MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, NOV 14
Topic: November 2005
MR Miscellany [11.13.05]
• Book Feature: Shopping Cart Soldiers
from Times Online. "Mulligan described his style as 'Scottish magic realism with a slight leaning towards the surrealistic.' "

[11.13.05]
• Stage News: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings , presented by Los Angeles's Center Theatre Group and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, opens at the Kirk Douglas Theater through November 19 and will run through December 18.
from Playbill. "Based on a short story by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the work of magic realism set in a small Caribbean town finds two children who happen upon a very old man with enormous wings who falls mysteriously from the sky."

[11.12.05]
• Book Review: Isle of Passion by Laura Restrepo
from Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Elements of magical realism give Restrepo's finely wrought work an ethereal quality, offsetting her stark portrayal of humankind's capacity for cruelty."

[11.11.05]
• Book Review: Praying Mantis by Andre Brink
from AllAfrica.com. "The magic realism in this novel evolves around the presence and meaning of the praying mantis, of stars and ancient piles of stone or piles of stones erected along travellers' routes throughout the country."

[11.11.05]
• Movie Review: Bee Season
from Palo Alto Online. "The subtle heartbreak of Searching for Bobby Fischer meets the dreamy idealism of A Beautiful Mind in this cleverly intentioned but slightly disjointed drama."

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR THURSDAY, NOV 10
Topic: November 2005
THE INTERSECTION OF MAGICAL REALISM AND POETRY

OF COURSE, THERE'S SUCH A THING
Terri Windling of Endicott Studio writes about Carolyn Dunn's book of poems, Outfoxing Coyote: "If there's such a thing as magical realist poetry, then this is it: a simply gorgeous volume of poems that draws upon the myths of Carolyn's Native American heritage (Coyote, Deer Woman, etc.), yet brings them into a contemporary context."

NOT BALLS
Here's a MR poem from five-year veteran and active organizer of the National Poetry Slam, Julia Ann Delbridge.

OLD LINK, FRESH CONCEPT
The Guardian, in a long-ago article in lit., cited Claribel Alegría as a magic-realist poet from Nicaragua in their World-in-Translation Month celebration based upon Jules Verne's classic novel, Around the World In 80 Days.

A TRUE POET 4 PEACE
Fans of Marjorie Agosin can read one of her poems, "Jerome (for John)," in both Spanish and English versions, here. Agosin is a Chilean-born poet whose peace activism was recently recognized with the coveted Leadership Award in Human Rights from the United Nations.

NOTE A THEME HERE?
From an old press release at Lapidus: Literary Arts in Personal Development, Jean Sprackland was touted Britain's "foremost magical realist poet" and named in 2004 as one of the Poetry Book Society’s Next Generation poets.
Still can't guess the theme?

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, NOV 9
Topic: November 2005
BOOKS, BOOKS & MORE BOOKS

Memories of My Melancholy Whores, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; translated by Edith Grossman [See the November 18th launch of Margin's Autumn Edition for more on this book!]

The Guest, by Hwang Sok-Yong; translated by Kyung-Ja Chun and Maya West [Korean magical realist novel]

A House at the Edge of Tears, by Venus Khoury-Ghata; translated by Marilyn Hacker [Lebanese magical realist novel]

Necklace of Kisses, by Francesca Lia Block [next in the Weetzie Bat young adult series]

Half Light, by Hiromi Goto [young adult fiction]

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, NOV 8
Topic: November 2005
Casting into the Blogosphere

[11.08.05]
• Mia Couto and the Exercise of Modesty, Pt II
[10.25.05]
• Mia Couto and the Exercise of Modesty, Pt I
from Blogging Burt, Topeka, Kansas, United States

[11.07.05]
• Rushdie in Cambridge
from Reality Cafe, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

[11.07.05]
• One case for MR in Jane Eyre
from Burning Shriek, Cape Town, South Africa

[11.06.05]
• Breakout MR from India: Siddharth Dhanvant Sanghvi
from Aristera Says, India

