MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR FRIDAY, JAN 27
Topic: January 2006
IN THE NEWS

[1.27.06] BBC News ran a lovely tribute to Gabriel Garcia Marquez today as part of it's Faces of the Week feature. Meanwhile, The Independent reports that Gabo "has confessed to suffering from that most humble of literary problems: writer's block" for over the course of a year. Garcia Marquez, 78, has suffered lymphatic cancer over the last 7 years, and certainly blames part of his lack of productivity on that, but also attributes some of his challenges to "computer difficulties." Someone get that man a better computer! His fans are chomping at the bit, waiting for him to pen the second and third books in his trilogy of memoirs, Living to Tell the Tale. Chin up, Gabo. You've got your work cut out for you.

[1.27.06] Okay, Steven Soderburgh's latest release, a humble little film entitled Bubble, is getting rave reviews from AP Movie Writer David Germain for "minutiae, the painstaking detail—creepy tableaux of dolls’ heads, lingering shots of inanimate objects that take on import later, tiny moments of magical realism." The movie will be released in dramatic fashion, with a near-simultaneous release on screen, TV (tonight on HDNet) and DVD (Tues Jan 31) that marks a first test case for potential film distribution in the future.

[1.27.06] British author Clive Sheldon released his magical realist novel, Love, Loss and Oranges today. From the press release: "At times hilarious, at times heart wrenching, the story, in the style of magic realism, follows the attempts of the central character to come to terms with the death of his estranged wife. Strangely unmoved by this event he is more concerned with the apparent disappearance of oranges from the world."

[1.26.06] Canadian filmmaker Julia Kwan made her Sundance film festival debut January 26, internationally premiering her production of Eve and the Fire Horse, which is competing in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, a new distinction offered by the film festival. According to the report in The Vancouver Sun, "Eve and the Fire Horse is steeped in a sense of magic realism as it tells the story of two sisters struggling to reconcile their traditional Chinese heritage with North American culture." Hmmm, a Canadian Maxine Hong Kingston? A review in BC's arts mag, The Westender, isn't so sure. "Eve and the Fire Horse is beautifully shot and cast with actors who offer understated performances. But loveliness comes at a price, as the movie… becomes a oozefest 20 minutes in." Stay tuned.

[1.25.06] New in paperback: The Autobiography of God by Julius Lester. Vikas Turakhia, book critic for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer writes that "Booklist acknowledged that many readers will 'be shocked and angry' by [Lester's] portrayal of God but found the blend of 'magic realism and fierce spiritual debate with a gripping contemporary story' full of 'irony and intensity and sometimes dark comedy.' " Sounds like stimulating reading for fans of Jewish magical realism.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, JAN 23
Topic: January 2006
AT LONG LAST

Headlines from the last 2 weeks

[1.22.06]
What can I say? I am still so proud to see a short story like "Brokeback Mountain" turned into a major feature film. What does that have to do with magical realism? Well, if you recall, "Brokeback Mountain" was penned by the illustrious E. Annie Proulx of The Shipping News fame. One of this blogster's favorite North American magical realists, Proulx has out a new collection of magical realist work. Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2 (Scribner) follows up her successful first collection, Close Range. Connie Ogle reviews Proulx's latest effort here.

[1.22.06]
Here's a nice tribute to Franz Kafka, written by Jacob Stockinger for the Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. Stockinger's explication of the popular term, kafkaesque, is given a thorough once over in this bit written to preface last Sunday's feature presentation, a free screening of the Orson Welles 1963 movie adapation of Kafka's The Trial, featured by the local Classic Book and Movie Club in Madison.

[1.22.06]
We've talked about young American playwright Sarah Ruhl here before (does Eurydice or Passion Play seem familiar?). As the San Jose Mercury News reports, she's back with The Clean House. Writes the Mercury News, "Ruhl's work often has been likened to magical realism, a label to which she has a mixed response. 'For me,' she says, 'theater is always about transformation. I think the only time I kind of object to the term magical realism is when it relegates what happens onstage to some fantasy realm.'"

[1.22.06]
Riffing on our recent article on Jewish magical realism/fabulism, here's a link to a new novel evoking Yiddish folklore. The World to Come by Dara Horn was recently reviewed by Ron Charles for the Washington Post. Charles wrote: "A doctoral candidate in Hebrew and Yiddish literature at Harvard, she's more devoted to ancient mysticism than chic magical realism." [Editor's note: wince…why must magical realism be characterized as chic? Is Cervantes' Don Quixote or Gabo's One Hundred Years of Solitude or Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson chic?]

[1.19.06]
Ring the dinner bell! Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) has come out with what sounds like a literary recipe collection that fans are likely already salivating over. Here's a review of Intimas Suculencias, Tratado Filosofico de Cocina by Vicky Cowal for El Universal, in English for The Miami Herald.

