Link to Kelly Link Interview

http://www.one-story.com/index.php?page=story&story_id=59

Here is the link for the interview I mentioned in class yesterday. Our very own Andy Duncan is also mentioned, with a link to one of his stories included. Check it out.

I know I am a little late getting this up, just been super busy writing a fifteen page paper for another class.

So, my favorite short story in Pretty Monsters was "Magic for Beginners." I loved all the characters, themes and the way they all relate to a television show. I guess I sort of related to this story because I absolutely love television and I also seem to grow attached to the characters and stories like I am actually living their life.

Compared to the story "The Wrong Grave" that I had to talk about in class a couple of weeks ago, "Magic for Beginners" was longer, more thorough and it also left you wanting more at the end. Like you really wanted to know if Fox was still alive. Link's way of cutting off the reader is frustrating sometimes, but at others it leaves your own imagination to pick your own ending that you wanted to happen.

Stone Animals

I figured I would go ahead and post some of the thoughts I had on Stone Animals that I planned on bringing up in class today.  Often times during this story I found myself saying, now what exactly is going on here?  Of course this was not an unusual circumstance to find myself in, as most of Link's stories made me wonder that, but in this story I think the confusion I felt was the point of the story.  The characters in this story are striving for their image of the ideal life.  Catherine and Henry want a beautiful home in the country where they can raise their family together.  However, all the circumstances are working against them achieving their goals.  Henry continues to travel to the city to work, leaving Catherine alone to deal with two troublesome children and another one on the way.

As their utopia begins to crumble due to these circumstances, even stranger things begin to happen that make it so they cannot have what they want.  Catherine becomes strangely obsessed with painting the house, objects and rooms in the house become haunted, and of course, their lawn become overridden with hundreds of rabbits.  These situations only serve to confuse the characters in the story, while they continually strive to make things exactly right despite the strange circumstances that have befallen them.  

This story seems to function by constantly pitting opposites against each other, for example work and home or reality and dream.  These are things that normally coexist by maintaining a careful balance, but this balance is never achieved in the story.  The boundaries between them get so confused and blurred that it becomes difficult to tell one from the other.  

The Golden Compass

Ok, so I watched the Golden Compass this weekend, and I know there is a lot of religious controversy surrounding the books and movie. Can someone please explain to me what exactly the problem with it is. I mean I've never read the books before so I don't know.

Story signups for Jan. 28

Here are the folks who will introduce and lead discussion on each Magic for Beginners story:

"The Hortlak": Zach Narvaez

"The Cannon": Lauren Tucker

"Stone Animals": Sara Chesler

"Catskin": Katie Whatley

"Some Zombie Contingency Plans": Avery Dame

"The Great Divorce": Kayla Lisenby

"Lull": Natalie Beck
We also have still to hear from these folks about the Pretty Monsters stories:

"Monster": Joe Oaks

"The Surfer": Adam Cohen

"The Constable of Abal": Dan Roberts

"Pretty Monsters": Sara Adams

Critic John Clute describes fantasy

This is the passage I quoted (in part) during our previous class, from the invaluable The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997):

A fantasy text is a self-coherent narrative. When set in this world, it tells a story which is impossible in the world as we perceive it; when set in an otherworld, that otherworld will be impossible, though stories set there may be possible in its terms. ... A fantasy text may be described as the story of an earned passage from bondage -- via a central recognition of what has been revealed and of what is about to happen, and which may involve a profound metamorphosis of protagonist or world (or both) -- into the eucatastrophe, where marriages may occur, just governance fertilize the barren land, and there is a healing.

Eucatastrophe was J.R.R. Tolkien's term (coined in "On Fairy-Stories," 1947) for a story's final "piercing glimpse of joy, and heart's desire, that for a moment passes outside the frame, rends indeed the very web of story."

Fantasy collectibles

The Bradford Exchange sells a host of fantasy-themed collectibles through mail order to avid customers who doubtless never would consider themselves fantasy fans -- in contrast to the comics-shop and convention-circuit regulars who buy collectibles from such outfits as Todd McFarlane Toys. What do these Bradford Exchange collectibles, aimed at a broader audience, say about the nature of fantasy in the popular mind? (You also might check out these Council of Dragons collectibles from the Danbury Mint; the fine full-color flier I was mailed, alas, is too big for me to scan.)

Also seeking your vote ...

... is the SF Site Best Read of 2008 award. The voting deadline is Feb. 6. The top fantasy vote-getter in last year's Reader's Choice voting was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, at No. 1. The top fantasy vote-getter in last year's Editors' Choice voting, on the other hand, at No. 3, was a comics series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, written by Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan.

Fantasy with a big "F"

The British newspaper the Guardian reports here on a new award sponsored by a group of fantasy novelists: The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy. Organizer Deborah J. Miller describes what the judges are looking for:

I'm talking about adult Fantasy with a big "F" here: commercial, loved and bought by millions of readers worldwide. Magic, swords, monsters and heroism – good enough for Shakespeare, good enough for the Odyssey and Beowulf and certainly good enough for J.R.R. Tolkien.