[11.06.05]
• GGM: Buddha of MR
from Clouds, Rocks and People, Nauru

[11.06.05]
• Film Review: Ponette
from *Sunshine*, Shanghai, China

[11.04.05]
• Magic Realism, Sensuality at Latino Film Fest
from Hispanic Tips, Chicago, Illinois, United States

[11.03.05]
• The Difference Between Fantasy and MR is…
from River's Blue Elephants, Delhi, Delhi, India

[10.25.05]
• The Magical Realism of Louis de Bernieres
from Gallimauphry Musings, Oak Park, Illinois, United States

[10.05]
• MR Quick Fix: excerpt from One Hundred Years of Solitude
from Imagination Dead Imagine, India

[04.21.05]
• Interview with Rushdie
from Moorish Girl, Portland, Oregon, United States

[03.06.05]
• Geoff Ryman Rules (review of Air)
from ScribblingWoman

[10.18.04]
• Magic-Realism as WMD?
from boingboing, Los Angeles, California, United States

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Topic: November 2005
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

SOUTHERN REVIVAL: DEEP MAGIC FOR HURRICANE RELIEF

AMERICAN LITERATURE owes a debt of gratitude to the rich cultural traditions of the Deep South. The literary dynamism of the region truly captures a jambalaya of cultures, voices and ideas. Sadly, the 2005 hurricane season has destroyed or severely impaired the libraries, literacy programs, and lives of writers and publishers in the region.

We at Margin and Periphery wish to aid in the restoration of this treasured cultural region by devoting our 2006 edition of Periphery, entitled Southern Revival, to library recovery efforts. The editor pledges to absorb all production costs and to forward all sales, donations and support culled from Periphery to Book Relief, First Book's comprehensive effort to provide millions of new books to the victims of the fall 2005 hurricane season. Please click on either link above to learn more about the award-winning nonprofit organization and its national campaign.

Our goal at Periphery? $2,500. That amount will provide support for the delivery of 5,000 books to those displaced by the hurricanes, to schools and libraries supporting the evacuees, and to replenish the schools and libraries ultimately rebuilt in the Gulf Coast.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Contributions to Southern Revival must capture, in some way, the magical essence of the Deep South. While our usual focus is magical realism, the editor has expanded the possibilities this time to include all imaginative literary forms. We are interested in diverse voices and ideas. Forms: free verse, flash fiction (<1000 words), creative nonfiction (<1000 words), digital artwork and prose poetics. Possible subjects: faith healing, voodoo, haints, curses, miracles, legends, fish stories, vampires, devils, preachers, black cats, owls, thunder and lightning, snake oil salesmen, black magic, mardi gras, witchcraft, planting by the moon, superstitions, ghost armies, sleepwalking, and all things haunted. From these submissions, we will select the best work to fill Southern Revival's 24 pages.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

MAGICAL REALISM IN FILM, TELEVISION AND THEATER
Topic: November 2005
11.04.05, TORONTO, Ontario —The FANTASY WORLDWIDE International Film Festival (November 4-6, 2005) celebrates fantasy filmmaking in Canada and around the world. The festival organizers have selected a showcase of world mythology, fantasy (no horror), mysticism, magical realism, science fiction, historical fiction, legend and archetype in a plethora of feature films, shorts, family and children's films, documentaries and animation. Tickets are available at the Bloor Cinema during the festival ONLY. For more info

11.04.05, THE WORLD WIDE WEB— The Gregory Nava film, El Norte, has achieved a cult following since its release in 1983. Fans wishing for a DVD version are flooding Amazon.com with requests. We paid a visit to that page and discovered this message from the folks at the world's largest online bookstore:

This title will be released on December 31, 1969. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.

Yeah, good luck with that, Amazon.com. How Borges must be laughing in his grave!

11.04.05, AMERICAN TELEVISION—And speaking of graves… Okay, so I'm having terrible Six Feet Under withdrawals. I had an even worse time accepting last summer's final episode. I'd been at my vacation place, well, vacationing, and hadn't been clued in to the news that the August episode I was about to watch was not only the season finale, but the series finale. What? It didn't occur to me that this was The End until Claire began having her "trip" into the future. [Click on this link to find out what happened to everybody!]