[1.15.06]
Judy McAulay Grimes gives children's book author Julius Lester the thumbs up in The Clarion-Ledger in her review of his book, The Old African (Dial Books, 2005; illustrated by Jeremy Pinkney), for being an "inspiring book" on "black history." Which, of course, begs the reminder: next month is Black History Month. This magical realist tale might just make the perfect bedtime story or classroom feature for ushering in this important month.

[1.13.06]
The New York Times recently reported on Louis Sachar's most recent young adult release: Small Steps, which features the beloved character, Armpit, from Sachar's popular previous title, Holes. Reviewer A.O. Scott points out that this is a far more realistic storyline than that in Sachar's previous book, which might explain why Scott says that "Small Steps is likable and readable, but it never quite emerges from the shadow of Holes." This is quite a risk for Sachar, whose other work is typically infused with magical realist touches. Will reader expectations dilute the efficacy of this author's latest efforts?

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, JAN 9
Topic: January 2005
ODDS AND ENDS

Quik Piks

[1.08.06] Canadian author Paul Auster has recently written what the Toronto Star calls his "warmest, shaggiest novel" yet with The Brooklyn Follies. The story, about a man who obsessively photographs the same streetcorner on a daily basis, is a typical Auster effort, as his "fiction concerns how narrative shapes reality." The unusual temporality of the story nudges it into near-magical realist territory, though perhaps not as much as his Mr. Vertigo, which tells the tale of a boy who can walk on air.

[1.06.06] Get this: Emily Carter for the Star Tribune reviews Zakes Mda's novel The Whale Caller with this utterly amusing statement at the beginning: "The term 'magical realism'…, applies to Zakes Mda's novel, The Whale Caller. But this truly magical book transcends any such tidy labels." Tidy? Wow, we've heard magical realism slandered for being many things, but never Tidy. Hmm. Wonders truly never cease.

[12.08.05] Okay, so it's old news, but here's what Seattle's The Stranger wrote in promoting Margin's final fifth anniversary reading in Ballard last December: "Kathleen Alcala, Tamara Kaye Sellman, Wayne Ude, and others read from a genre of writing involving the occurrence of weird shit." Well, it's not quite how we'd characterize magical realism, but I think it's a little closer than Emily Carter's view [above].

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Quik Piks

[1.04.06] The Australian's Ben McIntyre explores the "filmability" of the magical realist work, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, in his article, "Epitome of eccentricity delights in dotty difference."

[1.03.06] Jonathan Zabel reviews Sean Stewart's Perfect Circle at Blogcritics.org.

[1.01.06] We excerpted from Jose Sarney's Master of the Sea in November; here's a review of the same book by Nick Owchar for the Los Angeles Times, as it appears in the Modesto Bee website.

[1.01.06] The Miami Herald credited Aimee Bender with producing one of 2005's best books with her novel, Willful Creatures. Read the article in its entirety.

[10.19.05] Not a brand new headline, but here's a terrific interview by Robert Birnbaum for The Morning News featuring Jonathan Lethem, in which Lethem tears into the idea of "realist" vs. "anti-realist" fiction.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, DEC 19
Topic: December 2005
ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF MR LIT

Scroll down the page in the Guardian article to read about Whitbread finalist Rachel Zadok's Gem Squash Tokoloshe, a magical realist novel set in the northern part of South Africa known as the Transvaal, where the child protagonist, Faith, must live among the iconography of fairies painted and revered by her mother, Bella. "There's nothing fey about these fairies," writes columnist Hephzibah Anderson, "Dead Rex feeds on pain, Tit Tit Tay steals children and Tokoloshe steals the souls of the sleeping."

Dublinks.com gives the new film, "Breakfast on Pluto," which is set in Ireland, kudos for its "fast paced story reversing from comedy to tragedy, magic to harsh reality," the site reports. The film, based on a Pat McCabe novel, opens in January 2006 in Ireland. Look for it in American cinema sometime in the future.

Whoa, talk about the malleability of time. Punk magical realist queen Weetzie Bat has turned 40, according to this article in the Seattle Times. Writes AP journalist John Rogers, "With two girls of her own in college, and her longtime relationship with Max, her 'secret-agent lover man,' seemingly about to crumble, [Weetzie] sets out to find herself among the mystical characters and magical happenings that make up life in [author Francesca Lia] Block's Los Angeles." Now, Block has always contended that the Weetzie Bat books were never originally written as young adult novels, so it's not too hard to see Block's interest in propelling her teen diva into more "adult" territory (though how different could it be from her rather "adult" teenhood?). But wouldn't we lose Weetzie's essence as a 40-year-old? And what about teen readers? Will they be satisfied with such a plunge into the future? This is an odd shift; we'll keep tabs on it and see how it all works out.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR FRIDAY, DEC 16
Topic: December 2005
ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF OUR SPECIAL EDITION, Season of Spirit

We've gathered a diverse collection of magical realist stories, poems and essays which contain within them distinct traces of spirituality:

A primer on Jewish magical realism ~ living with the spirits of loved ones ~ the immortality of some Christmas trees ~ Virgin Mary sightings ~ the spirits within lost limbs ~ marking time with the zaddikim ~ reporting on miraculous birds ~ cosmological farmland ~ Native American metamorphoses ~ prayers and favors at an Irish graveside ~ FBI agents at the pearly gates?

