October 8: Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (1943)
Quote:
Things are different from what I thought. They’re much worse.
Film Adaptations: Weird Woman (1944), Night of the Eagle (A.K.A. Burn, Witch, Burn!) (1962), and Witches’ Brew (A.K.A. Which Witch is Which?) (1980)
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October 19: How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao (2021)
Quote:
A kid at our school died, and my parents’ biggest concern is my calc grade. Smh —Anon
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It’s Halloween Eve, and this is a favorite of mine! This quote, in particular, is one of my favorite lines from any song.
Song: “Crazy Mary”
Quote:
That which you fear most could meet you halfway.
Read the complete lyrics.
Listen to the performance of Victoria Williams…
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STAR WARS, HARRY POTTER, and More in the World of Academia
It me!
I was delighted to be interviewed about my undergraduate and graduate classes for this article in Nerdist.
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“I think that there is no genre of horror fiction that so easily and intuitively speaks to our present day anxieties as the gaslit fantasies of our distant ancestors.”
Terror and Power: Is Gothic Horror Poised for 21st Century Revival?
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October 2: Conversion by Katherine Howe (2014)
Quote:
Something was eating away at the back of my brain. Girls. Dominant narratives. Sex. Death. Arthur Miller. Ann Putman sitting invisible right in the middle of history.
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October 6: The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)
Quote:
Does such a thing as ‘the fatal flaw,’ that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn’t. Now I think it does.
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Song: “Katie Dear”
Quote:
Then he picked up this golden dagger, And stove it through his troubled heart, Saying, “Goodbye, Katie, goodbye darling. The time has come for us to part.”
There are many versions of this song. Read more here.
Listen to the performance of Brennan Leigh & Noel McKay…
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I’m delighted to be giving a talk on “Finding History in Star Wars” for Morse Library on Thursday, May 12 at 6:30pm Eastern. The event is online, registration is free, and everyone is welcome!
VIRTUAL - Finding History in Star Wars
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A new take on familiar entertainment | Lenoir-Rhyne University
My Star Wars class gets a shout out in this article. I’m offering it again in the Spring 2023 semester.
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Song: “Young Charlotte”
Quote:
They reached the door, and Charles sprang out and held his hand to her. “Why sit you like a monument, have you no power to stir?” He called her once, he called her twice; she answered not a word. He asked her for her hand again, and yet she never stirred.
There are many variations of this song. Read more here.
Listen to the performance of Grandpa Jones…
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Song: “Murder of the Lawson Family”
Quote:
It was on last Christmas Evening,
A snow was on the ground,
His home in North Carolina
Where this murderer he was found.
His name was Charlie Lawson
And he had a loving wife,
But we’ll never know what caused him
To take his family’s life.
Listen to The Carolina Buddies’ performance…
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Song: “Graveyard Blues”
Quote:
I got up this morning, With the blues all around my bed. I got up this morning, With blues all around my bed. I had a dream last night The one that I loved was dead.
Read the complete lyrics.
Listen to the performance of Roscoe Holcomb…
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Song: “Witches of Harlan”
Quote:
I’ve heard the stories since I was a kid: Witches of Harlan haunt Black Mountain Ridge. Some say at midnight they roam the mountainside Searching for anybody that isn’t safe inside.
No, I hear ‘em whisper in the pines, I hear 'em calling to me To come on outside.
Read the complete lyrics.
Listen to the performance of Breaking Grass…
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I’m excited to share more information about my Fall 2022 online class for Signum University. The course page is coming soon. I’ll be posting links and details!
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Song: “Sad Wind Sighs”
Quote:
Now the sad wind sighs in the lonesome graveyard. The cold rain falls, and the trees bow down. I can hear my darlin’ softly callin’, But she’s asleep in the cold cold ground.
Read the complete lyrics.
Listen to the performance of The Grascals…
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October 9: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (2018)
Quote:
Who are the ghosts again, us or our dead? Maybe they imagined us first, maybe we were conjured out of the deep past by other minds.
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In my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast, I discuss Guardians of the Whills, Andor, and local resistance in Star Wars.
StarShipSofa 712 Laird Barron | StarShipSofa
ALTALT
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dramyhsturgis:
Registration for RRIII: The Expanding Universe is now officially OPEN! Join now to attend this three day digital conference May 4-6, 2023 for social events (cosplay reception), panels, brilliant keynotes, and all things Star Wars!
Realizing Resistance Episode III Tickets | Digital Cultural Studies Cooperative
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Song: “Banks of the Ohio”
Quote:
I held a knife against his breast
As into my arms he pressed.
He cried, “My love, don’t murder me!
I’m not prepared for eternity.”
Read the complete lyrics.
Listen to the performance of Gangstagrass Feat. Alexa Dirks:
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