Oh, the tears in my eyes when it all dawned on me in one big rush, just like that amazing closing scene (one of the best ever for a series finale, hands down).

But there's good news. No, I didn't save any money buying any insurance from a gecko, but I did find this: Reading Six Feet Under, which publisher Palgrave-MacMillan describes as an examination of the show's "predominant themes as the dead body, magic realism and the grotesque, American cultural politics, family relationships, homosexuality, motherhood and more."

What a fix for the cold-turkey loss of one of television's finest ever dramas. I'll certainly be asking for the entire 5-series set on DVD (you can get the first four now, but I'll wait for the 5-pack so I can revisit that amazing final scene in the series finale).

10.29.05, NEW YORK, New York— Darn. I always despair at headlines like this one:

"Magical realism on page is a little unreal on stage."

Rachel Breitman's panning of the theatrical adaptation of Aimee Bender’s story collection, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, at WalkerSpace in New York isn't a criticism of Bender's genius as a storyteller, however, nor is it a harsh condemnation of Bridgette Dunlap's adaptation, as much as it's a familiar complaint about adaptations in general of complex storylines.

Let's face it. It's just plain hard to capture the nuances of magical realism in the more visual performance arts like theater. It's not as if it can't be done, but rather how to do it so that the audience, which brings its own experience and expectations to a performance, can grab onto those layers it understands and walk away with some level of satisfaction. Without the special effects of film at their behest, nor the intellectual symbology spelled out in a text, how can the stage effectively portray a story like "The Healer," for instance, which is brilliant and emotional, without relying heavily upon the theater of the mind?

As Breitman points out, "Bender’s stories are lyrical, bizarre, and delightful, but sometimes the movement from humor to pain, real to surreal, and child to adult on the page should have been dealt with differently onstage."

While the headline seems to befit a scathing criticism, Breitman's review is thoughtful and not nearly so judgmental. In the end, it seems that she's not faulting Dunlap for trying. Nor are we.

10.21.05, NEW YORK, New York — Antonio Pasolini's review of director and screenwriter Lucile Hadzihalilovic's Innocence should inspire American audiences to seek out this haunting film if? when? it's released on DVD. New Yorkers were able to see it on the screen this October when it was released on the 21st.

The storyline, based upon the 1888 short work by symbolist German writer Frank Wedekind, plumbs the depths of its title suggestion in the form of dramas encountered at a remote all-girl school where a new student arrives within the confines of a coffin, of all things. Spooky? You bet.

Hadzihalilovic, an emerging presence in French cinema, "managed to create a meticulous balance between fantasy/surrealism and reality in a film that moves like a dream but which is, all the same, naturalistic. Innocence is a beautifully woven fable tailored to the contemporary imagination populated by accumulated references. It is a very idiosyncratic work with one of the most beautiful and haunting opening credits scenes I've ever seen," writes Pasolini for London's film newsletter, The Filter.

Other reviews of the film depict it as slow or confusing, but also beautifully articulated and atmospheric. You might want to check out the film's home page to see if it's the film for you. We're certainly intrigued…

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR THURSDAY, NOV 3
Topic: November 2005
Come check out the most recent interview with Margin publisher Tamara Kaye Sellman! This week's Writing it Real column includes the interview, conducted by editor Sheila Bender. We had a terrific time this fall chatting about Margin, publishing in online publications and discovering magical realism. If you get the chance, drop by the site! At the end, there's a place to offer your comments. Please give some feedback, if you're motivated.

RECENT BOOK RELEASES OF INTEREST TO MR FANS

Drive: The First Quartet, Lorna Dee Cervantes (poetry)

Michael Martone, Michael Martone (story collection)

Where I Want To Be, Adele Griffin (children's literature)

The Wild Creatures, Kevin Killian (gay literature, story collection)

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MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, NOV 1
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: November 2005
HEADLINES

10.26.05, BOWLING GREEN, Ohio—Prairie Margins, the undergraduate literary journal of Bowling Green State University, was released on October 26 as part of an important unveiling. This particular edition is the first ever to feature work from all over the U.S..