Featuring:

Allen Braden ~ Joan Crooks ~ Janice Eidus ~ Maureen Tolman Flannery ~ Stephen Gibson ~ Richard Jay Goldstein ~ Daniel Jaffe ~ Sondra Kelly-Green ~ Dr. Alan Mintz ~ Sheila Nickerson ~ Jacqueline Osherow ~ Richard Peabody ~ Shira Richman ~ Tamara Kaye Sellman ~ Ruth Knafo Setton ~ Joseph Skibell ~ artist Constantine Cionca ~ …and St. Bernard?

Some announcements:

• Check out the crystal ball icon on our contents page. Roll your cursor over it and you will foresee into a bit of Margin's future for 2006!

• Coming in February: a special edition ~ "Isn't It Romantic?"—the marvels of love

• Our general reading period is still CLOSED. Sorry, we've got 2006 filled! Stay tuned for news about upcoming calls for submissions, and see below. There's also been a CHANGE IN PLANS regarding our "Passages to India" theme. Since we revamped the schedule, we've decided to turn that theme into an extensive article for inclusion in "A World of Magical Realism." Therefore, we're not accepting any more submissions for this special theme call for submissions; thanks, but we have everything we need for a fabulous article on MR from the subcontinent.

• ACTIVE CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! Our Hurricane Relief project, Southern Revival: Deep South Magic for Hurricane Relief is off to a good start. We're collecting donations and manuscripts for a special edition of Periphery to be released in Spring 2006. Interested in reserving your copy, submitting a manuscript or giving a donation? We're asking for $10 minimum, 100% of each donation forwarded to First Book. Our goal? $2,500. That amount of money will enable First Book to provide 5,000 books to hurricane-devastated libraries in the South (including all communities devastated by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma).

• Because we're in the midst of a vortex of cool changes at Margin, we're inviting everyone and anyone to give us their FEEDBACK. What's worked for you? What hasn't? What would you like to see at Margin that we haven't already done? What really isn't worth our effort? Go to the survey page to download your poll and let us know how we're doing. Your responses will help shape the coming future of Margin.

I'd like to express my thanks and gratitude to all the wonderful people who helped me put together a coherent article on Jewish magical realism, including Daniel Jaffe, Dr. Alan Mintz, Richard Jay Goldstein, Ruth Knafo Setton, Janice Eidus, the American Jewish Congress, Wikipedia.com and the Jewish Virtual Library. Special thanks to educator and writer Susan Rich for giving me the impetus and inspiration to approach this subject matter.

In the meantime, we hope you'll get into the Season of Spirit. We've got some great reading for a cold winter's night. Wishing you Happy Holidays and Peace in the New Year,

Tamara Kaye Sellman, Editor and Publisher (SEE current TABLE OF CONTENTS)

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, DEC 13
Topic: December 2005
NOT TO BE MISSED! MARGIN READING!
Kathleen Alcala, Wayne Ude and editor Tamara Kaye Sellman will present "Five Fabulist Years of Pacific Northwest Magical Realism" at Epilogue Books (Ballard) in Seattle on Wed December 14 at 6pm as part of the ProseWest series.

Here's an excellent change to pick up a copy of the collectible Periphery III: Reasonable Facsimiles (going, going, gone!) as well as to contribute to the library restoration project coordinated between Periphery IV: Southern Revival and the four-star literacy charity, First Book.

Come one, come all! 2821 NW Market St, (206) 297-2665. Open mic follows for both prose and poetry.

NOT ALL LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS ARE MAGICAL REALISTS!
MARGIN's readers all know how much we love the Magical Realism here, but it's always good to underscore that MR isn't just the singular writing style of Latin America.

Writes foreign service correspondent Monica Campbell of the San Francisco Chronicle in her article, "In Mexico, young authors look beyond El Boom,"

"The new fiction writers readily salute the powerful influence of El Boom, but are weary of a literary style that has long typecast Latin American literature.

Writer Ignacio Padilla, author of Shadow Without a Name and the odyssey-laden story collection Antipodes, is unequivocal. "[Garcia] Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude was one of the books that convinced me to stop and think about how I could be a writer. Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar did that, too. But we've also been influenced by non-Latin writers like Julian Barnes and Kazuo Ishiguro…There's nothing wrong with magic realism, but we're not interested in imitating [it]."

He speaks for a cadre of writers of other types of fiction working from all across Mexico, in such locations as Monterrey, Puebla and Tijuana—not your typical Mexico City-based collective.

