Resolve, a poem

Resolve

I once again resolve
to make no resolutions,
to take no vows of vengeance,
to lead no revolutions.

Tomorrow comes a new year,
but it looks  quite the same;
I’ll leave my books unbalanced,
I’ll score not one game.

Whatever sprouts in Spring,
I’ll harvest come the Fall;
I’m thoroughly against
making plans at all,

for if I did, I’m certain
I’d watch them all dissolve;
I’ll make no resolutions —
this I do resolve.

Stephen Brooke ©2023

Bucket, a poem

 Bucket

When I kick the bucket
I want to make it fly,
and maybe knock a star
or two out of the sky.
Then folks who see them falling
will stop and wonder why,
if only for a moment,
on the day I die.

Stephen Brooke ©2023

Silliness and mortality are always a good match. A bit of light verse that, as usual, grew from a phrase that popped into my head. No forethought or agenda on these, nor do they particularly express my own view of things. My poems are always written by the fictional characters cavorting in my mind.

The Wise Woman

One sometime finds Lord Dunsany’s novel ‘The Curse of the Wise Woman’ listed among his fantasy works. This is not too surprising, considering the book’s title and the fact that he is best known for his fantasy stories (Dunsany is arguably the most important and influential fantasy writer of all time). But it is not fantasy; it is novel of the Ireland in which the author grew up.

A bit of mysticism does creep in, to be sure, but it is never accepted as ‘true’ in any literal sense. Dunsany wisely leaves it to the reader to decide how to take it, how much of it to believe. Yet it is woven through the narrative and as integral to his Ireland as all the rest.

The novel is something of a love-letter to that Ireland, and there is most certainly some autobiographical material included. A great deal of hunting and shooting fills the pages, along with lessons in old-school conservation. There is also surprising darkness at times.

This is not the urban Ireland, but a wild countryside that fades into the mythical Tir-nan-Og*—at least in the mind of the narrator and other characters. Tir-nan-Og translates as ‘Land of Youth,’ and that is just what Dunsany portrays here; it is the lost Ireland of his youth, in all it beauty and danger.

At the time Dunsay wrote ‘Wise Woman’ he was becoming best known for his humorous Jorkens tall-tales. There is certainly gentle humor and satire in the novel, as there is in much of his writing, but it is, at heart, a serious work. It is also an exceptionally good novel, acclaimed at the time of its publishing (1933), but somewhat forgotten since.

A couple years later, Dunsany published ‘Up in the Hills,’ also set in Ireland but somewhat later, in the aftermath of the establishment of the Free State. More broadly satirical than ‘The Curse of the Wise Woman,’ it is not quite as good (and could possibly offend some) but worth a read.

Early on, the plot of ‘The Curse of the Wise Woman’ revolves (though not very closely) around the ‘political’ murder of the young protagonist’s father. Then it resolves on the need to stop a scheme to drain the bogs—his father had unwisely optioned them to a corporation—and cut all the peat. This is where the Wise Woman’s curse comes in. The fight against those draining the bog and that of Tir-nan-Og against the Church are much the same—and it’s a fight to be found everywhere, then and now, the old ways against the new and, perhaps, nature against man.

Despite loving Dunsany’s fantasy, both short stories and novels, I was new to this book. ‘The Curse of the Wise Woman’ is a fine work of fiction and should not have been forgotten. It may well rival ‘The King of Elfland’s Daughter’ as his best novel of any genre. I strongly recommend the book, which is available free at some sites around the internet (though it is not quite in the public domain yet in all countries). It does remain in print, so copies are available.

*That’s the way Dunsany spells it. One can find other variants.

Times Replacements

In the early days of digital type, one found a number of typefaces billed as ‘Times replacements,’ some free, some not. A few were simply clones of the ubiquitous Times New Roman, such as the Nimbus Roman made free by URW++. As good a choice as any if one feels an actual need for Times NR.

