From LISTSERV@listserv.uic.edu Thu Aug 24 18:50:18 2000 Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 20:41:35 -0500 From: "L-Soft list server at University of Illinois at Chicago (1.8d)" To: Laura Quilter Subject: File: "FEMINISTSF-LIT LOG9911C" ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 09:44:43 -0500 Reply-To: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Marcie McCauley Organization: @Home Network Subject: BDG: Mistress and Intro - LONG MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thoughts on _The Mistress of Spices_ ... Like Tracy and Margaret, I admire Divakaruni's poetic prose and the way it seems to permeate every aspect of the story as a spice flavours every morsel in a cooking pot. I think the style is particularly appropriate for magical realism and was curious whether it is characteristic of this woman's work or if it changed with this novel. Either way I enjoyed that aspect of the work. I too was instantly reminded of Esquivel's _Like Water for Chocolate_ which is a favourite of mine anyway. I love the idea of cooking as magical transformation. I was also reminded of Isabel Allende's _Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses_, but was lost for other titles in this vein. I've only recently begun to read magical realism so I guess other comparisons will have to wait for my reading to catch up to my enthusiasm. ;) Margaret writes: "Question for the rest of you: How did you react to the material about Raven's life? Writing this has made me realize that I remember that in more detail than I do the material about Tilo. I wonder why." Raven's life sticks more clearly in my mind too, but perhaps that's because his story is set in a world which is "real" for us while much of Tilo's is tied to this magical training, and existence which is largely undefined. Perhaps this was designed so that the reader would respond to Raven as Tilo does, arouse our sympathy and compassion and draw us into her dilemma. Did you respond to him as Tilo did or were you more uncertain? Tracy writes: "While "caring for our fellow human" is a noble call for anyone, does Tilo's self sacrificing border on excessive martyrdom and care-taking, roles so often attributed to women? This reader would say so. What do you think?" What an interesting question and I do see your point. Re-reading the rules of the Old One, "a Mistress's foremost duty" is "To aid all who come to her in distress or seeking", feeling "Equal love to all, particular to none", keeping distance "Not too far, nor too near, in calm kindness poised." And "When a Mistress uses her power for herself, when she breaks the age-old rules, she tears through the delicate fabric of the balanced world, and to all whom she has loved as she should not, chaos comes." Still, I'm not sure that's what Divakaruni intended. Raven himself asks Tilo when she decides to go back to Oakland, "You've been helping people all your life. Isn't it time you did something different, something for yourself?" She answers: "Isn't everything we do for ourselves, ultimately? When I was Mistress, too ..." In the end I think it is her own choice to return, her own act, as is taking the name 'Maya', calling it as true and sacred as her ritual naming as a Mistress. I would have liked more details about her training to become a Mistress, her magical abilities, her gift of healing, the power they brought to her. I think I would have felt more connected to Tilo if I'd travelled farther with her on her journey rather than jumped in with her already at the shop, which I think would have made the ending more powerful too. Still, I like the way the song of the sea serpents returns to her at the end of the novel, despite the fact that she has made her own rules. This recalls to me the passage where the Old One refuses her application to stay on the island because her hands are not as they should be (smooth, pliant and knowing how to sing to the spices) but when the Old One examines them again she changes her mind because the spices in Tilo's hands were singing back. It's as though her power is uniquely hers, an image I find very inspiring. This is my first post to the list. I've greatly enjoyed the discussions here in the past and resolved in October to actually read the book for discussion on time rather than three months later. The questions raised have certainly added another dimension to my experience of this novel and I'm looking forward to participating more regularly now that I'm making more time for speculative fiction in my reading schedule - a long-awaited treat. As a brief intro, my passions include reading and writing, women's history, feminist spirituality, vegetarian cooking, and journalling. Some favourite speculative fiction works of mine are: Gearhart's _The Wanderground_, Le Guin's _The Left Hand of Darkness_, Griffith's _Ammonite_, Bradley's _The Mists of Avalon_ and, more generally, books by Marge Piercy and Sheri Tepper. Still, my TBR pile in this vein is always growing, thanks largely to this list, and a year from now I'm sure I'll be shocked that my list of favourites could ever be contained in three lines. ;) Truly, Marcie ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 18:52:02 -0500 Reply-To: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Suzanne Feldman Subject: Re: The Annunciate! Comments: cc: "FEMINISTSF@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi folks--- I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that my next novel, -The Annunciate- is now OUT in bookstores. For those of you who've already seen it and raved about the cover, thank you! For those who haven't seen it, check out Amazon... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380977370/o/qid=942968894/sr=8-1/002-6941373-9658635 Reviews have been excellent so far, from the gay and lesbian presses, to a wonderful review on SFSite.com and the NY Blade. I would love to hear what you think of the book. I'm very, very proud of it. And now back to our regularly scheduled discussion ;> yours, Suzanne Feldman (Severna Park) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 04:22:08 -0500 Reply-To: Amy Harlib Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Amy Harlib Subject: Re: The Annunciate! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit WOW! Another author on this list! Great! I have all 3 of your published books so far and am thrilled at the idea of communicating about them to the writer directly through this e-mail group! Also, interesting to discover that Severna Park is a nom de plume! Is there a story behind the choice of Severna Park as a pseudonym? It has a nice exotic ring to it but is there more to it? Just curious! Yours, Amy Harlib (avid lifelong reader of F & SF in NYC) > Hi folks--- > > I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that my next novel, -The > Annunciate- is now OUT in bookstores. For those of you who've already > seen it and raved about the cover, thank you! For those who haven't > seen it, check out Amazon... > > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380977370/o/qid=942968894/sr=8-1/002 -6941373-9658635 > > Reviews have been excellent so far, from the gay and lesbian presses, to > a wonderful review on SFSite.com and the NY Blade. > > I would love to hear what you think of the book. I'm very, very proud of > it. And now back to our regularly scheduled discussion ;> > > yours, > Suzanne Feldman > (Severna Park) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 07:53:56 -0500 Reply-To: yarnspinner@townsqr.com Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Marideth Sisco Organization: BWP Subject: Re: The Annunciate! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Well, I had been hanging back, because I wasn't sure it was appropriate to talk about books we're personally involved with, but now I just can't keep from jumping in. I'm a (very) small press publisher who's been working to return Diana Rivers' Hadra series to print, and she, too, has a new release. Diana's books ceased to be promoted after her publisher, Alyson, was taken over by Liberation Publications (the folks who publish The Advocate), and were allowed to go out of print as supplies ran short. I am pleased and proud to announce that the first (chronologically) book of that series, "Daughters of the Great Star," has now returned to print, and is available from HandMaidBooks, P.O. Box 1256, West Plains, MO 65775. Now that she's got the hang of the publishing biz, Diana is in the process of forming her own company, and her works will soon be marketed under her own label, Hadra Books. A new, previously unpublished work in the series, "Clouds of War," is due out in the spring. Diana will join us on the list soon, but I couldn't resist blowing her horn for her. Now I've blabbed enough and will return to lurkerville, but first -- Congratulations, Suzanne. I'm looking forward to settling down for a long winter's night soon with "The Annunciate." Marideth Sisco, publisher Elder Mountain Press/HandMaidBooks Amy Harlib wrote: > WOW! Another author on this list! Great! > > In response to: Suzanne Feldman (Severna Park) > > I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that my next novel, -The > > Annunciate- is now OUT in bookstores. > > ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 11:51:48 -0500 Reply-To: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Emily Subject: Re: The Annunciate! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Suzanne Feldman wrote: > I would love to hear what you think of the book. I'm very, very proud of > it. And now back to our regularly scheduled discussion ;> Well, "Speaking Dreams" (which I read a few months ago) became the first book I've ever reread within a month... it made quite an impression. So naturally I read the other two as quickly as I could get them :-) I thought "The Annunciate" was very powerful and complex, and I'm actually still digesting it in a way, so I'm not sure I can say anything intelligent about it, except that I enjoyed it very much! Welcome to the list.... - emily ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 12:52:15 -0500 Reply-To: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Suzanne Feldman Subject: Re: The Annunciate! Comments: To: Amy Harlib MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thank you so much!! It's great to have such a positive response---after the book goes to the publisher it's sort of out there in the ether, so it's really, really great to know you liked it (and the two others) so much. Of course I would be tickled pink to be able to discuss any or all of these books, as part of a BDG or otherwise. If I may wander off the topic for a moment, in response to Marideth's comment, I wonder how people would feel about other authors/publishers/related types on this listserve introducing themselves briefly? I know there are probably a hundred people 'here,' and many may be involved on the 'production end' of the books which come up for discussion. It might be an excellent opportunity for networking in private email....I don't think it would disrupt the flow of the discussions in progress too much? Suzanne Feldman (Severna Park) Amy Harlib wrote: > WOW! Another author on this list! Great! I have all 3 of your published > books so far and am thrilled at the idea of communicating about them to the > writer directly through this e-mail group! Also, interesting to discover > that Severna Park is a nom de plume! Is there a story behind the choice of > Severna Park as a pseudonym? It has a nice exotic ring to it but is there > more to it? Just curious! Yours, Amy > Harlib (avid lifelong reader of F & SF in NYC) > > > Hi folks--- > > > > I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you that my next novel, -The > > Annunciate- is now OUT in bookstores. For those of you who've already > > seen it and raved about the cover, thank you! For those who haven't > > seen it, check out Amazon... > > > > > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380977370/o/qid=942968894/sr=8-1/002 > -6941373-9658635 > > > > Reviews have been excellent so far, from the gay and lesbian presses, to > > a wonderful review on SFSite.com and the NY Blade. > > > > I would love to hear what you think of the book. I'm very, very proud of > > it. And now back to our regularly scheduled discussion ;> > > > > yours, > > Suzanne Feldman > > (Severna Park) ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 19:51:57 +0100 Reply-To: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC Sender: Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Literature ON TOPIC From: Diane Severson Subject: Books for next year? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just recently returned to the list after a 6 week hiatus during which nomination and selection of the books for next year was supposed to take place. Has it? And if so where can I find the list? It'd be great if I could stock up on the books while I'm home over Christmas... Diane -- Diane Severson Moerfelder Landstr. 108 60598 Frankfurt am Main (49)(0)69/624595 (+Fax) (49)(0)69/613371 Sent through Global Message Exchange - http://www.gmx.net