Similarly, author Jorge Volpi isn't interested in defining his Mexican identity through writing. His spy thriller, In Search of Klingsor (2002), was set in Nazi Germany and has been translated into 16 languages. He joined Padilla in 1996 to form what is known as Mexico's Crack group to expand their authorial horizons beyond what might be thought of as the "cultural assignment of magical realism" to a world of writing which lies beyond Mexico altogether. Their efforts to shrug off stereotyping are helping to liberate many Latino writers who are expected to write magical realism and only magical realism.

Let's hold out hope that they can all excel beyond their wildest dreams.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, DEC 13
Topic: December 2005
NOT TO BE MISSED!

MARGIN READING!
Kathleen Alcala, Wayne Ude and editor Tamara Kaye Sellman will present "Five Fabulist Years of Pacific Northwest Magical Realism" at Epilogue Books (Ballard) in Seattle on Wed December 14 at 6pm as part of the ProseWest series.

Here's an excellent change to pick up a copy of the collectible Periphery III: Reasonable Facsimiles (going, going, gone!) as well as to contribute to the library restoration project coordinated between Periphery IV: Southern Revival and the four-star literacy charity, First Book.

Come one, come all! 2821 NW Market St, (206) 297-2665. Open mic follows for both prose and poetry.

NOT ALL LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS ARE MAGICAL REALISTS!
MARGIN's readers all know how much we love the Magical Realism here, but it's always good to underscore that MR isn't just the singular writing style of Latin America.

Writes foreign service correspondent Monica Campbell of the San Francisco Chronicle in her article, "In Mexico, young authors look beyond El Boom,"

"The new fiction writers readily salute the powerful influence of El Boom, but are weary of a literary style that has long typecast Latin American literature.

Writer Ignacio Padilla, author of Shadow Without a Name and the odyssey-laden story collection Antipodes, is unequivocal. "[Garcia] Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude was one of the books that convinced me to stop and think about how I could be a writer. Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar did that, too. But we've also been influenced by non-Latin writers like Julian Barnes and Kazuo Ishiguro…There's nothing wrong with magic realism, but we're not interested in imitating [it]."

He speaks for a cadre of writers of other types of fiction working from all across Mexico, in such locations as Monterrey, Puebla and Tijuana—not your typical Mexico City-based collective.

Similarly, author Jorge Volpi isn't interested in defining his Mexican identity through writing. His spy thriller, In Search of Klingsor (2002), was set in Nazi Germany and has been translated into 16 languages. He joined Padilla in 1996 to form what is known as Mexico's Crack group to expand their authorial horizons beyond what might be thought of as the "cultural assignment of magical realism" to a world of writing which lies beyond Mexico altogether. Their efforts to shrug off stereotyping are helping to liberate many Latino writers who are expected to write magical realism and only magical realism.

Let's hold out hope that they can all excel beyond their wildest dreams.

FOLLOWUP ON HURRICANE RELIEF
Topic: December 2005
Recently, we were asked if First Book's hurricane relief campaign included assistance for libraries devastated by Hurricane Wilma. Here's the scoop from the organization's corporate strategy director, Theresa Harnisch:

"Yes, books are going to victims of hurricane Wilma as well. From what I understand, it's a slightly different situation, as not as many schools and libraries were damaged as they were in the areas hit by Katrina and Rita. That said, we have distributed books to those displaced by the storm through our local advisory board, First Book-Pensacola, Communities in Schools of Northwest Florida, and FEMA and we have sent books to a number of groups that have contacted us directly."

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR FRIDAY, DEC 9
Topic: December 2005
FOLLOW UP

Yes, my Nancy Drew-like sleuthing skills were up to snuff this morning when I figured out that Liese Sherwood-Fabre's prize-winning story was "The Cost of Heaven" and that it was published in Fresh Ink. (Dag, I'm good.) —TKS, ed. [see previous entry]

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR FRIDAY, DEC 9
Topic: December 2005
MR MISCELLANY

RE: FOREIGN FILM:
Anandabhadram, directed by Santosh Sivan, gets mixed reviews from New India Press, but their critic had this to say: "The climax…demands a voluntary suspension of disbelief as the turn of events force in a form of magical realism."

RE: PRIZE-WINNING LITERARY MAGICAL REALISM
The Coppell Gazette wrote a wonderful background article on prize-winning magical realist author Liese Sherwood-Fabre of Coppell, TX on December 8, but did not seem to think it important to include the name of the honor or the story she wrote which won the prize in their article. Huh? We're guessing the prize was for her story, "The Cost of Heaven," which appears in the Dec 2005 issue of Fresh Ink [PDF], the magazine of the California Writers Club. Feel free to correct us; we just wanted to offer our congratulations. Sherwood-Fabre's previous magical realist work has also earned her some other accolades, including a second place distinction in a contest sponsored by Lynx Eye and a nomination for the 2005 Pushcart Prize for her story, "Stranger in the Village," by Briar Cliff Review.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR THURSDAY, DEC 8
Topic: December 2005
MR MISCELLANY

RE: SOUTHERN REVIVAL, our fundraising effort for library restoration in the hurricane ravaged South:

K Alsbrooks recently wrote to thank us for our efforts to help the hurricane victims of both Rita and Katrina, but wanted to put out the reminder that there are many whose lives were also destroyed by Wilma (in Florida) and they need our help, too.