Then there were those that had no relationship to Times, but whose designers hoped would unseat it as the go-to font. Adobe’s Utopia was an excellent (and free) alternative, but did not catch on widely—though I personally am quite fond of it! Times NR, as most know, is better suited to newspapers (originally designed for the Times of London) yet continues to be used in ways that are not really ideal.

And since it is a standard of sorts, we have a third group of replacements: typefaces that are metrically identical to Times, that will fill the same space on a page, when used at the same size and weight. At the same time, they should ideally look better, without the cramped appearance one can get with Times New Roman, especially on wider pages. Three early offerings that have held up are Linux Libertine, Gentium, and Liberation Serif (aka Tinos). All three of these are free and more-or-less open license (you can definitely use them in your printed book).

None look much like Times. Liberation is close to being a ‘humanist’ slab serif. I can not say I’m fond of its somewhat squared-off forms (which may have taken some inspiration from Zapf’s Melior). It looks okay and is pretty legible, maybe working better on line than in print and certainly an improvement on Times in most applications. Liberation Serif is included in the LibreOffice suite and with various flavors of the Linux OS. Use it on a web site? Sure. Write a book draft with it? It could work. Print a book? Not my first (nor even second) choice. Maybe for something nonfiction or an instruction manual. You might even get away with subbing it for Times in that term paper! :)

The award-winning Gentium has been one of SIL’s premiere free, open license fonts for some time. Unlike Liberation, it is very much intended for print use. To my eyes, it has something of a Goudy-esque appearance. That’s not from any careful analysis of the letter shapes, just how it looks to me. Gentium is sometimes described as ‘calligraphic.’ It is not an ostentatious typeface but has a charm to it, and could certainly work in a book. It does set rather closely, however, so make sure to give it some room. Readabilty is quite good but not quite on, say, a Garamond level. Nor does it have the legibility of something like Century Schoolbook—or the Liberation mentioned above. I have never printed a novel in Gentium but have used it for a couple books of poetry. The Plus version has loads of opentype features available—always desirable—as well as multiple language applicability.

Much of what I said of Gentium is also true of Linux Libertine. Libertine is a bit more stolid, closer to typical book text. The design is akin to such mid-20th Century neo-humanist typefaces as Palatino and Berling and especially Minion—definitely suitable for setting the text in a novel. Aesthetic opinions are a tad divided on the design. Some, I think are simply biased against any free font! I would say it is every bit as good as many issued by major foundries. And, of course, there is no ‘best’ typeface, even for a specific use. Libertine is readable enough and fairly ‘invisible,’ making it a good all-around choice. I’ll admit it is what I use to read ebooks. The latest version also offers most of the opentype features we might desire, adding to its versatility.

Keep in mind, these three typefaces follow the metrics of Times NR, which means a bit narrow and closely set. Gentium or Libertine might suit a double-column layout in a magazine quite nicely, where another font could appear ‘loose.’ Also keep in mind that you don’t need that Times compatibility most of the time. But these are now time-tested typefaces and one can’t really go wrong (well, too wrong) using them.

Portals

All mirrors are magic mirrors. ~ George MacDonald

In 1858, George MacDonald wrote what may be considered the first modern portal fantasy, ‘Phantastes.’ This was also MacDonald’s first novel of any sort, followed by many more, both fantasy and mainstream. With William Morris (who wrote the first modern high fantasy), he laid the ground for the fantasy writers of the Twentieth Century.

Strictly, neither man is ‘Modern.’ Their writing belongs to the late Romantic. I might be inclined to describe them as precursors to modern fantasy rather than its first practitioners. They are very important precursors, to be sure—one can draw some direct lines from MacDonald to C.S. Lewis (or to Tolkien from Morris, for that matter).

The portal in ‘Phantastes’ is to Faerie; it opens quite early in the narrator’s own bedchamber, thanks to his fairy blood evincing itself when he reaches sufficient maturity. No wardrobes or doors are needed for this initial passage (though others appear later in the narrative). The one world, our world, simply fades into the other. Near the end of his career (1895), George MacDonald created another—and better—portal fantasy, ‘Lilith.’ There, the portal lies in a library and is somewhat better defined as an actual passageway between worlds.

