For my readers in Phoenix area who enjoy archaeology, here’s info about the upcoming AIA lecture. Everyone welcome!
AIA Central Arizona Society February Lecture on Byzantine Soundways
Time: 6-7 pm
Location: Benedictine University Mesa, 225 E. Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201
Speaker: Dr. Amy Papalexandrou, Constantine George Georges and Sophia G. Georges Endowed Professor of Greek Art & Architecture, Stockton University
Title: Soundways, Archaeology, and the Byzantine Acoustic
Abstract:
The material remains of Byzantine sites and buildings offer opportunities for archaeologists to record and reconstruct important visual and tangible components of space and place. More elusive yet equally important are the intangible elements of sensory environments that once permeated all aspects of life but have now disappeared without a trace. I confront the issue of sound as a neglected arena for discovering undercurrents of human interaction of the Byzantines with their immediate surroundings. Acoustics of standing structures form the basis of my analysis, although perceptions of sound (from literary sources) and study cases of interaction with reverberant spaces – both past and present – offer potential inroads into a basic understanding of sound’s heretofore ignored yet crucial role within Byzantine society.
Click here for more information on the Archaeology Institute of America Central Arizona Society Blog
Posts I enjoyed the last couple weeks:
Ursula Le Guin has died. Her voice will be much missed. She’s one of the authors I’ve found inspiration from as I feel my way into a style that combines fantasy with history. Scroll down in this Shelf Awareness issue to the section about her. Fantasy/Sci-fi with conciliation rather than sword fights and Le Guin’s vision of feminism, one where equality makes solidarity unnecessary. Lots to think about and admire. I somehow hadn’t realized my niece was her editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt—hoping for some great conversations next time our paths cross. I liked what Naomi had to say about Le Guin—”remarkable spirit” indeed. We are in need of as many spirits like Le Guin’s as the world can provide to envision our way through.
What’s your favorite Le Guin book, story, poem or essay? Let’s create a reading list for each other. Wise reading for us all.
Click here for Shelf Awareness (you’ll have to scroll down to the LeGuin piece)
More about the BBC/Netflix Troy Fall of a City via the Guardian. I like two things in this write up. One is the director’s attitude about mythic tradition and its constant growth and change over time. He’s pulled from Shakespeare as well as Homer and then, as he says, “invented bits” because these are “living stories and every retelling adds another layer to the myth.” He’s also choosing to develop Paris beyond the pretty boy image. His outsider status in Troy, his peasant upbringing, etc. are adding depth to the character development, this article says. I know the group of writers from SONG OF WAR, a novel of Troy will be on board with adding dimensions to the long-maligned Paris (Libbie Hawker, Kate Quinn, Simon James Atkinson Turney, Vicky Alvear Shecter, Stephanie Thornton, Christian Cameron, Russell Whitfield). I’m always on board with exploring new levels to mythic characters. I love reading completely different takes on characters than what I developed in my fiction—that’s the roominess and joy of myth and legend and Homer. Click here for The Guardian “Enter the Wooden Horse. But this time the Trojans tell their side of fall of Troy”
In the NYT this Sunday, Reese Witherspoon was quoted saying, “People are desperate for this kind of storytelling about the female heroes that have always been in the shadows and now are coming into the light.” I certainly hope she’s right-that describes my central hero perfectly. I’m thinking this is a fine logline for my work. What do the rest of you think? Has Reese tapped into a genuine desire among the reading/moving watching public? (The photo is of my female hero whom I’m hoping to bring far more into the light. Alas we only have her carved in stone–that must be a metaphor for her durability, surely?)
Mesolithic crayon? Yes, but only in bright red ochre color. In Yorkshire under a peat layer that used to be a lake, researchers found ochre carved into a crayon shape and also an ochre pebble that had been scraped to move the color onto something. They think the crayon was used to decorate hides. Fashion started early. I like imagining a Mesolithic artist working away on a deer skin with this red crayon. What’s your happiest crayon memory? Click here for Archaeology News Network “Ancient Lake Reveals a Colorful Past”