Random Penguins and Other Global Readers.....

It's official, mega-publishers Random House and Penguin have merged. And, I am woefully disappointed that they didn't opt to go with my vote to rename themselves Random Penguins---

instead, they've settled on the boring---and completely uninspiring---Penguin Random House.

Even the equally amusing, Penguin House, would have been an exciting change...

I mean, come on... surely a company that is based in the creative uses of language would jump at the opportunity to inspire a bit of humor. No?

In other global-literary news, the folks at the Asia Pacific Writers and Translators Association, aka AP Writers, have been inspired to create a World Readers' Award, that will take an author's nationality out of the equation. The idea having been inspired by their feeling that the Pulitzer is too American, the Man Booker is too British and the Nobel is too Euro-centric----

How they plan on making the World Readers' Award more "global" when their intent is to represent, the thus far overlooked Asian/Indian population of writers, is beyond me.

Their idea is to present "readers", not literature professionals, with nationality-blind entries and allow them to select a short-list from which a winner will be selected. They're still trying to determine the parameters of the award/selection/judging process---- but, yearly theme-based groups have already been tossed about... i.e. "East meets West" and "The Indian Subcontinent"---and I can't help thinking it's all a bit self-defeating.

The concept of a global award is to be commended--- in fact, I would love to see a true global award come about. But, I don't think there's anything wrong with a culturally exclusive award--- as many writers/readers are defined by their nationality and culture, it's difficult to "compare" and ultimately "discriminate" what might be the best. How do you define a global standard when we are still so far apart culturally/economically?

The Pulitzer, Man Booker and Nobel prizes might be the most well-known on a global scale, but, that doesn't mean that the awards presented by Asian/Indian countries for their own nationals are any less prestigious.

Unfortunately, so long as there gaps in every country's understanding of the rest of the world, I think it's going to be very difficult to bridge the distance among the world's peoples' idea of "great" literature.

But, here's to hoping that gap won't be around for much longer....

L is for Loch Ness Monster....

With Kelpie, for my 'K' entry, still fresh, I thought it'd be fun to stick to the water for a bit. So, while we're in the realm of Celtic water creatures, why not visit with the most famous and widely known of aquatic beasties---- the Loch Ness Monster. Though, Nessie, sort of skirts the line of supernatural creature as it is purported by many to be a cryptid, a creature whose existence has yet to be identified by the scientific community. Those who believe Nessie an unidentified animal, have speculated that it is from the line of Plesiosaurs, while the scientific community claims it's just a modern-day myth, or at the very worst--- a hoax. I've included the Loch Ness Monster as part of my Supernatural theme because, like Bigfoot, there's an, albeit EXTREMELY, remote chance that it's real, but, like ghosts, I won't believe it until I see it myself----- I'm a card-carrying skeptic, but, I can enjoy a smidgen of the illogical now-and-again-...

K is for Kelpie.....

Today's entry is dedicated to my wonderful social club pledge sister, who sent me off from our college sanctuary with a copy of "Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales", containing an inscription that the "magic and mischief of the Kelpie follow me".... She knew I had an affinity for water and for mischief...and for all-things Celtic--so the Kelpie seemed to suit---- though, I'm not quite as savage as many folktales paint Kelpies. Kelpies are Celtic water horses, believed to haunt the lochs and rivers of Scotland and Ireland. The Kelpie was known to appear as a "lost pony", though, its identity is given away by its constantly dripping mane. Most stories give the color of the Kelpie's coat as black, though there are a few that mention the color white. The texture of the Kelpie's skin is likened to the smoothness of a seal, but its temperature is "cold as death to the touch." Like many other tales of supernatural creatures, the Kelpie...

A to Z reflections....

Another A to Z challenge comes to an end--- another collection of posts and poetry have been written, another deep breath of relief is released. For my fellow bloggers that survived as well, it's another 'challenge-completed' notch carved into the writing desk. I've come to enjoy my yearly foray into the world of all things alphabetical. This was my third year, though it was only the second year I had a workable theme (which made the challenge substantially easier than the first year I attempted this challenge.) And, though my first year was difficult because my focus was so scattered, I found this year was more difficult because I lost the enthusiasm that came with the first year excitement----excitement which helped me plug along until the end of the challenge. Year 3 was a success in the sense that I completed the challenge, though, this was the year that almost wasn't---- Somewhere about a third of the way through the challenge, I seriously considered...

From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

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