Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

* Thanks to Tatyana, who wrote me the following note:

The best, uncensored, least commercialized, newest and most talented authors in Russia are now online, and have been for the last decade. There are also online competitions, literary awards and subsequent publishing of works (most popular - short stories, but there is poetry and novels, too) on paper; I have some books presented by authors whom I know thru Live Journal communication; some of the stories in the books I've read first online.

Tatyana points us all to a posting at Language Hat where LH and she supply the key links. Those who haven't already run across it will enjoy (and learn a lot from) a Guest Posting Tatyana did for 2Blowhards about the Russian Bard scene in the U.S.

* That inspired linker Bluewyvern has turned up some webcomix that sound tempting. (She also supplies a link to this adorably-drawn Flash card-toss game.)

* Sepia Mutiny sponsors a regular "nanofiction" festival -- inviting readers to submit prose fiction pieces of no more than 55 words in length. I found SM's latest collection of nanofiction a lot of fun, with mucho on display in the way of ingenuity, wit, and sweet emotion. The festival includes an enchanting, rule-bending contribution from MD that's like a piece of narrative haiku.

Best,

Michael

Jeff Goldstein at proteinwisdom.com does mini-fiction pieces from time to time as well as reviews in five words or less. Check out the other nutty bits too (along with the usual political commentary).

Posted by: Donald Pittenger on January 5, 2006 06:34 PM

Thanks for the mention, MB.

In the spirit of nanofiction, and to give you an example of one of the writers I was talking about in that LanguageHat's post, I'll link to a short play (Act One) by M.Rabinovich he published in his LiveJournal.
It's more like 239 words instead of 55, with respect to the genre requirements (play vs.short story); it works well [I think] within traditional 2Blowhard themes: "kids these days" and "literature".

Translation's a bit awkward, in my opinion, but the author's satisfied with it, so here you have it.

Posted by: Tat on January 5, 2006 07:59 PM

Nano fiction is great fun! Here are two I wrote this morning for high school kids in Browning:

The night of the district playoffs, there was a freezing rain. The Browning bus went off the highway and rolled twice, shattering windows and strewing both baggage and players. Five young men and the coach survived but wished they had not.

Over the years their grieving regret killed them one by one, even the coach.

**************

The first time she met him was at Indian Days but he paid no attention to her. The second time they met she wore the jingle dress her grandmother helped her make, and he couldn’t ignore her. He was a hoop-dancer and won his event.

Years later, she helped their daughter make a jingle dress.

Prairie Mary

Posted by: Mary Scriver on January 6, 2006 03:49 PM

Hey, thanks for the link!

Prairie Mary - I love those....microfiction *is* loads of fun.

Tatyana - I re-read the bard post and can't believe how chock full of interesting tidbits it is - I'd love to go to one of those slets? is it?

Posted by: MD on January 6, 2006 05:33 PM






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