I was under the impression that the charity we selected, First Book, would be serving the needs of all hurricane victims, but it seems as if they are set up to serve Katrina and Rita victims exclusively. I'll drop Theresa Harnisch at First Book a "hey there" and find out if their reach has since been expanded to Florida's Wilma victims. [Note: We chose First Book as our fundraising beneficiary before Wilma had yet existed.] Stay tuned.

To revisit First Book's pledge: their Book Relief campaign is preparing to distribute at least five million books to displaced hurricane victims, organizations, schools and libraries. Some interesting stats from their website:

? In New Orleans, 118 of 126 schools sustained damage
? In Mississippi, 300 schools were damaged, 24 of them severely damaged or destroyed
? Nearly 190,000 Louisiana students were displaced
? Evacuated students are now attending schools in 47 states, with the largest numbers in other parts of Louisiana (41,000), in Texas (48,000), and in Georgia (8,000)

To support Alsbrooks's point about Hurricane Wilma, check out this report in yesterday's Daytona Beach News-Journal:

? "National attention focused this year on the hurricanes that devastated Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, but storms also ravaged Florida. Dennis hit the Panhandle area hard at the start of the season. Katrina hit Florida before heading toward New Orleans, doing an estimated $2 billion in damages and killing six. Less than a month later, Rita swept across the Florida Keys. In October, Hurricane Wilma left thousands homeless, and took out power for much of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties."

Specifically regarding libraries in Florida devastated by Wilma, Library Journal had this to report on November 28:

? "[T]wo [library] branches have sustained significant damage. The Northeast Branch, in the midst of an extensive renovation, was closed indefinitely because of severe damage to the roof. Within a few days of the storm, a bookmobile was permanently stationed in front of the facility. The library's S.M.A.R.T. tutoring program was reinstated at a nearby community center. The Hispanic Branch Library, a leased facility, also suffered roof damage but was expected to reopen soon."

A TERRIFIC MULTIMEDIA EVENT SLATED: Stephen Siciliano writes: "The date is drawing near. [I] will read from Vedette to the accompaniment of guitarist Omar Torrez on Thursday December 15, 8pm at 33-1/3 Books & Gallery Collective (1200 N. Alvarado St. at Sunset), Los Angeles." How fun! If you're in LA, please go to this performance and tell me how it went! I wish I could be there, Torrez (of Seattle) is dubbed the Latin Hendrix by some.

ANOTHER WORTHY EVENT! In association with the Music Theater Collaborative, composer Hector Armienta will present a staged reading of the classic Mexican folktale, La Llorona, on Dec 11 and Dec 18 at Counterpulse on 1310 Mission Street in San Francisco. Set in late 19th-century Mexico, La Llorona is the story of a young woman who is betrayed by the one man she loves and the gods she once worshiped. This work is part of the opera trilogy, River of Women/Rio de Mujeres. For more information, locals can call: (415) 820-1414.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, DEC 6
Topic: December 2005
NEWS FROM OUR MAGICAL REALIST CONTRIBUTORS

Previous contributor Cantara Christopher announces that her new novel, Japanese Love Song, will be released on Memorial Day 2006.

Marcia Douglas, whose excerpt, "The Language of Snails, we published in our special Caribbean theme edition in Spring 2004, reports that her new novel, Notes from a Writer's Book of Cures and Spells, will be released in the US in January 2006 by Caribbean publisher extraordinaire, Peepal Tree Press. Buy it now and enjoy free postage and packing (see website for details).

News from Michael Hettich: He's coming out with two new books this year: Swimmer Dreams (winner of the Tales Prize, from Turning Point); and Flock and Shadow: New and Selected Poems from New Rivers Press.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR WEDNESDAY, NOV 30
Topic: November 2005
CONTRIBUTOR NEWS

? The prolific Jan Steckel has been a busy bee this fall. She writes: "First, the most exciting news: Zeitgest Press will publish The Underwater Hospital [Jan's chapbook] in the spring." She'll be reading and signing copies at the following dates/venues in the Bay area:

Tues Mar 7: Works in Progress at the Montclair Women's Center (an all-women reading with open mic)

Thurs Apr 6: First Thursdays at the Albany Library (with open mic)

Sat Jun 17: 2-4p at the Lakeview Branch Library in Oakland

Steckel's recent publications include work in Street Spirit, The Pedestal, El Portal de Una Musa, So Ma Literary Review, Oakland's Neighborhoods (Mailman Press, 2005), Bay Area Poets Seasonal Review and Woman-Stirred.

