About the Editors
Editor
Sari Krosinsky lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner and two cats.
She received a B.A. in religious studies and a M.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico. Her poems have appeared in Poesia, Pebble Lake Review, The American Poetry Journal, Arsenic Lobster, Verse Daily, and others.
Fiction Editor
Leslie Fox lived in Central America during her formative years and in New Mexico since the mid-70s – before it was cool.
She writes novels, short stories, plays, screenplays and creative nonfiction. Some of her short fiction has appeared in The Medical Muse, red. a journal of arts, Earth’s Daughters and Earthships: A New Mecca Poetry Collection. She has a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of New Mexico.
Fickle Muses Blog
December 30, 2007
Although I am not a vampire aficionado, per say, I do like to dabble occasionally in the lore. Anne Rice’s novels are fun. The Hunger (1983), with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon is hot. But my favorite “vampire” has got to be Lilith, the mythological first wife of Adam, especially as she is depicted in George MacDonald’s gothic novel of the same name. His portrayal of the six-foot long white leech that each night feeds on the protagonist’s blood, is more frightening to me than a room full of Bram Stoker’s Draculas. Even though he is wasting away and the cadaverous woman he’s rescued looks healthier each morning, Vane never makes the connection between Lilith’s convalescence and the “leech” bites on his body. MacDonald’s “Lilith” feels ancient and organic, and rubs up against the archetypical fear of succubae and incubi.
Searching the web for anything about Lilith, I was caught up in a confusing tangle of sites about succubae and vampires. “Lilith” ran the gamut from sexualized daemons in graphic novels to feminist icons. While vampires and succubae are two different animals, they converge at the draining of ones vital essence, whether blood or semen. MacDonald’s Lilith resembles the femme fatale many authors and painters depicted at the time: the beautiful temptress who leads men to their death (and is still around today). The ultimate belle dame sans merci.
MacDonald’s “Lilith” online: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/macdonald/lilith/Lilith.html.
– Leslie
December 9, 2007
If you have to say it's a shameless plug, is it really shameless? At any rate, two of my poems – "Me and G-d at the sidewalk café" and "Captain Hook" – can now be heard/seen at http://www.youtube.com/unmlive
– Sari
November 4, 2007
I keep coming up against this brick wall as an editor. I run smack into it every time, although many people don’t seem to be stymied by it at all, they just plow on through. When I read a submission based on a Native American myth or legend, I have some very complicated feelings. I’m excited because I want to include stories that come from myths other than European, Judeo-Christian backgrounds, but to tell you the truth, I probably wouldn’t know if the myth was genuine if it bit me on the arse. Does it matter? Aren’t we writing fiction here? As writers, are we responsible to cultures other than our own? Do we have a right to play around with stories that don’t belong to us? I’m talking about authenticity and appropriation, as well as how we define myth.
There seems to be a double standard. Maybe even a triple standard. Is it okay to write fiction about Native American myth (especially if you’re not Native American)? That’s my wall. I find myself wondering is the author is “really” an Indian, because I don’t want to publish something by an Anglo evoking an “Indian” style or tone – that just feels wrong to me. On the other hand, I don’t worry about the authenticity of stories based in European folklore. I don’t know, or care, whether the author is really of Celtic descent – the field is wide open for interpretation and inventiveness.
I grew up in a culturally diverse state, which perhaps makes me sensitive to the romanticism of the Southwest and of Indians in particular. When I read something that seems like a white person trying to sound “spiritual” and “Native,” I get a little uneasy. I could be wrong. Perhaps the person writing is the genuine article and it’s my understanding that is incorrect and biased. Whew! Getting into some murky water, here. I think the best thing for me to do is stick with the writing. Does it move me? Turn me on? That’s what makes a story valid, right? Or, am I just trying to squirm out of some difficult questions?
– Leslie
September 23, 2007
A few weeks ago I finished reading the latest and last Harry Potter (for fans who haven’t gotten there yet, no spoilers will follow). I love the methodical structure, how a passing remark in one book can resurface as a central theme or character several books later. And I love the characters themselves (however fantasy’s naysayers may claim the genre never produces full-fleshed characters). The more alloyed the better – Snape and Sirius are my favorites. And it’s refreshing to see children’s fiction that doesn’t shield children from the reality of loss and mortality, or the simple fact that the good guys aren’t always good.
I’ve also been surfing the fan sites to learn more about J.K. Rowling and her take on the story. I found out the first book was picked up by an English publisher for a print run of all of 1,000 before becoming a bestseller with blockbuster movies to boot. That kind of story can make a writer wonder, what if? (Though as a poet, it would be a pretty far-fetched “what if” for me.) It would certainly be lovely to have the money to buy more time for writing. And millions of adoring fans wouldn’t be taken amiss either.
But real success, as far as I’m concerned, is to touch one person – even if it’s just one person listening at an open mic or reading a class assignment who really gets it, who carries some piece of it away with them. Of course, once you’ve had that one person, you can’t help going for another. If that one person becomes, say, a couple million, that would be pretty neat. Still, to touch one person makes a poem worth its existence, a writer’s effort worthwhile.
– Sari
September 9, 2007
We are pleased to announce Fickle Muses' nominees for the 2007 Best of the Web Anthology:
For Poetry:
In Seclusion
by Annette Basalyga
Atlas on the Stairs
by Chuck Rybak
For Fiction:
From the Leaf Lore
by M. M. De Voe
– The Editors
July & August 2007 entries
June 2007 entries
May 2007 entries
April 2007 entries
March 2007 entries
February 2007 entries
January 2007 entries