This is my first publication in a professional magazine. And this is the physical copy. And it feels so... real. It’s finally tangible. And the feeling is amazing.
Physical Copy
Category: Creative
Published – in Asimov’s
A short story I wrote was published in Asimov’s Magazine of Science Fiction. It’s called “You’ll Live.” The idea for the story came when I was thinking about self-driving cars, and it veered off from there. I think that when we have real self-driving cars our lives will be very different. Cars will become living … Continue reading Published – in Asimov’s
Shodo – Universal truth (not a fortune cookie)
My kanji for the month is part of an 8 kanji phrase, like many are. See below for the whole thing. I wrote the last four. 天地玄黄 宇宙洪荒 But I’ll start with the first two. Tenchi means sky and ground, or for the poets out there, heaven and earth. It basically means everything and everywhere. Then … Continue reading Shodo – Universal truth (not a fortune cookie)
Ride the Wind of Flowers
My Shodo Sensei is too cool. She’s a master of the craft, of course. Her specialty is modern style. You have a lot more freedom, and has a lot more “meri-hari” which means curves and bumps, sort of. She’s creating a piece for a museum exhibition, and rather than just go for the traditional stuff, … Continue reading Ride the Wind of Flowers
Almost There, Stay on Target
I feel like Red Leader in Star Wars. I started Shodo about 4 years ago. I focused mostly on kanji and kana. Surprisingly, I’m progressing in kana more than kanji, which surprised my Sensei as much as me. I just took a level up test, and reached 2nd dan in kana, which is amazing. With … Continue reading Almost There, Stay on Target
Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossoms peak like Olympic gymnasts, young and fast. It's over before you know the best of it was last weekend. This week the petals are falling like snow, replaced with a new green that's almost yellow. And I stop wondering why the aesthetic of Japanese poetry is sad and ephemeral.
My New Pen
In 2016, I joined a writers group so I could flex my old dream into maybe more than a hobby. Writing. The long-term dream is still there, but the skill is not much more than a hobby. I've published one short story and sold another (still not published, but sold, I cashed the check). Over … Continue reading My New Pen
Beauty in the Eye
Kanji this month was tough. I had a trouble looking up the following on the internet. 妍因俗易 I could be way off, but my best guess of a direct translation is: beauty changes with custom or, in more modern terms beauty is in the eye of the beholder (maybe?) Kana is another waka. あしはやに、くる春ならむ、雲竜の、やなぎ一度に、ふくれきにけり ashi … Continue reading Beauty in the Eye
Brushes
Kanji is deep. Okay, all Shodo and Japanese language is deep. And it comes from Chinese, so Chinese is deep. All language is deep. What I'm trying to say is that this months kanji took me down a rabbit hole. The words are literally "one step thousand gold." There's got to be a good fortune … Continue reading Brushes
Still Life
Just in case you thought I wasn't doing any drawing, here is a still life of yuzu, Japanese lemons.
B.S. Donovan 