Upcoming: "Alex the Dragon," a very short story by Steckel, will appear in the Winter Issue of Lodestar Quarterly on December 21. Her work, "On a Lesbian Wedding in the Woods," will be coming out in March in Linda Zeiser's What I Want from You: Voices of East Bay Lesbians (Raw Art Press). Her poems, "Black Leather" and "Home Run" are forthcoming in Harrington Lesbian Literary Review. Also, her poem, "The Maiden Aunts," will be reprinted next year online in Awakened Woman and in 2007 for the second edition of Blood to Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust (Time Being Books) (edited by Charles Fishman). Fishman will also include Steckel's poem, "Diamonds and Rubies," in the Apr-Jun 06 issue of New Works Review.

Steckel also announces this contest:

Mother Poetry Contest for the online literary salon, Woman-Stirred. No entry fee, and the winner gets their poem published on Woman-Stirred and wins several other prizes, including a copy of The Underwater Hospital.

? Christopher Kritwise Doyle's story, "The Missing Scroll," which we nominated in 2005 for the Pushcart Prize, Best American NonRequired Reading and The Year's Best Fantasy, was selected for reprint in the forthcoming anthology, Peculiar Pilgrims: Stories from The Left Hand of God, which will be released in Summer 2006.

? We always love to hear from our French Martinican contributor, Zyskandar A. Jaimot. He reports that his beautifully handprinted book, From Asano Condivi's Life of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni [The Lost Chapter], has been released by publisher Bull Thistle Press and is available for purchase. His first book of poetry, Take Me Home to Pringus, will be released in early 2006 by M Books of Canada. Jaimot recommends Kazuo Ishigura's latest book, Let Me Go, which he describes as "well-written, although kind of depressing—nonetheless a good read." He also reports that he still refuses "to follow any of Martha Stewart's recipes or stock tips!"

Especially good news: Jaimot's now stabilized from a recent setback in his physical condition, with surgery to follow in a week or so. Speedy Recovery To You, And Get Well Soon, ZAJ!

? Thad Rutkowski, who interviewed Janice Eidus for Margin a few years ago, continues to be busy with writing, performances, publishing and teaching.

Rigoberto Gonzalez gave Rutkowski's book, Tetched, the thumbs up in Laila Lalami's blog, Moorish Girl [see Nov 8 05 entry]. Tetched was also reviewed by George Held for Book/Mark and in the Midwest Book Review.

Rutkowski will be teaching "Generating Fiction" on Mon Jan 9 at The Writer's Voice of the West Side YMCA. The workshop focuses on producing new writing (stories, chapters, prose pieces) and is open to all. For more info

Upcoming readings for Rutkowski:

Dec 3, 2-4p, Bowery Poetry Club, with Tom Savage, Jeffrey Wright, James Hoff, others. Hosted by Steve Dalachinsy and Yuko Otomo

Dec 5, 8p, Smut series at the Galapagos Arts Space, Brooklyn. Hosted by Desiree Burch and Regie Cabico. Info: (718) 782-5188.

Dec 6, 7p, Fiction slam with Fiction magazine contributors at the Loft in Manhattan. Info

Dec 9, 8p, The North Water Street Gallery in Kent, OH. Hosted by Maj Ragain.

Dec 10, 7p, Mac's Backs Books on Coventry in Cleveland Heights, OH. Info

Jan 1, 2p-midnight. Alternative New Year's Day extravaganza. Bowery Poetry Club Hosted by Bruce Weber, others. [Rutkowski reads between 2-4p]

Jan 8, 6p, Quetzal Quill reading at Cornelia Street in Manhattan. With Paolo Javier, Sarah Gambito. Hosted by Rigoberto Gonzalez. $6, includes drink. Info: (212) 989-9319.

Feb 12, 5p, East Side Oral, The Living Room in Manhattan. Hosted by Elise Miller. Donation. Venue and Host Info.

Feb 21, 7p, Poets for Oxfam at Oxfam Books & Music in London W1, England. Hosted by Todd Swift.

Feb 23, 8:30p, Shortfuse series at The Camden Head Pub in London N1, England. Hosted by Nathan Penlington.

Mar 15, 7:30p, World's End in Beacon, NY. $3. Plus open reading.

MARGIN ANNOUNCES PRIZE NOMINATIONS

The following writers/works were nominated by Margin for the following prizes and/or accolades:

John Branseum, "Trees"

(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Horror)

Christopher Kritwise Doyle, "The Missing Scroll"

(Pushcart Prize)
(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Fantasy)

Maureen Tolman Flannery, "The Birdman's Release"

(Year's Best Fantasy)

Stephen D. Gibson, "Christmas Tree Story" [appearing Dec 2005]

(Pushcart Prize)

G.L. Grey, "Wonderful Spares"

(Pushcart Prize)
(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Fantasy)

Catherine Hammond, "In The Dawn"

(Pushcart Prize)
(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Horror)

Anna Harrington, "Bicycle Fable"

(Year's Best Fantasy)

Monica Kilian, "Black-Winged Angels"

(Year's Best Horror)

Dorothy Laurence, "No Game"

(Year's Best Fantasy)

Nnedimma Okorafor, "Biafra"

(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Horror)

John Ryan, "Andrew Chow's Bakery"

(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Fantasy)

Ruth Knafo Setton, "Gypsy Moth"

(Pushcart Prize)
(Best American NonRequired Reading)
(Year's Best Horror)

Katherine Soniat, "An Aerial Meander"

(Pushcart Prize)

Tim Weed, "The Foreigner"

(Year's Best Horror)

Congratulations to all of you!