The content of the new edition is rather diverse, reports coeditor-in-chief, Steven Barrie. “There is some stuff that seems really real, and there is some stuff that is like magical realism." See for yourself: Get your copy of Prairie Margins by e-mailing coeditor-in-chief Oleander Barber: debrab @ bgnet.bgsu.edu.

10.29.05, CALCUTTA, India—The Telegraph reports that Indian filmmaker Aparna Sen is now ready, after a few copyright entanglements, to start production on Goynar Baksho, a magical realist film adapted from the Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay story of the same title.

“I have always loved this story," said the filmmaker. "It has a Marquezian feel, that kind of magic realism. It shows the changing position of women in our society through three generations, vis-a-vis the changing attitude of the women. I like the story because there is no pontification and it’s very light." The film, which will star both Aparna and her daughter, Konkona, will take on comedic overtones, she said.

10.30.05, SAN LUIS OBISPO, California—The Latino Outreach Council presented the 1959 film, "Macario," last Sunday as part of the "Cine sin Fronteras" ("Cinema without Borders") film festival, produced to honor the Day of the Dead along California's central coast.

"Macario," produced by cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, is the classic tale of a Mexican man who fantasizes about having a roast turkey and who must confront God, death and the devil when he finally acquires his edible "grail."

Festival organizer Pedro Arroyo remarked of the film's theme, "You see it happen again and again: People gain a little wealth and power, and they squander it all." He contends that the film, with its magical realism, "has crossover appeal. I think anybody can relate."

10.31.05, DENVER, Colorado—Musical cult hero Reverend Adam Glasseye, a special contributor to the Denver Post, had this to say about Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children in a recent musing about the art that inspires him:

"Rushdie's telling of the modern history of India is so alive and frighteningly chaotic that even his most absurd magical realism resonates as truth."

10.31.05, MEDFORD, Oregon—Bhutan's first-ever homegrown feature film, Travelers and Magicians, opens at the Varsity Theatre on Friday, November 11.

Directed by Khyentse Norbu, a Rinpoche (reincarnated high llama) of Bhutanese Tibetan Buddhism, the film is described by film critics at The Medford News as a "magical mixture of rustic road movie and mystical fable...a potpourri of desire and its consequences, set in a breathtaking landscape." The film has received raves globally, including these words from Lee Marshall for Screen International, who describes Travelers and Magicians as a "Magic realist fable...Sweet and intriguing...A paean to the mountain kingdom's unhurried pace of life and stress on spiritual values."

Showings run 6:15 pm and 8:30 pm, and the film will run for at least one week. The opening will benefit the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Tickets are $7.25 general public and $5 for AIFF members, available now at the Varsity Theatre Box Office.

FROM THE BLOG EDITOR
Mood:  happy
Topic: November 2005
MAGICAL REALISM NEWS IS BACK ONLINE!

Thanks for your patience as we restart this feature. We took a brief hiatus over the summer and first part of the fall, but now we're back.

If you hear of any great MR news, let us know. We'll be happy to credit you as a source, if you like.

Management

FROM THE BLOG EDITOR
Topic: JULY 2005
HEY FOLKS!

If you haven't yet seen our Quixote spectacular, click here. You won't want to miss out on this terrific survey of the world's most beloved Modern novel.

Our fiction contest has closed, and we are busy at a number of projects: finalizing our decisions about general submissions from Feb-Apr 2005, processing our fiction contest, producing the next edition of Periphery.

POETS NOTE: However, we have one more contest open: EVIDENCE OF MIRACLES is the theme for this year's free verse contest, with a deadline of August 1. Details

The staff is otherwise taking some time off for the summer, so any messages you send us may receive a delayed reply. We're also reviewing our mission statement this summer and making some plans and priorities for the next five years. Keep checking back for news about Margin's plans for the next five years.

In the meantime, the newsblog will be on hiatus until September. We are also completely closed to general submissions. Of course, we always love getting letters from our readers, so feel free to drop us a note anytime with your feedback.

Have a terrific summer; we'll see you in the fall!