Readers are invited to help determine the list of nominees. To vote and see a list of eligible novels, visit the award website.

More bad news for fantasy short fiction

To the news earlier this semester that The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is cutting its frequency to bimonthly, we now can add that Realms of Fantasy magazine is closing after 15 years (reported here by Locus Online) and that the anthology on our syllabus, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection, will be the last in that influential series, as publisher St. Martin's is pulling the plug. There will be no 2009 volume, and my collection is, alas, complete.

Co-editor Gavin Grant blogged the Year's Best news here, and the many folks posting comments include Peter Straub, Jane Yolen, Eileen Gunn (whose sasquatch story is in the current volume) and co-editor Ellen Datlow, who announces plans to continue the horror half of the anthology with another publisher, Night Shade.

Review of Pretty Monsters

I was looking for some information on Kelly Link and her writing and came across this review of Pretty Monsters.

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2008/07/locus-magazines-amelia-beamer-reviews.html

This review brought up some interesting points in Links writing. One of the most interesting was on Link's usage of plot in her stories. She seems to form her stories in such a way that the plot is rarely predictable and usually ends without much resolution. I agree with the reviewer, Amelia Beamer, in that The Surfer is one of her few stories with an actual plot that deviates from her usual structure or lack thereof. I really think that this review aptly compares and contrasts the structure and focus of Kelly Link's stories.

Magic For Beginners Cover

The cover art for Magic for Beginners really struck me. After a deja vu moment, I realized it is a take off of da Vinci's  "Lady with an Ermine." The painting was done in about 1489-1490 and was most likely the portrait of Cecillia Gallerani.

If you study both pictures you'll see that they are identical from the part of the hair and the face to the necklace and posture of the girl and the ermine.  The differences include the girl's  hairstyle, other jewelry, dress and fingernails.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_with_an_Ermine

I really didn't find it to have any relation to the book other than the simple fact that art played a part in some of the stories:

-Some Zombie Contingency Plans

-Lull

The Graveyard Book Wins Newberry Medal

I woke up to this news, so I figured I might as well share it.

The American Library Association has given the prestigious Newbery Medal for children's literature to Neil Gaiman for his novel The Graveyard Book. It's the story of a boy raised by the ghostly inhabitants of a cemetery.

Fantasy Playlist

So, while we have discussed fantasy in books, in movies, and even in video games, we have not really touched on fantasy in modern music. I would have originally thought this would be because it is not the norm for most songwriters to include such elements in their music, but just having my ipod on shuffle today walking around campus, my own music collection proved me wrong.

Here are some songs and the fantasy elements they include below. If anyone can think of any more they have heard of, please let me know. 

"Sweet Sweet Heartkiller"- Say Hi To Your Mom

.....it's all about a boy who falls in love with a vampire women: "And she is pale and I am smitten/and in the moonlight we both still like/ the smell of anything night blooming/ and she bites through the necks like Ginsu..."

"OUCH"- Be Your Own Pet

.....Zombies take over the earth, yay!: "They're on the streets with their eyes of hunger/ It's a disease it's a death to one another/ There's no stopping it, it gets too late..."

"Zombie Graveyard Party"- Be Your Own Pet

.....A lovestruck zombie wants to have a party in the graveyard. A party where he tries to eat his still living girlfriend with this CLASSIC line : "Life is so lame, so let me eat your brain"

"Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters"- MGMT

"White Winter Hymnal"- Fleet Foxes

....It isn't really about anything particular, but it reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood and the wolves from all the stories: "I was following the pack/all swallowed in their coats/ with scarves of red tied 'round their throats/ to keep their little heads/ from fallin' in the snow..."

2005 Link Interview

So I was doing some searching to further relate to Avery's post, but I stumbled upon an interview with Link, circa 2005. This is about the time Magic For Beginners was new, and the interview is interesting (she IS a fan of libraries, so that explains that recurring setting in her stories). It also has a photo of her...I was glad to put a face to the author.

href="http://www.bookspotcentral.com/2005/12/on-the-spot-at-bookspotcentral-interview-kelly-link/">

Request for Help

Hey everyone. So, Link and I just aren't getting along. I have had a lot of trouble reading past the surface...the material is just so out there. Is anyone else having this problem as well? I am supposed to talk about "The Great Divorce" on Wednesday, and I don't want to bore everyone with a synopsis with no analysis. Does anyone have any hints or advice on where to take this? That would be greatly appreciated.

Link and T.S. Eliot

As I mentioned Wednesday, one of the things I really enjoyed about Kelly Link is the number of references she uses, and her awareness and manipulation of common fantasy tropes. Unsurprisingly, I also have a deep love of cross-genre work and pastiche (Takashi Miike is one of my favorite directors).