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, NOV 29
Topic: November 2005
POETRY JOURNAL SEEKS MAGICAL REALIST WRITING

Darran Anderson, editor of the new online poetry journal, Laika Poetry Review, is seeking a broad range of poetry and short fiction. Says Anderson, "the best definition of the work we are seeking would be magical realism with a radical edge." They wish to promote a literary counterculture and aspire to include the alternative poets, "the prophets rather than the kings, the disgraces and embarrassments of their day who chose the ditch to the middle-of the road." Got something? Send it to them. They're based in Scotland. Cool.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, NOV 28
Topic: November 2005
MR Miscellany

While the throngs were all shopping last Friday, Daniel Olivas's book, Devil Talk, was reviewed by book critic Jordan Rosenfeld for KQED public radio out of San Francisco. See? You should have stayed at home!

Okay, so it's not specifically magical realist in focus, but David Dorado Romo's book, Ringside Seat to a Revolution, was inspired by the author's exploration into the so-called psychogeographic zones of El Paso and Juarez (…"those areas physical and non-physical that express moods, ideas, ideals, thoughts and psychic communities"…). During his research into the subject matter, Romo eventually "stumbled" into a "treasure trove" of chronicled history which shed new light on El Paso and Juarez during the Mexican Revolution. Certainly this would make for interesting reading for anyone interested in the historical and sociopolitical strengths of magical realist literature and its characteristic worldview.

MR IN REVU

Jose Rivera's script, Cloud Tectonics, directed by Aimee Bruneau, will enjoy a full swing of stage productions through December 17 via several venues in Seattle. Brendan Kiley for The Stranger didn't give the play a strong thumbs up, but Kiley does credit Rivera with creating "a hermetic world where Celestina can credibly sigh dreamy metaphors" and says the efforts of actors Todd Licea and Jennifer Faulkner "are enchanting" as Anibal and Celestina. Sounds like a play one has to see for themselves to be sure (isn't that always the case with magical realism?). … Running in the DC area through December 18, Rick DesRochers's Yemaya's Belly doesn't get rave reviews either; Jayne Blanchard for the Washington Times only gave it one star. … Jose Cruz Gonzalez's play, September Shoes, garners better reviews in an article in the Reporter-Herald of Loveland, CO, where the play also expects to run through December 17. Writes Phyllis Walbye, "Although there are sophisticated characters and dialogue in September Shoes, the primary aura is one of innocence as the story moves closer and closer to a fable. … And when have you seen a play that features a Latina maid (Wilma Bonet) as the central character?"

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR TUESDAY, NOV 22
Topic: November 2005
MR Miscellany

First, a word from Margin's sponsor, editor/publisher Tamara Kaye Sellman:

Folks, the Harry Potter books are not dyed-in-the-wool magical realism. They are fantasy. I have nothing against Harry Potter; in fact, I love and support all quality imaginative writing regardless of category. But Harry Potter isn't MR, so let's us all stop mislabeling it, k? (That means you, Bruce Newman.) Thanks.

> Here's an interesting commentary on the work of Puerto Rican novelist, Mayra Montero, who introduced her latest book, Captain of the Sleepers, at the Miami Book Festival yesterday.

More commentary from Margin's sponsor, editor/publisher Tamara Kaye Sellman:

Montero (above) is yet another Latino author who resists being categorized "magical realist," though whose to blame her? It's not only fashionable for authors of all identities to resist pigeonholing, it's critical to their survival. If magical realism loses its foothold in pop culture, it'll be due to the marketing and bookselling mishaps of publishers and chain booksellers, not because of literature or authors. (See comment, above, about Harry Potter).

Does that make the editor of a website on magical realism just as complicit? One could wonder. No. There's a difference between intellectual discussion of the arts and its packaging and consumption. We dislike the mislabeling of work just as much as the authors do. It makes our own discussions even more complicated. Maybe the solution is to force the marketing lackeys working for publishers and booksellers to take some basic courses in comparative literature so they can at least all be talking accurately about their wares.

> You don't hear from Greece all that often in conversations about literary magical realism. So this is big, if belated, news: In 2003, author Justine Frangouli-Argyris released her first novel, MPetaei, Petaei to Synnefo (Psichogios Publications). The publisher put the book into a second printing two weeks after it was released. The Hellenic News of America summarizes it here: "The novel transcends the gamut of Greece's modern history through the eyes of a man whose dreams mature in step with those of his country, only to have them shattered by the occupying forces of Hitler's Germany and then to be reborn with his ordination." … They also gave the book their stamp of approval: "A new Zorba is born to whom all will refer in the future, Father Kostaggelos Argiriou." Opa!