‘Alice in Wonderland,’ written less than a decade later than ‘Phantastes,’ did much to popularize the portal concept. It may be argued, however, that it is not fantasy in the genre sense, being dream-based and full of absurdities, taking it closer to surrealism. ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ carried the concept into the Twentieth Century—if one is willing to consider the tornado a portal. My own stories have used similar storms to open portals, but have carried no houses to other lands! Perhaps the cave where John Carter falls into unconsciousness, to awaken on Barsoom, can also be considered a portal. I’m willing to include it among the important portal fantasies. Important enough to spawn its share of imitators, anyway.

But the ‘true’ portal fantasies with which almost all of us are familiar are C.S. Lewis’s Narnia tales. Actual, physical ways between the worlds exist in them. At the same time, the experience of the children transitioning from one to another on entering the wardrobe, is surprisingly similar to that in the opening of ‘Phantastes,’ written a century earlier.

‘Phantastes’ is a decent story though without much cohesive plot. It gives a first person account of the protagonist’s rambling journey and of his making stupid mistake after stupid mistake. I occasionally wanted to shake the narrator and scream, ‘Pay attention when folks warn you!’ Such dependence on the protagonist’s bad judgment is not a good plot device—in its way, just as bad as the hero who makes no mistakes at all.

The tale is told in a clear, serviceable prose style—decidedly better than what one gets from some of his contemporaries—but one might do well to skim over MacDonald’s attempts at poetry. He certainly couldn’t match Morris there! The overt symbolism might be off-putting to some. One of the main points there seems to be that ‘Faerie’ is all around us and the mundane world is an illusion. This is akin to some of the Christian symbolism we encounter in Lewis. One can hear echoes of MacDonald in Dunsany, in Lewis and in Tolkien, in pretty much every modern writer of fantasy. The shadow that follows Ged in LeGuin’s work is not so removed from the one attached to our protagonist in ‘Phantastes.’

As a read, the novel hovers somewhere between ‘good’ and ‘very good,’ readable and reasonably interesting. It might even be called a minor classic, though mostly for its influence on the fantasy stories to come. ‘Phantastes’ is, of course, long in the public domain and may be downloaded as a free ebook at Project Gutenberg and elsewhere.

Cormorant for Text?

Cormorant is a popular open license typeface that has been available for nearly a decade now. It can be described as Garamond-like but is based on no historic model. The shapes may tend more toward Jannon’s than Garamond’s. That is of little concern of itself, but some might feel its look is a bit too showy for everyday use.

The original Coromorant, released in a number of useful styles and weights, was described as a display font. That is, it is best used at larger sizes, like twenty points or more. To be sure, it could be used smaller but its look at typical text sizes of ten to twelve points might prove disappointing. That has not prevented it from being utilized in just that role.

So, Cormorant Garamond came along with a bit of redrawing to work better at smaller sizes. Whether it is completely successful in this would have to be decided by the end users, but it definitely is more successful as a text typeface than the original version. One could use both in one print publication, Cormorant for titling, Cormorant Garamond for body text. I’ve yet to try it out myself, admittedly; if the right sort of project came along, I certainly would, but I’m not sure if it has quite the readability I would want for a novel.

We mustn’t forget those other versions available. The Upright is, in essence, an upright italic. It, I have used in small projects. The Infant version could, I suppose, be dropped into a more sophisticated children’s book. I don’t know what the Unicase is good for. Maybe not for anything I’ll ever design!

Then there is a matching sans, available: Ysabeau, also in a variety of weights and styles, and likewise free and open license. I have found it quite a bit more useful than Cormorant, as a stand-alone typeface, but the two will match up well too in print. For that matter, Ysabeau could work as a titling font with a number of old style serifs, or modern neo-humanist ones, for that matter.