What struck me as I was listening to the discussion was how much these elements reminded me of one of T.S. Eliot's essays on criticism, "Tradition and the Individual Talent." To sum the essay up briefly, Eliot argues that truly great, and thus "traditional," writers are those who have studied all that has come before and write with a deep consciousness of the canon. These writers are then rewarded by having a place in that canon, while retroactively affecting the canonical works that came before.

The legitimacy of Eliot's argument aside, I do think it's interesting that Link basically follows this model. What I'd be really curious to know is if Link's influence has been seen in new and upcoming fantasy short-story writing.

New Movie

Has anyone seen the preview for the movie "Coraline"? From what I read on the site, it is based off of a book written by Neil Gaiman. The girl Coraline finds a secret passage in her house to an alternate version of her life. It is also a stop-motion film. It looks like it would be very good. Just wanted to know if anyone else has heard of it. Here is the website: http://www.coraline.com/

My Favorite Story in Pretty Monsters

My favorite story in Pretty Monsters, was actually, "Pretty Monsters." I loved that every time the audience realizes that they are hearing a story within a story, you gain something completely different from the narrators point of view. Initially, the audience believes the story is about a little girl who is in love with an older guy, and the story seems innocent enough. Then you realize that the story is actually a story that another character is reading, and a whole new perspective emerges. By the end the audience finds out that the both are stories made up by very similar characters within both of the original stories, and once again the audience gains an entirely new perspective.

It is very impressive that a story that is very short can contain so many layers without becoming so complex that they audience cannot understand it. The transitions between the stories are very smooth helping the reader remain omniscient.

Repeated Themes and Nouns in Link's Work

 This is just a summary of reoccuring symbols in Link's works.  I think that finding a writer's obsession and tendencies help to understand the overall themes of a work. Help me out if I miss something.

Libraries

-Magic for Beginners

-The Faerie Handbag

-The Surfer 

Snakes

-The Wizards of Perfil

-The Specialist's Hat

-The Surfer?

-The Wrong Grave (indirectly)

Relocating - moving to a new place/finding home

- The Wizards of Perfil

-Magic for Beginners

-The Faerie Handbag

-The Specialist's Hat

-The Surfer

-The Constable of Abal

-Pretty Monsters

Death

-The Wrong Grave

-The Wizards of Perfil

-Magic for Beginners

-The Farie Handbag

-The Specialist's Hat

-The Surfer

-The Constable of Abal

-Pretty Monsters

 

Suggestion for Fellow Harry Potter Fans

As I have gathered, there are quite a few Harry Potter fans in the class. For those who may be interested, I am currently reading Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli, webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron. The book concerns itself with the rise of the phenomenon that is Harry Potter. I am about halfway through myself and have found it very enjoyable. It even occasionally brings a tear of joy to the eye. Of course, my obsession with Harry is probably unhealthy, but nevertheless, it is worth checking out.

Favorite Story from Pretty Monsers

While the overall writing style for each Link story in Pretty Monsters had the same general feel and characteristics, such as the unknown narrator, the presence of repeating symbols (snakes, numbers, etc), inconclusive endings, and untrue absolutes just to name a few, it is obvious that each story still is its own.  Because each story then is unique to itself, this allows for us to favor some over others. 

I was just wondering which story everyone seemed to like the most then. Or, if you liked none, which story could you connect to the most?

And of course, what was the story that everyone feels could have been, well, just skipped and not read at all.

I'd have to say that my personal favorite was either Magic for Beginners or The Constance of Abal.  MfB, despite any obvious forms of 'magic' as we know it, was great because the whole idea of a show within a show was very psychologically stimulating to me. The group mentality spawned by the tv show was also something that I felt I could relate to. The CoA, a basic 180 of MfB, was also great because it dealt with direct magic like ghosts and charms and whatnot, and that's something I am a personal sucker for.

And, hands down, my least favorite story was probably The Wrong Grave. I thought it was, for a lack of a better word, stupid. Although I usually feel unsatisfied with Link's endings, at least they usually leave room for contemplative thought where you can either justify your own ending or guess as to what Link wants you to think. This story basically wrapped itself up, rather pointlessly, I felt like. It sucks that this was the first story in the book, as it did not get my hopes up for the rest of the novel, but thank goodness the other stories had more to bring to the table.

Bits of the Conversation in Class

When I first read "Magic for Beginners", the short story in Pretty Monsters, the name of the show The Library reminded me of a series of movies with the beginning title of The Librarian. This movie series is said to have an Indiana Jones feel to it. Has anyone ever heard or seen any one of these movies. I believe there are three. The recent one called The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice just released on December 7th, 2008. In The Library, there are several episodes that refer to Jeremy and his life, which would be based on something realistic that we can all relate to. Then there are episodes of The Library that are from this show called The Library that refer to all these exciting adventures encountered by Prince Wing and Fox...so on.