> Amanda Heller for The Boston Globe critiques Jerome Charyn's Savage Shorthand, an accounting of the popular Jewish fabulist Isaac Babel. Writes Heller in her introduction, "The Odessa fabulist Isaac Babel left the world at around the time the Bronx fabulist Jerome Charyn was entering it. It is hard to resist the sense that something spooky was going on there, for the spirit of Babel's ghetto gangster king Benya Krik surely lives on in Charyn's hallucinatory-folkloric fiction." Okay, put this one on my Christmas list; Heller's review makes me want to ead it, already.

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, NOV 21
Topic: November 2005
PS…YES, IT'S LIVE!

Check out Margin's latest edition!

Featuring some fab folks, I.E.: Paola Corso, Michelle Cliff, Kathleen Alcala, Adrianne Harun, Gina Ochsner, Gregory Rabassa, Daniel Olivas, Nnedimma Okorafor, Maureen Tolman Flannery, Naomi Ayala and much much more!

MAGICAL REALISM NEWS FOR MONDAY, NOV 21
Topic: November 2005
News from our Contributors

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Aliform Publishing's director and translation editor, Jay Miskowiec, recently discussed his newly translated Spanish novel, Die Lady, Die, at the U of M Bookstore. Die Lady, Die is an award-winning Spanish novel by Alejandro Lopez. This contemporary work combines madness and Latin pop culture.

WWW—Margin contributor Joe Benevento's poem, "Yankees in East Texas", was the featured poem of the month for Freedom Road in November.

USA—A new book by Gene H. Bell-Villada (whose journalism was cross-referenced in our recent retrospective on GGM's Leaf Storm), will feature, as its title suggests, Conversations with Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The title will be released in December, just in time for the holidays!

LOS ANGELES, CA—Tonight Only! On Monday, November 21 at 7:30 pm, the Quetzal Quill collective of poets and writers features several amazing authors, including our feature author for the Autumn 2005 Edition, Daniel Olivas. Hosted by QQ curator, Rigoberto Gonzalez, the event will take place at the Imix Bookstore in LA. More Info. By the way, Olivas was also a featured writer in the November 2005 edition of Poet icDiversity.

WWW—You can read more of Monica Kilian's work in the November 10 edition of ' Slow Trains.

WWW—Reggie Poche's story, "A Shadow in Poughkeepsie", was nominated for a Pushcart Prize this fall by Zahir. Congratulations, Reggie!

SEATTLE—Margin's consultant-at-large, Bruce Taylor, announces his latest release: Kafka's Uncle and Other Strange Tales (with an introduction by Brian Herbert) (Afterbirth Books). The collection, though not patently magical realist, is weird in the way only Bruce can be. Check it out.

"THE WAHALA ZONE"—Nnedimma Okorafor's latest novel, Zahrah the Windseeker is now available. She'll be signing copies of her book at the Elgin Community College Bookstore on December 8th, 2005 from 12:30pm-2pm.

ASPINWALL, PA and NEW YORK, NY—Here are some upcoming appearance dates for Margin featured author Paola Corso:

Sat Nov 26/Barnes and Noble, Aspinwall, PA
For more information

Mon Nov 28/Mid-Manhattan Public Library, New York, NY
For more information, call 212-340-0833

US—Read this preview of the December release, Stories From Blue Latitudes, an anthology of Caribbean Women Writers which includes work from Michelle Cliff and Nalo Hopkinson

SEATTLE—For the winter quarter at the Richard Hugo House, you might consider taking Kathleen Alcala's latest workshop: Called to Witness. From the workshop blurb: "In the aftermath of 9/11, Darfur, the Iraq War, London bombings and Hurricane Katrina, writers struggle to respond with work that is relevant, uplifting, yet honest. They write from first-hand experience and empathy asking, What is appropriate? What is exploitative? In the age of blogging and cell phone photos, writers can still produce thoughtful and resonant work. Through the ages, writers and storytellers—including Joseph Conrad, Jonathan Safron Foer, Ian McEwan, Tram Nguyen, and Joan Didion—have tried to answer these questions, and we will read examples, discuss specific topics, and produce our own new work."

SEATTLE—And speaking of Kathleen…she joins Tamara Kaye Sellman and Wayne Ude in a final Margin 5th anniversary reading to be held Wed Dec 14 at 6 p.m. at Epilogue Books in Seattle. Hope you'll come see us!

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA—Gina Ochsner will serve among the faculty for the 2006 Summer Literary Seminars program in Russia. The month-long program, which takes place in the heart of St. Petersburg, offers writing workshops with distinguished American, Canadian, Kenyan and international writers. The winners of The Walrus Magazine 2006 Fiction and Poetry Contest (judged by Margaret Atwood and Robert Hass) will have their work published in The Walrus and receive airfare, accommodation and free tuition to SLS 2006.