I would discourage no one from trying out and using Cormorant, in any of its forms. Simply be aware there are other useful open license typefaces out there, ones that don’t offer as much ‘wow’ on first look, that might be as well or better suited to your needs.

Award-Winning

I can legitimately bill myself as an ‘award-winning writer.’ I mean I have actual awards for writing, not counting all the ones for my art and other endeavors. However, those writing awards are for poetry, not prose.

When it comes to publication, I’ve had more success placing poems than stories, as well. I do continue to consider myself as much a poet as anything else, but the poet speaks to a rather small audience—even when he slips across the border into songwriter territory.

I know I should not worry over much about an audience. As Merton advised, I write neither for that audience nor for myself, but for God. That is, I write for the universe. My poetry is a conversation with the universe. I should hope my prose would be, as well.

Whether it is listening, I’ve no idea.

Small Gods, a poem

Small Gods

The gods no longer believe
in themselves; one after another
they reached for the infinite
and came away empty handed.

Let others make their claims,
they said. Let others seek
omnipotence in dark
corners of existence.

We shall become the small gods
that sleep in forest and field.
We shall not question the stars
but only dance our moment

in their light before
they too stop believing.

Stephen Brooke ©2023

a bit of quick verse

Charter Member

In the early days of the personal computer, type designer Matthew Carter created the Charter typeface for Bitstream, his company at the time. It has proven to be a successful and lasting design. Originally, it was not created with screen use in mind but, rather, printing with the low resolution printers of the time (as was Adobe’s Utopia and another Bitstream offering, Deja Vu aka Vera). However, it works quite well as a digital display. I’d say it looks better than some designed specifically for that purpose (including Carter’s later Georgia).

Bitstream gave away rights to Charter early on (as they did with Deja Vu), making it free to use for most purposes. One can find various free downloads of Charter in both truetype and opentype formats, as well as a commercial version with more features. There is also X-Charter, which adds more opentype features, and Charis from SIL.

Charis is sort of Charter; that is, it does not derive directly from the original typeface but is a redrawn clone of it. The two look pretty much identical (there are subtle differences and Charis has wider line spacing) but Charis adds in support for more languages, as well as phonetic symbols. These are things I do not need personally but others might. What Charis does offer me is a range of useful opentype features. That is why it is the version of Charter I use myself.

Use for what? It is my ‘utility font’ on my computer, for notes and information and such. For some time I used the excellent Sitka (also a Matthew Carter design) for this, but it is a Microsoft proprietary typeface and I decided I did not want to depend on anything without an open license. All the more so were I to use it in a book! I have published one novel set in Charis, the science-fiction time travel tale ‘When Man Was Young.’ It looks fine to me and I do feel its classy but no-nonsense appearance is suited to SF (as well as nonfiction).

This brings us to Adobe’s Source Serif, also an open license typeface and one with a considerable resemblance to Charter. This is largely due to both drawing from the same Eighteenth Century type designs of Pierre-Simon Fournier. That Charter did influence Source directly, as well, I have little doubt. One could certainly substitute one for the other without most readers noticing. Source is a little more oriented toward screen use; however, I have used it without problem for one novel (also science fiction), ‘Alienese.’

Charter/Charis may be as close to being a ‘desert island’ font for me as any I could name. It’s not my first choice for writing drafts—either fiction or poetry—but it would work well enough. Though some genres might call for a different look, it certainly is acceptable for printing books. Charis is available for download both from SIL International and through Google Fonts.

Two Zappai

Two poems I wrote in my head while on my early morning bike ride.

morning bike ride~
I find words to carry home
but always lose some

Stephen Brooke ©2023

clouds of starlings rush
across the autumn sky~
their voices fade

Stephen Brooke ©2023

The first could best be categorized as senryu, perhaps, but the second might be considered a true haiku. Or not! It's not that important, truly. I do write stuff in my head as I am pedaling and sometimes I do remember it. Poetry, of course, is easier to remember than prose.