Category Archives: Writing

Dracula Returns (daily)

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Dracula Daily Returning May 3 You may remember DraculaDaily, which has been an annual paean to the beloved Gothic vampire classic first published in 1897. The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker unfolds over the course of six months, from May … Continue reading →

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The Dwindleberry Zoo

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I was today years old when I discovered THE DWINDLEBERRY ZOO by G.E. Farrow (London/Glasgow/Dublin/Bombay: Blackie, 1909) Illustrated by Gordon Browne.  It seems that G.E. Farrow was one of the masters of the Victorian fantasy genre. In this tale a boy eats a … Continue reading →

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Many years later, as he faced the firing squad…

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. I first read One Hundred Years of Solitude during my first year at university when I … Continue reading →

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New Literary Genres

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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my hope is vertical

Posted on April 19, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

TODAY, MY HOPE IS VERTICAL Jane Hirshfield Today, my hope is vertical. Tomorrow it will be horizontal. The next day, cloudy. My hope is like a Greek myth: exchanging skin for bark, bark for scales, scales for the hollow bones … Continue reading →

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Literacy for Life

Posted on April 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The Literacy Pen by The World Literacy Foundation and the Dutch firm Media.Monks is an amazing educational device designed to enable illiterate individuals to start writing and learning to read, instantly. Open source and compatible with all standard pens on … Continue reading →

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Speaking Of

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Nightfall

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Imagine a planet in a system with six suns where total darkness, in the form of a solar eclipse, comes only once every 2,049 years. This is the setting of “Nightfall,” a short story that appeared in the September 1941 … Continue reading →

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who gives up a cherished habit?

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

“Hell” by Virgilio Piñera translated by Mark Schaffer   When we are children, hell is nothing more than the devil’s name on our parent’s lips. Later, this notion becomes more complicated, and we toss in our beds through the interminable … Continue reading →

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A Kafka Centennial

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Kafka: Making of an Icon is an upcoming exhibition that will mark the centennial  of the great writer’s death and celebrate not only his books and creativity, but also his continuing inspiration for new literary, theatrical and artistic creations around … Continue reading →

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