I was able to see a good part of the recent sequel of The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice. I think a big difference, aside from the media form, is that the librarian is the one main character that is not only grounded in the real world as this real-life librarian but also get to participate in this other world of supernatural and otherwise fantastical influence. Jeremy is part of The Library but is somehow still separated from the supernatural part of the show that he is obsessed with.

What is Fantasy?

I believe that Fantasy has no one clear definition. In my opinion Fantasy explores an enhanced view of reality. It looks at phenomena that are either not present in reality, or are not accepted. Fans of Fantasy loose themselves in Worlds that can be much like our own, or a place that is the complete opposite. Places where monsters, death, the unatural, and the heavenly are commonplace. Fantasy allows the reader an escape that many other genres can not achieve.

In terms of Fantasy that I enjoy, or am familiar with; the list is not very extensive. I am obsessed with both the Harry Potter series, and the Twilight series. I also enjoyed the Lord of the Rings novels. As far as Horror movies go, such as The Unborn, I so my best to avoid them. I did however enjoy the Fantasy films: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; and Prince Caspian. I love plays and musicals, one of my favorite being, The Phantom of the Opera, which is a tale of Fantasy.

What is Fantasy?

Fantasy, to me, is an extension, fabrication, or exaggeration of the fictional thoughts and daydreams we create and bring to life in our minds. It can involve the supernatural, magic, bizarre creatures, the impossible, and much more. There is no limit to fantasy, because it is composed of our dreams, and there is obviously no limit to those.

Some examples not listed in the syllabus include Twilight, the Grimm Fairy Tales, Eragon, the Fable video games, American Gods, Ender's Game, the Crystal Cave, Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, and the tv show Heroes, amongst many, many others.

Fantasy has many different offspring genres, which can easily be confused or taken for actual fantasy works, such as the science fiction genre. For example, would Mary Shelly's Frankenstein be primarily considered science fiction due to the obvious toying with the forces of nature by bringing a creature to life, or would it be primarily considered fantasy?

Also, with fantasy, we have many different subthemes to consider. These include, but are not limited to, supernatural themes (something that happens and you react to it), paranormal magic (magic that is taught, controlled, or explained), and escapism.  

Finally, on the topic of my own personal likes and interests regarding fantasy, I would like to say I am the biggest Harry Potter fan you will meet. Even bigger than Kayla Lisenby. I know it's a cliche series to love, but honestly, how can you not? 

Also...

Also, I forgot to mention that I am in love with ALL Disney movies...I guess I am a kid at heart

Fantasy Definition

Fantasy is a genre that involves a world of make believe and the supernatural. Magic is usually involved, therefore giving the audience insight to a world of unknown possibilites. The characters of fantasy usually possess some quality that mere humans do not have. Fantasy gives the audience a way to step into another world and extend their imagination.

My favorite books are the Twilight Saga
Also, I enjoy some Harry Potter and Stephen King

Definition of Fantasy

I really was not able to give a good definition of fantasy when I was trying to write it down in class. By "not able to give a good definition" I mean this is my exact quote..."I suppose fantasy is any writing that deals with the supernatural, scary or cool. Well, but that definition the Bible is fantasy too. Although that makes sense. Also, magic and mystical creatures or whatever...that is fantasy too."

I was under pressure. Also, I'm pretty new to the genre. I signed up for the class because I am obsessed with Harry Potter. Obsessed. And with Twilight too. Outside of those and the occasional "fantasy" movie, and reading the Chronicles of Narnia about a million years ago, I'm a total newbie to the genre.

So there's my disclaimer to everyone. Oh, and hopefully the videoconference equipment will all be up and running by class on Wednesday. We are working on it tomorrow - sorry to all about last week!

C.S. Lewis, environmentalist?

An interesting new book from the University Press of Kentucky is titled Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C.S. Lewis, which the publisher calls

the first book dedicated to Lewis's vision of our relationship to nature and the environment. Matthew T. Dickerson and David O'Hara examine The Chronicles of Narnia and the Ransom books, as well as The Great Divorce, The Abolition of Man, and Lewis's essays and personal correspondence, connecting his writing with that of authors more traditionally associated with environmentalism, such as Wendell Berry, Aldo Leopold, and Gary Snyder.

We mentioned Lewis' Ransom trilogy in class Wednesday. The third volume, That Hideous Strength, is a wonder.

Whether any of the texts on our syllabus have an overt or implied environmental stance, and whether such a stance is expected of fantasy, are worth thinking about as we proceed.

(Speaking of The Great Divorce, Kelly Link uses the same title for one of her stories in Magic for Beginners. To what extent that story is in conversation with Lewis is worth thinking about, too.)

Fantasy: an attempt to define

Fantasy, as a genre, involves in some capacity a deviation from reality. Fantasy is not constrained to all the laws of reality and allows an author to create their own "world" with their own "rules". On one level, Fantasy can be used as an escape for the reader or author. The author can use fantasy as a metaphor for a aspect of reality. 

