally on trans* issues. So if I misstep here, I'm counting on people out there in the know to call me out on it.
But I will try to respond to reo's comment…Thanks for pointing out the harm done by the drawing down of the moon, reo. I had forgotten to mention that.
I agree with Joi, though, regarding Morpheus's involvement (or lack thereof, rather). He explicitly takes a "wait and see" approa…As for responsibility, Joi, I don't think authors do have a responsibility to their characters, because characters aren't real. (That's part of what made "24 Hours" so chilling. When Dee treats real people as an author might fictional ch…@Joi, you're not alone in somewhat disliking the art. Shawn McManus did most of the art for this volume, and I find it to be hit or miss. His wider shots can be very good, but h…@Matt, oh certainly, the name "Shaper" fits. After all, it's more or less a direct translation of "Morpheus." The question is, why then do they call him "Shaper" instead of "Mo…@twodogs9: Huh! Well that's fitting, considering Freud's ideas are cuckoo! :P (Freud was very influential in changing how we think about psychology, but most of his …More about the ancient Thessalian witches and the drawing down of the moon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_down_the_Moon_(ritual) (no SANDMAN content at l…First of all, for those curious, the monolith that is the hierogram reads "Dreaming" (do-ree-min-gu) in Japanese; why Japanese, I couldn't say. "Porpentine," meanwhile, means "porcupine." This one is a bit more of a puzzle—it does appear spiky, like…I might be able to pop in if there's a chat going this week, depending on how I'm feeling. I've been under the weather, I'm afraid, so I can't make any promises.
I don't know that it works to *read* to, but I've been thinking that this cover could just about work as Morpheus's theme song: …This volume is brimming with imagery from "The Wizard of Oz." How is it used, and to what end? In what ways are the references played straight, and in what ways are they subverted?