The staff/MARGIN

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, MAY 23
Topic: May 2005
SALMAN RUSHDIE is at it again! Fans must pick up a copy of his latest work of magical realist genius, Shalimar the Clown. From a review in Book Standard, we learn about the "sprawling story ripped from today's?and, undoubtedly, tomorrow's?headlines" as the publication's critics give glowing kudos to this latest from the master, described as "a magical-realist masterpiece that equals, and arguably surpasses, the achievements of Midnight's Children, Shame and The Moor's Last Sigh. [Margin editor: I can't wait to sink my teeth into this one!]

Magical realist author DANIEL OLIVAS recently reviewed Luis Alberto Urrea's The Hummingbird's Daughter for the literary blog, ELEGANT VARIATION. Olivas informs us that

"The Hummingbird?s Daughter is [Urrea's] fictionalization of family lore based on twenty years of intense research and interviews. The result resonates with such passion and beauty that it doesn?t matter whether Teresita?s legend is based more on a people?s wishful thinking than truth."

Add one more title to the ever-growing list of "Books to Read!" Let us know what you think; try it out with your book group.

DID YOU KNOW?Margin's incomplete PayPal coding from last winter is no longer so. Hooray! You can pay contest entry fees, send donations or buy copies of Periphery easily using this new convenient feature.

And speaking of contests?. August 1, 2005 is the deadline for Margin's second annual free verse contest. This year's theme: "Evidence of Miracles." Miracles can come from anywhere and are not necessarily the domain of the pious and church-going. Send us your free verse poems witnessing miracles; the humorous, the unpredictable and the outlandish have a good chance here. Patently religious poems won't. Feel free to employ the popularly iconic, the socially secretive, the irreverent. Prize: $100 and publication in the Winter 2006 edition of Margin. Details

KUDOS to Abe Books for putting forth a magical realism sampler page. We find the titles and authors cited there offer a satisfactory representation of our favorite literary form. Great job, Abe!

contest winner announced
Topic: May 2005
editors Tamara Kaye Sellman and Susan Deefholts are proud to announce the winner of the PERIPHERY III (theme: "Reasonable Facsimiles") flash fiction/prose poetry contest for 2005:

"What the Body Houses" a prose poem from Cathie Sandstrom of Sierra Madre, CA

Other works to be highlighted in this annual, collectible zine include:

"Ghost in Training" (prose poem) and "Twin Sisters" (prose poem) by John Davis of Bainbridge Island, WA

"The Image" (flash fiction) by Eve Fisher of Madison, SD

"A Matter of Agreement" (flash fiction), "Point of View: Reflections of the Reflection Who Doesn't Know She's the Reflection" (flash fiction) and "The Price" (flash fiction) by Andrea Jackson of St. Louis, MO

"Under the Skin" (flash fiction) by Kathryn Kulpaof Bristol, RI

"The Cavalier" (prose poem) and "Letter to an Unborn Twin" (prose poem), also by winner Cathie Sandstrom

Please join us in congratulating all the contributors. PERIPHERY III: "Reasonable Facsimiles" will be released August 1, 2005. If you haven't picked up your copy of PERIPHERY II: "The Living Landscape," you better get one soon! Only 10 remain!!!

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MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, MAY 17
Topic: May 2005
BOOK TALK
Got demons??? I don't know if magical realist DANIEL OLIVAS has any of his own, but he sure knows how to approach the subject. Olivas recently received some nice props for his story collection, Devil Talk. WORTH CHECKING OUT

HUMAN FLOWERS
Margin's winter 2005 edition cover artist BEATRIZ INGLESSIS was recently featured as part of the Human Flower Project. We selected her image, Botanical Composition #4 because, like her other work, it suggests the possible rising out of the impossible. We wish her continued good luck with her dramatic, unique and challenging work.

CLMP MERGER SUPPORTS INDY PUBLISHING
In 2001, the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses [CLMP] (a 38 year-old non-profit organization providing technical assistance to independent literary publishers) invited Margin to join the organization as one of its first-ever electronic publications. This was a great move on their part. Acknowledging the electronic media even a few years ago was considered risky business. But the industry has dramatically improved in even that short period, and electronic publishers are getting the credit they deserve, particularly because of efforts made by the CLMP.
We have been extremely grateful for the association, for it has meant we have enjoyed the fruits of such membership, including networking, exposure, inclusion in major literary events and the like.