Books and Movies (Trying not to be repetitive): The Castle of Otranto (Horace Walpole), Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt), Inheritance Cycle (Christopher Paolini), The Princess Bride (William Goldman), Kate and Leopold, Beauty and the Beast and other Disney princess movies

Kellie H.

Edd Cartier and fantasy art

We didn't name any visual artists on Wednesday, when everyone was naming prominent fantasy creators, but of course a lot of visual art through the centuries has been fantastical. In the world of publishing, in particular, visual artists have been instrumental in shaping the genre of fantasy as we know it, and we'll talk this semester about the cover art and interior art of these books. In fact, one of our texts, Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, is inspired in part by a famous 19th-century painting by Richard Dadd.

This comes to mind because fantasy artist Edward Daniel Cartier, who signed his work Edd Cartier, died on Christmas Day at age 94. A lifelong professional artist, he was best known for his pen-and-ink illustrations in 1930s and 1940s pulp-fiction magazines, notably The Shadow, Astounding Science Fiction and the great but short-lived fantasy magazine Unknown. Here's a New York Times obit.

Online galleries of Cartier's work include this one, which emphasizes science fiction and fantasy, and this one, which emphasizes the crime genre. (Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.) Ask yourself, as the semester goes on, whether any of Cartier's illustrations, or his style of illustration, has a kinship with any of the works on our syllabus.

Fantasy: Thoughts

Fantasy is a genre that encompasses stories that somehow violate a law of reality. This can involve the manipulation of matter and energy in some way that is impossible by our understanding of physics (e.g. magic). This can involve the description of creatures that do not exist in our world (e.g. vampires), which must be carefully made distinct from alien creatures in a science fiction sense; the key difference lies in the origin of said creature. Whereas aliens and other creatures might have their evolution and possible interstellar travel explained by some facet of science, fantastic creatures do not require such a rationale that is based in the laws of reality. And there is some overlap here. Vampires can be explained as a series of genetic mutations and natural selection that created a human subrace—a science fiction origin—or they can be described as born of magic or some other mystical source. Thus the determination of fantasy is not distinctly based on the contents of a particular story, but in the overall approach in defining the world and its participants.

Movies: LOTR (who’s not a fan, honestly?), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Golden Compass, etc.
TV Shows: True Blood, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (don’t laugh, I know y’all watched it too)
Games: Dungeons & Dragons-based games, such as the Baldur’s Gate series
Books: Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Music: Murder by Death - Who Will Survive and What Will be Left of Them? (the whole album, folks... proof for the disbelievers)

Fantasy to me

Fantasy is a genre containing supernatural and fictional settings, scenarios, plots, or characters. It provides a fun and almost essential outlet from our world allowing the reader to sometimes even fully enter an alternate universe. To me fantasy has always been intricately associated with fiction. Most of the fiction I read would be classified under fantasy and science fiction because, frankly, it's just more fun.
Some of my favorites are Harry Potter, Twilight, Star Wars, and really any sort of superhero story or saga.

Academic conferences

The discussions in our class this semester, and the papers y'all will be writing, are echoed in the discussions and papers that are presented at various academic conferences devoted to science fiction and fantasy.

A major such annual event is the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, held each March in Florida. The draft program of the upcoming ICFA has been posted here; click Conference Info in the left-hand column, then scroll down to click The Online Program. A glance through the paper titles reveals some items of obvious relevance to our syllabus, for example "Time for Gaiman: The Overlap of Temporalities in The Graveyard Book and Other Fictions" by Scott Vander Ploeg and "The 19th-Century Foundations of the Discworld; or, More Than You Needed To Know About Granny Weatherwax's Knickers" by Stacie Hanes.

One of this year's ICFA presenters, Kathryn Opal Nicholson, is one of my former University of Alabama students, now a graduate student at Hollins University in Virginia. Paper submissions from graduates and undergraduates are welcome at these conferences, and I encourage all of you to consider turning the papers you write this semester into conference submissions. (Usually only a short summary of, say, 300 words is required.) The University of Alabama has grant money to help pay students' way to such events, especially if they're on the program, and presenting at a national or international conference in any field is an excellent resume item no matter your major and no matter whether you plan to go on to graduate school at any point.

Note that this year's Science Fiction Research Association conference, which is interested in fantasy as well, is in nearby Atlanta, and the deadline for submissions isn't until April 1. Here's the info.

The deadline for the academic track at this year's World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal is nearly upon us, but it's worth mentioning because Neil Gaiman, prominent on our syllabus, is this year's Guest of Honor. Here's that call for submissions.

What Is Fantasy?

Fantasy is going beyond the limits of human understanding. It can involve the creation of entirely new or alternate worlds (such as those in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter) or may only possess certain elements of that beyond our comprehension (for example, Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" involves a seemingly ordinary and quite realistic town being overrun by vampires. The basis of fantasy is the supernatural.

