Thanks to the wonderful organizers and colleagues of the “Anna Letitia Barbauld: Voicing Dissent” conference at the University of York, at which I’ve just had the pleasure of speaking. Here’s my paper, as delivered, at the “Chapter Four” link below.
Read more
So grateful for two wonderful events in my hometown world – one at Auburn Oil Company Booksellers in Auburn, AL and one at Columbus Bound Bookshop in Columbus, GA – this past week. With new and cemented friendships and community ties, I felt warmly welcomed by Mari, Robin, and Khristina, and by all the wonderful […]
Read more
Delighted and grateful to share the news that CREATURE: A Novel of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein has received five stars and the “Highly Recommended Award of Excellence” from The Historical Fiction Company. This designation has come my way with a lovely review from The Historical Fiction Company, included below: Creature: A Novel of Mary Shelley […]
Read more
Today is the official publication day of my novel Creature: A Novel of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, now out from Sea Crow Press. See the events page on this site for more about upcoming readings, and thanks to all who have supported me and my books along the way!
Read more
And Urizen Read in his book of brass in sounding tones Listen O Daughters to my voice Listen to the Words of Wisdom So shall [ye] govern over all let Moral Duty tune your tongue But be your hearts harder than the nether millstone To bring the shadow of Enitharmon beneath our wondrous tree That […]
Read more
(This is the text of a talk delivered last night at Luther College, with responses from student attendees pasted at the end!) Intro music: Bob Dylan, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Books for the chalk tray: Taplin, Snyder, Lanier, Orwell, Haidt, Pomerantsev, Arendt, me, YOUNG ROMANTICS, and more. Welcome, and thank you all for being here. Thanks […]
Read more
This year I’ve tried two ways – printmaking and welding – to get under the dirty, stubborn skin of William Blake. Both rely on fire to inscribe your intention and an elemental ground – paper or metal – to preserve and transmit it. Both ask you to dedicate yourself to learning an art that won’t […]
Read more
Delighted to announce that my novel Creature: A Novel of Mary Shelley and FRANKENSTEIN will be published by Sea Crow Press in the spring of 2025. Students, friends, and family know this has been a long journey (especially to get its first draft of 236,000 words down to a manageable length!), but I am thrilled […]
Read more
It’s official: actor Julian Sands has passed at age 65, after disappearing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains. He was a great actor – and also a genuine aficionado of literature. His work offered me an artist’s great gift: a small-town kid’s early intuition that the world can be grand and beautiful beyond its […]
Read more
“May you live in interesting times,” says an apocryphal Chinese curse. And for a Romanticist writing about Byron, boxing, and the celebrity culture of Regency England, the news that AI can now fake even more human creations is “interesting” indeed. Now AI has made a “song” by Drake and The Weeknd that neither artist authorized […]
Read more