So naturally we're happy to post that the CLMP recently merged with the Literary Ventures Fund (LVF, Inc.), a newly formed venture philanthropy supporting literary publishing. From the news release:

"The Literary Ventures Fund, Inc., founded by Jim Bildner, builds on the premise that given a level marketing playing field, exceptional literary works from small presses can thrive in the marketplace."

Kudos to CLMP and LVF for looking out for the future of small press and independent literary publishing in the US! This has got to be one of the most important efforts at championing free speech and expression in publishing that our country has seen in a long time. Our sincere thanks to the fine folks at CLMP. We send them our heartiest congratulations!

A NEW WAVE PUERTO RICAN WRITERS
Fans of Puerto Rican writing should get a copy of the second edition of Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana, published by the Latin American Writers Institute at Hostos Community College in the Bronx, New York.
The issue is entitled "Open Mic/Microfono Abierto: Nuevas Literaturas Puerto/Neorrique?as/New Puerto/Nuyor Rican Literatures" and is guest-edited by the Puerto Rican critic Juan Flores and the Puerto Rican writer Mayra Santos-Febres, professors at Hunter College (CUNY) and at the University of Puerto Rico, respectively.

The 300-page issue features "a newcrop of writers, first emerging around 1990, who approach the idea and practice of 'Puerto Rican literature' from new angles and with new meanings. Some new texts written from this perspective set out to pronounce important changes within the literary field of what had been referred to as 'Puerto Rican/Nuyorican literature' for more than two decades."

Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana is edited by Peruvian writer Isaac Goldemberg, and its mission is to build bridges between Latino artists and intellectuals in the United States with their counterparts in Latin America and other parts of the world. To get your copy or to subscribe to the journal, please call (718) 518-6859 or write LAWI@hostos.cuny.edu Thanks to contributor Naomi Ayala for this tip

WRITERS' WORKSHOPS
Margin contributor THADDEUS RUTKOWSKI is leading a couple of workshops this summer:

"Generating Fiction" will be offered as part of the Hofstra University Summer Writing Workshops, Hempstead, L.I. Ten meetings, July 11-22. Open to all. Info: 516.463.7600.

"Short and Sweet," a prose poetry workshop. Hudson Valley Writers Center, Sleepy Hollow, NY. Four Tuesdays in August. Contact by e-mail or phone 914.332.5953

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, MAY 3
Topic: May 2005
Margin poet Hermine Meinhard is leading a week-long poetry retreat at Il Chiostro in Tuscany, Italy from Sat June 11 through Sat June 18. "Each day, either in the morning or afternoon, we will meet for a workshop of improvisational exercises to help you draw deeply on interior landscapes as well as the sights, sounds and smells of the countryside. … A new vista, and such a sensuously rich one, is a wonderful opportunity to reach out and into new sources of material from which the writing can flow. We will make excursions, for example, to the lovely medieval town of Siena and the local Dievole winery (maker of fine Chianti and just across the road) and I will leave you time for exploring on your own the beautiful hills, valleys and towns. … Meals will be a highlight of the day with traditional Tuscan recipes, local wine and fresh seasonal produce... So, in addition to making beautiful poems, we will live well." Details and registration

Ozzie Nogg, whose short story, "Blue Plate Special," we both published and nominated for a Pushcart prize, recently earned a new distinction for her work on a beautiful handmade book of creative nonfictions we reviewed in the last edition of Margin: Joseph's Bones won first prize in the Life Stories category of The Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards. She won $500 cash, promotion in Writer's Digest, and a guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review. Way to go, Oz!