My favorite works/authors of fantasy:
Harry Potter
Stephen King

Defining fantasy

Fantasy is one of those genres which, on the surface, appears easy to define, but is decidedly multifaceted with a deeper glance. But, if it must be defined, the one factor that binds all fantasy together is an element of unexplainable otherworldliness, especially outside the realm of science. Most often, such extraordinary occurrences are controlled by a of system of some kind, a system has an unexplainable element--the "fantasy" of Fantasy. Thus, one can have urban fantasy, Christian fantasy, magical realism, and any other number of subgenres, their name and nature determined by each subgenre's unique 'flavor' of unexplainable.

Examples:
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
Fables, Bill Willingham
Lord of Light and The Amber Chronicles, Roger Zelazny
Galazy Express 999, Leiji Matsumoto
All of Hayao Miyazaki's body of work, espeically post-My Neighbor Totoro

Fantasy; What?

What is fantasy to me?
Fantasy is definitiely: magical, time-detached, dreamy, powerful, characterized by the extreme, very beautiful or grotesque, brilliant and vibrant, like a funny-house mirror that reflects reality but in a distorted manner.
I dont think the laws of science apply to fantasy, ever.

I haven't honestly read very much fantasy. I much prefer science fiction, where my imagination can roam, within a the safety of reality and law. Fantasy is much too dangerous for my risk aversity.

Fantasy Books
LOTR series
The Odyssey
The Aeneid
James and the Giant Peach
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Fantasy Defined

Fantasy fascinates and caters to the mind and brings to life even the dullest of imaginations. Fantasy is a stream of creativity and encourages openness to possibilities and acceptance toward unfathomable and/or unexplainable worlds/planes and its creatures. Fantasy allows its user's minds a temporary or permanent escape, depending on what the user believes in. Enter a world of fantasy and the user has separated from perceived reality and entered a world of fantastical wonders where possibly birds sing, animals talk, magic wishing wells exist, labyrinths that maintain itself complete with a Minotaur within, and perhaps somewhere along the journey...a yellow brick road. Yellow is always so exuberant, isn't it? Fantasy excites and I would like to believe non-discriminatory to any person of any heritage. Fantasy stories always seem to draw a very distinct line between good vs. evil. Good characters usually prevail and usually encouraged to do so.
I remember during the first day, we lighted touched on the difference between fantasy and science fiction. It just so happens I was finishing this book called Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory and in it, there is a Truth demon by the name of Valis that comments on these two things.

"'But you cannot separate science fiction from fantasy'....Take psionics; take mutants such as we find in More Than Human. If the reader believes that such mutants could exist, then he will view Sturgeon's novel as science fiction. If, however, he believes that such mutants are, like wizards and dragons, not possible, nor will ever be possible, then he is reading a fantasy novel. Fantasy involves that which general opinion regards as impossible; science fiction involves that which general opinion regards as possible under the right circumstance. This is in essence a judgment call, since what is possible and what is not cannot be objectively known but is, rather,a subjective belief on the part of the reader" (74).

It's too bad wizards and dragons are not possible to exist, huh? Not that this world is not already pretty interesting as is, but wizards and dragons would certainly kick it up a knotch. So like many of the people in class were saying, the difference between science fiction and fantasy is not only determined by the delivery chosen by the author but also derived from the reader's perspective and interpretation of the realm of possibilities.

Jennifer C.

Definition of Fantasy

Fantasy is an idea whether it's in the form of a book, a short story, a comic, a movie, a video game, or an orally told story that deviates from what we view as a normal existence or circumstance and is beyond normally accepted laws of the natural world. Usually fantasy involves one or more characters being involved or affected by magic or a supernatural occurrence. Fantasy can vary from a feel good love story in a magical world with a happy ending to a terrible end caused by magical or supernatural interactions.

Some Examples of my favorite fantasy books are Neverwhere and American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, The His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, and Three Days to Never by Tim Powers.

My Definition of Fantasy

My definition of fantasy would be anything beyond normal human life where things like wizards, vampires, dragons, and magical creatures exist. Things that just can't be explained.

For me, my absolute favorite fantasy books are the Harry Potter series. I love everything about the books, movies, ect. I have been a fan since I was eleven and I still love the series. I even listen to a podcast (I know that sounds dorky). I also love the Twilight Saga, and I am reading a series called Percy Jackson: The Olympians that my little brother recommended which is really good. I like Lord of the Rings also, but have never read the books.

How I define fantasy

Fantasy is something made up, dreamed up, imagined desires of the mind. Fantasy is characteristically: wild, otherworldly, paranormal, fantastical, magical, and supernatural. It is oftentimes deliberately unrealistic.

