PERHAPS THE GREATEST THING ABOUT Galileo Galilei’s first publication, translated from the Latin as The Sidereal Messenger, is his sense of adventure at being the first known human to telescopically observe and painstakingly chronicle the night sky. Galileo recorded his…
Category: Writing
My own serious stuff; the craft itself; those who inspire me in it; the art of reading.
Points of Honor, Literary and Otherwise
– STUFFING SENTENCES TO CARRYING CAPACITY. – Never starting a blog post (or sermon) with “I.” – Punctuality. – Creative segues. – Repeating verbatim whatever someone wants said to another. – That only what I actually heard appears inside quotation…
Free Verse: “And God Said”
SEEK ME, EACH OF YOU, in your own way. And when you find Me? Prove it: Leave each other the hell alone. originally published: 2011.06.04
Prosatio Silban and the Ravenous Inebriate
WHEN YOU’RE ROUSTED FROM A warm bed around midnight, it had better be worthwhile. What in the Nine Hells is that racket? Prosatio Silban thought, rolling out of his sleeping berth and onto his galleywagon’s ornate braided rug. Is something…
Prosatio Silban and the Grave Matter
ALTHOUGH THE UULIANS COMMONLY CREMATE their deceased, it is also common for the bereaved survivors – at least, those with means – to erect quaint stone monuments in favored locations. Rare is the park, garden, or waterside lacking at least…
First Day In Orbit
“ENSIGN MULDOON. RISE AND SHINE.” “What? Huh? What? Time is it?” “Oh eight hundred.” “Oh EIGHT hundred? But it’s still dark ou– oh.”
The Poet
HE COULDN’T TELL WHETHER HE loved beauty or women more until the day he called his mom and said “Guess what? I’m marrying a sunset.”
Prosatio Silban and the Comedic Situation
IT ALL BEGAN WHEN Prosatio Silban leapt forward. “Look out!” he bellowed, grabbing the careless man’s belt and yanking him back from the edge of the algae-slick dock. “Blessed All-Mother!” the man exclaimed, straightening. “You saved me life!” Prosatio Silban…
Fable, With Apocalypse
IN THE MIDDLE OF A flat grey wasteland, under a grey streaky sky, a handful of figures warm themselves at a snapping fire. “Hey! What are you doing?” One of the figures has turned to gape across the waste: a…
Prosatio Silban and the Plain Truth
EVEN WHEN HOSPITALITY PROFFESSIONALS ARE “off the clock,” their discourse – like that of the other trades – can’t help but revolve around their livelihoods. “How’s this for a topic?” asked Piriforma Syndro, head chef at epicurean Pormaris’ renowned Diamond…
Prosatio Silban and the Secondhand Saga
IT IS A LONG-SAID saying, and with good reason: “Workers are only as good as their tools.” Prosatio Silban lifted down yet another old pot from the galleywagon’s ceiling-mounted rack, placed it among its fellows in an empty durian-crate, dropped…
Prosatio Silban and the Perfect Colleague
TRYING TO HOLD A CANDLE to someone else is the quickest way to extinguish your own flickering flame. “And then the High Sacreant herself complimented me on yet another job well done,” Egotio Nys said, lifting his expensive drink and…