Trickster Tales author John Briggs was recently featured by Pat Cahill for the masslive.com edition of The Republican of Springfield, MA. In "The world is a strange place" (March 24, 2005), Cahill discusses not only Briggs' new story collection, but his recent photography exhibition and the creative drives that fuel his life. "Creativity is essential for our survival. If we're not creative, we die," Cahill quoted Briggs. His book is descibed as having a "Franz Kafka-meets-Salvador Dali flavor." (For the full text, click here then select the article title, "The World is a Strange Place." You will need to register to read the entire text)

It's nice to know there's such a rich Spanish-language literary scene in our nation's capital. Translater CM Mayo recently published a literary resources article focusing on the DC area for Viva La Vida Literaria. Her article covers books, readings, and lectures; resources for translators; calls for submissions specifically tailored to Spanish-language authors and translators; and a brief interview with Robert Giron of Gival Press.

More MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, APR 27
Topic: April 2005
Other Margin contributors in the news:

Poet Lorraine Healy will perform on the Main Stage at the Burning Word Poetry Festival in Whidbey Island, WA on Saturday, April 30.

Folks in Seattle can also catch Margin editor Tamara Kaye Sellman, children's author Anjali Banerjee and Chicano magical realist author Kathleen Alcala at the Rainbow Bookfest on Saturday, April 30 (Community Center International District/Chinatown, 719 8th Ave S, Seattle, 9:30am - 6pm). Kathleen will be presenting for the "Selling Out: Selling Your Soul or Selling Your Books?" workshop at 2pm in Multi-purpose Room B, and Anjali is participating in the workshop, "Educators By Default: Why Children's Authors Do What They Do, What Do They Teach, What Have They Learned" at 4pm, also in Multi-purpose Room B. Their books will be on sale at the University Bookstore but you might also find either author hanging around the Margin table, ready to sign copies or chat with readers.

The weekend ain't over yet! Seattle Poetry Fest will feature Magical Realist Poetry from Erin Fristad, Marjorie Manwaring, Marjorie Rommel and Tamara Kaye Sellman on Sunday, May 1 at 1:15pm at the Richard Hugo House. Work from Margin poets Hermine Meinhard and Mary Elizabeth Parker is also slated to be read at that time.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, APR 27
Topic: April 2005
Margin's sometimes consulting editor Wyatt Bonikowski recently posted an interesting discussion about Kathy Acker and Realism at his new blog "The Nature of Too Bad."

Here's a great quote Wyatt posted from Acker: "The desire to play, to make literary structures that play into and in unknown or unknowable realms, those of chance and death and the lack of language, is the desire to live in a world that is open and dangerous, that is limitless. To play, then, both in structure and in content, is to desire to live in wonder."

And speaking of Kathy Acker, look for a newly unearthed piece of hers in the summer 2005 edition of Gargoyle, along with a short story from Margin editrice Tamara Kaye Sellman and work from some of her favorite contemporary authors and poets, including Martha Silano, J.P. Dancing Bear, Kate Braverman, Denise Duhamel, Michael Martone, C.M. Mayo, Molly McQuade, Rick Moody, Naomi Shihab Nye, D. Harlan Wilson and others.

OPRAH ANNIVERSARY
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: April 2005
Consultant-at-large Bruce Taylor reminded me that today is a significant anniversary for MARGIN:

One year ago today, Oprah Winfrey unveiled the magical realism pages Susan and I prepared for their popular and well-received Book Club spotlight on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE.

Oh Happy Day! A lot of traffic was redirected our way thanks to that exposure, and a lot of folks who would never have visited Margin otherwise spent time at our site and even became subscribers.

We often think of the book-loving world as a pie in thirds: the fans, teachers and writers of "literature;" the fans, teachers and writers of "genre;" and the denizens of mainstream bibliophiles who we all exist to please. My background has largely been spawned from the literary side, though I grew up in a household of science fiction and fantasy lovers. Bruce's background took a separate path along the banks of the "genre" stream. As more people came to be involved at MARGIN, these two distinctions continued to be made. But what of the mainstream?

This entree into the mainstream, via Oprah, was a welcomed surprise assignment last February. To reach readers whose only investment is, in fact, The Book, means we are an active part of that third distinction. For this, we are proud.

Please join us in celebrating a small, but significant, anniversary.