Fantasy books I like:
Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
anything by C.S. Lewis
anything by Orson Scott Card
Wheel of Time~ R.I.P. Robert Jordan
R.A. Salvatore's books on Drizzt Do'Urden
The Archives of Anthropos~John White

Story signups for Jan. 14

The stories in Pretty Monsters will be discussed Jan. 14 by all of us, but here are the folks who will introduce and lead discussion on each story:

"The Wrong Grave": Katie Huffaker

"The Wizards of Perfil": Kellie Hensley

"Magic for Beginners": Jennifer Chen

"The Faery Handbag": Sarah Smith

"The Specialist's Hat": Natalie Beck

"Monster": Joe Oaks

"The Surfer": Adam Cohen

"The Constable of Abal": Dan Roberts

"Pretty Monsters": Sara Adams
Let me know if I got any of these wrong. Those of you not on this list will take your turn with the Magic for Beginners collection at our next class meeting -- and one of you from Jan. 14 will have to take a story then, too, if I count correctly.

Fantasy & Science Fiction goes bimonthly

The few remaining print science fiction and fantasy magazines have suffered declining circulations for years, despite the soaring popularity of science fiction and fantasy in novels, movies and games, and despite a proliferation of year's-best anthologies that mine the print magazines' pages for stories to reprint. Now Locus Online reports that the best fantasy magazine of the past half-century, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, is cutting its frequency from monthly to bimonthly.

Continously published since fall 1949, and monthly since 1952, F&SF has published too many classic and influential fantasy stories to list here. They include Zenna Henderson's People series, Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John series, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series, Stephen King's Dark Tower series, Robert Bloch's "That Hell-Bound Train," Roger Zelazny's "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth," Robert Aickman's "Pages from a Young Girl's Journal," Harlan Ellison's "The Deathbird" and "Jeffty Is Five," Robert Silverberg's "Born with the Dead," Kim Stanley Robinson's "Black Air," Ursula K. Le Guin's "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight," Joe Haldeman's "Graves," Jack Cady's "The Night We Buried Road Dog" ... on and on.

If those of you who love fantasy fiction each bought one subscription to F&SF or another fantasy fiction magazine -- for yourself or as a gift for someone, including a library, school or shelter -- you would do the field a great service. Links are in the right-hand column of this blog, under "General Resources."

Interview with Eric Nylund

Eric Nylund, whose Halo novels have sold more than 2 million copies, is a prominent example (like Neil Gaiman) of a contemporary fantasy writer doing work across multiple media: computer games, novels, comics, etc. Here's an interview with Nylund at BookSpot Central on the occasion of his new five-book fantasy series coming out from Tor, the top U.S. publisher of science fiction and fantasy:

My writing has taken a leap forward because of the Halo novels. The audience for those stories has an extraordinarily low tolerance for literary fluffery. They like a good story and they like it told cleanly and efficiently. It’s been an education on how to broaden my writing style to reach a gigantic audience.

Spring 2009 syllabus

UH 300-009
Magic for Beginners: 21st Century Fantasy
(not “Fanstasy,” as MyBama has it)
Spring 2009
3-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Teacher: Andy Duncan
E-mail is the best way to reach me. I'm also on Facebook.
All students in this class must be enrolled in the University Honors Program.

Texts:

The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21th Annual Collection, ed. Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008)

Pan’s Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo Del Toro (2006; New Line Home Video, 2007)

The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford (Morrow, 2008)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 2008)

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (2007; Harper, 2008)

Enchanted, directed by Kevin Lima (2007; Disney Video, 2008)

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (2005; Harvest, 2006; available as a free download at http://www.lcrw.net/kellylink/mfb/index.htm)

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (Viking, 2008)

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett (2004; Harper, 2005)

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (2003; Harper, 2004)

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett (2006; Harper, 2007)

Handouts, online materials, websites or reserve-room materials TBA.

Course Description: As a literary genre, fantasy includes Harry Potter, fairy tales, ghost stories, Dr. Seuss, The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings and Dracula; small wonder Brian Attebery calls this ungainly, ill-defined assemblage of texts a “fuzzy set.” In this interdisciplinary class, we will investigate the possibilities of the impossible in the new century by focusing our crystal ball on a few fantasy texts published since the year 2003.

Course Objectives: By semester’s end, students will be more sophisticated consumers of fantasy, better able to discern the taproots of Story that underlie the hype; they also will be able to talk and write about it with more critical insight. No previous experience with magic is required.

Attendance policy: Attendance and class participation (in class and online) are required. After two absences, your final grade will be lowered one letter for each subsequent absence. After five absences, you will receive an F for this course. Arriving late or leaving early counts as half an absence. In case of illness, injury or crisis, let your teacher know as soon as possible. Don’t just vanish.

Papers: You will write two non-fiction papers, each at least 2,000 words long, plus Works Cited list, on topics of your choosing that are approved in advance by your teacher. Papers should pertain explicitly and in some depth to one or more of the fantasy texts being discussed in this class, but they may extend their focus beyond those texts as well. You will do a five-to-10-minute class presentation on each topic as you are working on it. Papers handed in late will be docked one letter grade for each day they’re late. Format requirements: Both your papers will be handed in electronically. Send them as PC-compatible Word attachments to this address. Papers must be in 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced, with ragged right margins and page numbers in the upper-right corners. Papers that don’t fit this format will be returned unread for correction.

