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Matter
I slipped off the viewing platform,
slid under the flimsy handrail
fell down or forwards or up
towards the black hole.
I cursed flimsy safety measures
but knew it was far too late.
Wrong to think I was unique,
I was just atoms, accelerating
without friction towards an
unknowable spiral nothing.
One last view of the cosmos
before I reached the event horizon
and paused
forever.
I was sliced in two by dark matter,
spiralled to
impossible
lengths
My former body
s c a t t e r e d
and rearranged
each particle obliterated
and
reborn.
endless
combinations
kaleidoscoping
Until I landed, new familiar feet
standing on a metal surface.
Off balance, I stumbled forward
I slipped off the viewing platform,
Thanks to Ross McCleary for the line 'I was sliced in two by dark matter' which he kindly let me use. That line on Twitter started this whole poem.
Hunted
With apologies to Emily Dickinson
Making the familiar strange
I though I was a good typist. I've written on computers all my life. I type fast. But the truth is half my time is spent correcting errors. I write fast but sloppy. So I started to learn to touch type.
Sharp Objects and genre blindspots
Genre fiction is often used to describe science fiction and fantasy, but everything fits into a genre. People tend to dismiss sci-fi as not belonging to the real world and following set formulas. I admit to similar prejudices with crime novels, particularly those with detectives or journalists trying to solve a murder. There are some twists and red herrings, the protagonist gets personally involved due to their issues but by the end of the story it is all neatly resolved and the murderer is revealed. This is the narrow-minded view I have of the crime genre.
Starting again
Towards the end of last year, I finished two major projects I had been working on for ages, a short story collection and a poetry collection. I finished them to a stage where only minor changes were needed.[^1] These sprawling ideas I had been carrying around in my head, my notebook and several disparate files suddenly existed as completed manuscripts.
Thoughts on 'Annihilation'
For my first book of the year, I sped through Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation, the first in the Southern Reach Trilogy. It is classified as science fiction, but in this case it seems to be a catch-all category of "I dunno. Seems weird." Science fiction isn't really a good classification for this odd novel. From the very first moments, it is clear that this strange little book is delving deep into horror.
Resolutions
I'll finally tidy up this place and keep it neat. It's too dark! Too many cobwebs and not enough flaming torches. I'll stop leaving tomes half opened on the lectern. Need to keep my ingredients in order. I can never find salamander's tails when I need them. Similarly, I will stop leaving half-finished potions around the place. The number of times I've been interrupted then come back to find the laboratory filled with a putrid purple smoke, I tell you... It's not good. I'm four hundred and seventy-two, I need to start clearing up after myself.
Best of 2018
It's that time again when I examine what media I've consumed over the past twelve months and pick my favourites. Defining the best of anything is an entirely subjective act that nevertheless, I try to do every year. I've moved away from trying to pick the 'best' of anything as they are all different experiences, so instead, I have chosen a few in each category I like.
2018 in Review: A Poem
In previous years I've written rambly, angry blog posts that tried to make sense of the world around me and mostly failed. This year I've given up trying to understand the world and instead have written a poem to sum up the year:
Why Writers Should Exercise
The problem of writing is that you spend too much time in your own head. Even if you do it as a side hobby as I do, you can spend a lot of time imagining future plot twists or details for your characters and world. I’ve been editing short stories and poems recently, finally getting to the end of a couple of projects that have taken me years. During editing, I stare at words, cross them out, write another in, before crossing that out and going back to the original. It can be frustrating and maddening. That’s why I find it important to focus on exercise, at least a couple of times a week.