Tamara Kaye Sellman
Editor and Publisher

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, APR 11
Topic: April 2005
Many thanks to the contributors to MARGIN's fifth anniversary reading event, "A Night of Magic (Realism)" on Thursday March 31 in Vancouver BC. The event was a wonderful success, with lovely works read by Pauline Holdstock, Karen McelMurray, Paulo da Costa, Ewing Campbell, John Briggs, and Bruce Holland Rogers. Stay tuned to MARGIN's main pages: we'll be posting our Report from AWP in a few days!

Magical realist poets, here's a strong critical review and close reading of Sue Kwock Kim's Notes from the Divided Country: Poems by David Koehn, who spends some quality time deconstructing the poet's magical realist techniques. A great study tool for those still trying to wrap their minds around magical realism as a narrative form for poets.

FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK is in hot water again for her book, Dangerous Angels, which is one of several award-winning titles that comprise the popular young adult alternative series better known as Weetzie Bat. The series, described by Block as "postmodern, magic-realist tales for all ages" and "contemporary fairy tales with an edge," has come under fire again for complaints that the book "has sexual themes, at least one gay character, and nontraditional families."

TONI MORRISON fans who also appreciate opera are in for a real treat: the 74-year-old author of such acclaimed novels as Sula and Song of Solomon has written the libretto for the opera "Margaret Garner," composed by Richard Danielpour, which will premiere in May at the Detroit Opera House in May and will star Denyce Graves, mezzo-sopramo, in the title role. Morrison based her text on the same slave story context which was the focus of Beloved, which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Steve Weinstein of New York Blade gives raves to one of the latest gay independent films to be released on DVD: Cowboys and Angels. The film, set in Ireland in what Weinstein characterizes as a "post-gay" perspective, is a sensitive magical realist undertaking with a classic plot: gay man helps confused small-town boy find himself. Writes Weinstein: "The whole thing has the good-natured air of a modern, grown-up fairy tale (take that however you want). In the end, the princes end up with their princesses, the queens with their ? queens, the sky is blue, and all?s right with the world. ?But there?s not a word of this film that doesn?t ring true."

Here's a thoughtful essay on prodigious literary celebrity which focuses on Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, written by Vivian Gornick of The Nation. Writes Gornick: "If Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is as popular with readers as Everything Is Illuminated, it will be because Foer is indeed the wunderkind the country needs and therefore deserves: a writer of talent who exploits holocaust to mythicize the most aggressive self-pity in modern American history, the kind that feeds relentlessly on a nostalgia that seriously reduces whatever chance we have of understanding what we are living through."

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Topic: March 2005
Margin proudly announces a new special theme for the Spring 2006 edition:

PASSAGES TO INDIA
Magical Realism from the Subcontinent

Our goal at MARGIN is to explore modern magical realism. In this third in a series of special theme issues, we will address the diversity of voices from the subcontinent of India, celebrating their particular manifestations of literary magical realism.

Margin's Indian exploration will be launched in June 2006.

Contributors need not currently live in the region, nor does the work necessarily need to be set there. We welcome work from the broad diaspora of Indian writers. If we decide to use your work we will ask for you to share with us your connection to the peninsula (through family ties, cultural upbringing, residency), and you must be willing and able to authenticate it. We are interested specifically in anything that serves to answer the question, "What is magical realism from India?" See website for detailed guidelines.

How To Submit
We accept submissions either via e-mail or surface mail.

Send electronic submissions, putting the words "Passages to India" in the subject line, here. We will not open attachments. Please do not send attachments, but embed the text of your electronic submissions into the body of your e-mail. Leave format coding out, if possible. We can discuss that after acceptance. If your e-mail address becomes invalid, we cannot be held responsible for failure to reply. Do not send URLs; we simply don't have time to navigate entire sites looking for manuscripts.

Send surface mail submissions to:

MARGIN: Exploring Modern Magical Realism
ATTN: Passages to India
321 High School Road N.E.
PMB #204
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
USA

Deadline/ February 28, 2006. Estimated reply time is the end of April 2006 or sooner. Please note the anthology staff goes on break in December of every year.

If you have any questions about this special theme, don't hesitate to ask!