Blog: Each of you will receive (and accept) an invitation to join Blogger and the class blog at http://magicintro2009.blogspot.com. Here our class discussions will continue beyond Wednesday class meetings. Participating on the blog – through original posts and replies to others’ posts – is an important part of your semester grade, so get in the habit of visiting daily and contributing frequently. The minimum class requirement is three posts per week per student, at least one of which must start a new topic or thread, and at least one of which must be a response to a classmate’s post. More frequent posts are highly encouraged. Also chiming in from time to time may be invited guests from the world of fantasy publishing (as opposed to the fantasy world, which we all inhabit).

Other assignments and expectations: You will keep up with all the reading and will participate in all class discussions, orally and online. You will lead at least one class discussion of a text that has been assigned you.

Grade formula:

Two 2,000-word papers @ 20% each: 40%

Two 5-to-10-minute paper presentations @ 10% each: 20%

Blog participation: 20%

In-class participation: 20%
We will follow the UA guidelines for plus-minus grading.

Disabilities: In accordance with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, your teacher, the University Honors Program and the university are committed to providing appropriate support for students with disabilities, including learning disabilities. Any student who wants to request disability accommodations need only contact UA’s office of disability services at (205) 348-4285 and get the paperwork to me.

Academic misconduct: Academic misconduct includes all acts of academic dishonesty and any knowing attempt to help another student commit academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: (1) Cheating – using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids. (2) Plagiarism – representing words, data, works or ideas as one’s own when they are not. (3) Fabrication – presenting as genuine any invented or falsified evidence. (4) Misrepresentation – falsifying, altering or misstating the contents of academic documents such as schedules, prerequisites and transcripts. Cases of academic misconduct will be turned over to the University Honors Program for disciplinary action that could be as severe as suspension from the university.

Schedule of class meetings, reading assignments and due dates.
All readings will be discussed on the days listed. This is a living document, subject to change.

Jan. 7: Getting acquainted.
Jan. 14: Link, Pretty Monsters.
Jan. 21: No class.
Jan. 28: Link, Magic for Beginners.
Feb. 4: Gaiman, The Graveyard Book.
Feb. 11: Paper presentations.
Feb. 18: Ford, The Shadow Year.
Feb. 25: Del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth. First paper due.
March 4: Stories from The Year’s Best: Abraham, “The Cambist and Lord Iron”; Russell, “Vampires in the Lemon Grove”; Rickert, “Holiday”; McMahon, “Hum Drum”; Walther, “Splitfoot”; Brenchley, “The House of Mechanical Pain”; Fowler, “The Last Worders”; Ballingrud, “The Monsters of Heaven”; Sherman, “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche”; Hand, “Winter’s Wife.”
March 11: Stories from The Year’s Best: Ford, “The Drowned Life”; Tumasonis, “The Swing”; Gunn, “Up the Fire Road”; Anderson, “The Gray Boy’s Work”; Chiang, “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”; Mead, “A Thing Forbidden.”
March 18: Spring break; no class.
March 25: Stories from The Year’s Best: Black, “A Reversal of Fortune”; Schanoes, “Rats”; Kemnitzer, “The Boulder”; Lee, “The Hill”; MacBride, “The Ape Man”; Williams, “The Hide”; Nix, “Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go To War Again”; Dowling, “Toother”; Tuttle, “Closet Dreams”; Johnson, “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change.” Last day to drop without a grade.
April 1: Pratchett, The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky.
April 8: Pratchett, Wintersmith.
April 15: Joe Hill, 20th Century Ghosts.
April 22: Paper presentations.
April 29: Lima, Enchanted. Final class. Semester wrap-up.
Second paper due May 4, the Monday of exam week.

About your teacher: My collection Beluthahatchie and Other Stories (2000) won a World Fantasy Award, as did my story “The Pottawatomie Giant” (2000). My novella “The Chief Designer” (2001) won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction story of the year. I contributed essays to the Hugo Award-winning Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (2003) and the Stoker Award-winning Horror: Another 100 Best Books (2005). With F. Brett Cox, I edited the fiction anthology Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic (2004). I have taught at the Clarion and Clarion West writers’ workshops (2004 and 2005, respectively). My latest book, non-fiction, is Alabama Curiosities (2005); the second edition will be published in 2009. My latest stories are “A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil’s Ninth Question” in the anthology Wizards, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley, May 2007); “Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse” in the anthology Eclipse One, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade, November 2007), a story that was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Shirley Jackson Award; and “The Dragaman’s Bride,” upcoming in The Dragon Book, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley, 2009). My personal blog is http://beluthahatchie.blogspot.com.