The Best Of Batya's College Career
Cora Lee: Focalization.
Focalization refers to the author's use of point of view. In Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place, each chapter is a story from one particular woman's perspective; the chapter on Cora Lee, in my opinion, was the most effective in its use of focalization.
Hostile Takeover.
This one was a "Creative Response" assignment from a class on Milton. Meet half the case of Paradise Lost (and a guest from Samson Agonistes!), trying yet again to wage war on heaven....
Mutatis Mutandis.
The course title was "Philosophy and Science-Fiction." The topic was one of several choices assigned by the teacher. I knew this issue -- after all, I'd read X-Men comics....
Something About This Place: Sleepy Hollow and the House of Usher.
This was the first paper for which I ever had to submit a formal proposal. My thesis: "Close analysis of the use of atmosphere (description of setting - landscape, weather, et cetera) to evoke emotion; comparison and contrast of such use in the writings of Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe, with emphasis on aspects of the fantastical."
Something Appealing, Something Appalling.
An analysis of two "stage to screen" transpositions: Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.
Rooms, Buildings, Streets: The City as Montage in Manhattan Transfer.
My senior literature seminar at Queens College was an exploration of Urban Literature. Manhattan Transfer, a novel by John Dos Passos, was one of the first works we covered.
GARGOYLES fanfic:
Absalom, co-written with Constance Cochran
Hurt Hawks, co-written with Constance Cochran
Rumors, co-written with Constance Cochran and Kellie Fay
BtVS fanfic:
Highway, Heading North. A brief fanfic vignette set in the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, shortly after the fourth-season episode Wild At Heart.
Railway, Heading South. To be added to Asphalt Reflections. Set immediately after the fifth-season episode The Crush.
Motel, Heading South. Another to be added to Asphalt Reflections. Set immediately after the series finale.
Original fic:
Goldspinner. Written for a course I took on The Culture/s of Fairy Tales.
Poetry:
New! "Ground Zero, October 15, 2003" and what I wrote there.
The Challenge Sonnets. In a discussion of super powers over on brunchma.com, I made the mistake of claiming that I could write a sonnet on any topic. These were the results. (It's a damn good thing I didn't claim I could spin straw into gold, that's all.)
"Churban Bayit". About six years ago, we had a fire at our house. It took me about three years before I could write anything about it, and it took until now to be comfortable sharing what I'd written.
"Escape Velocity", a poem styled after Sherman Alexie's "Sonnet: Tattoo Tears". (It isn't a sonnet.)
Take a look at the official Sherman Alexie site here. Some of his poems are available in the Bibliography section, although not, alas, "Tattoo Tears".
Four Ovillejos. The ovillejo is a poem form I learned from Seanan McGuire. Its name means "little bundle." (We joked that ovillejo sounded like a Mexican-cuisine appetizer; that's where the first one comes from.)
"Sestina: Appleseed". Original concept.
"Sestina: Gargoyles". (Two experiments with an obscure poem form.)
"Sestina: Hagsgate, Ten Years Later". The reference is to Peter S. Beagle's immortal fantasy The Last Unicorn.
"Sonnet V/III/MM". After John Milton's "Sonnet XIX" ("When I consider how my light is spent").
This was written during my English class on Milton, at the realization that there were barely three weeks left of the semester -- and that I'd managed to postpone nearly all of the required work until now. Eep.
"Sonnet: Empty Hands". Most of this was written after hearing about a friend's bad breakup. It was completed for a similar situation in a roleplaying game. (I hate it when I do that.)
"Sonnet: The Darkest Hour ". A chain-sonnet, based on Season II of The Gargoyles Saga, particularly on the episode of the same name.
Disclaimer: The sentiments expressed in this poem do not necessarily reflect those intended by the TGS staff.
Sonnet Redouble: The Gift. Co-written with newly discovered friend Seanan McGuire, who introduced me to this insanely structured poem form. Inspired by the fifth season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"Untitled Poem". (If you can suggest a title I'll be very grateful.)
Filk:
Essays:
What's In A Name? Nonfiction essay I wrote some years ago and rediscovered last week, cleaning out some old files. I hope to establish and expand an essay section here -- travelogues, reviews, and the occsaional rant.
It's My Island A short essay on Gargoyles that I wrote in 1995. I love this town.
Journal, September 11 & following.
This is a collection of my postings on the Brunching Board in the month following the World Trade Center attack, including my initial reactions and some later musings.