my Readercon schedule
Jul. 10th, 2014 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rushthatspeaksA tad late, since the con starts tomorrow, but hey, at least it hasn't started already...
Thursday, July 10th
8:00 PM G Power Differentials in Reviewing. Kevin Clark, John Clute, Amal El-Mohtar (leader), Lila Garrott, Alex Jablokow, Gregory Wilson. The Twitter sage @FILMCRITHULK wrote in a blog post, "REVIEWS ARE FUCKING WEIRD. NO ONE REALLY TALKS ABOUT IT, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING SO INHERENTLY WRONG WITH THEM. IT'S NOT JUST THE OBVIOUS THINGS, LIKE THE FACT THEY ARE SO OFTEN FILLED WITH THE WRONG KINDS OF INFORMATION TO GIVE BEFOREHAND AND MISSING THE INSIGHTS THAT WOULD TOTALLY BE MOST HELPFUL. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE A CONVERSATION OF EVALUATION WHEN THE READER IS AT A DISTINCT DISADVANTAGE. I.E. THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THE DAMN MOVIE. THIS REQUIRES THAT THE AUTHOR HAS TO DANCE AROUND THE SUBJECT ITSELF AND THUS TURNS THE WHOLE THING INTO NOTHING MORE THAN A HOLLOW GAME OF INNUENDO." (Capitals in the original, obviously.) So is there an unavoidable asymmetry in reviews? Do we agree with HULK that it's a bad thing? And, if so, what should be done about it?
I... have a whole lot of things I could say about expected audience, and whether there is a difference between reviewing and criticism, and the way reading a reviewer over a long period of time does and does not reveal bias, and we'll see what direction this goes.
9:00 PM ENL Readercon Classic Fiction Bookclub: Memoirs of a Space Woman. Amal El-Mohtar, Lila Garrott (leader), Sonya Taaffe. Naomi Mitchison's 1962 exploration of a life lived nearly entirely in space has deep humanist themes. Mary's specialty in alien communication leads to a life and profession of embracing the Other, literally realized in her accidental pregnancy via a Martian. We'll discuss criticisms of the book's heteronormativity and biological determinism as well as the themes of Mary's immersion in alien cultures.
YAY NAOMI MITCHISON
Friday, July 11th
6:00 PM ENL The Convergence of Utopia and SF. Lila Garrott, Chris Gerwel (leader), Kameron Hurley, Paul Park, John Stevens. In a blog post about Readercon 24's utopia panels, Chris Gerwel wrote, "Utopian thought is a systemic 'what if' game: If we adjust the systems that shape our society, how will our society change?" Observing that "what if?" is at the heart of science fiction, Gerwel adds, "Can we have science fiction that isn't utopian? Or can we have a utopia which isn't science fictional?" This panel will tackle these and other deep questions about the nature of utopia and its relationship with SF.
I think John Crowley gave this talk last year, but it should be an interesting panel.
I have no programming on Saturday, but I should be around. I'm expecting this to be a fairly low-energy con, which means probably various people's readings, dealers' room, and, if it has turned out decently after the renovations, a certain amount of lurking in the bar. Say hello if you see me.
Sunday, July 13th
2:00 PM ENV Reading: Lila Garrott. Lila Garrott. Lila Garrott reads an excerpt from an unpublished novel, and possibly one or two published reviews.
I am very sad to be scheduled against Gemma's reading! That said, PLEASE COME. Given the way con season works, this is the last chance I'll have to read from this book in public before it's Sitting On Someone's Desk Somewhere Waiting For A Decision and I am chewing my nails to the elbow about it.
Thursday, July 10th
8:00 PM G Power Differentials in Reviewing. Kevin Clark, John Clute, Amal El-Mohtar (leader), Lila Garrott, Alex Jablokow, Gregory Wilson. The Twitter sage @FILMCRITHULK wrote in a blog post, "REVIEWS ARE FUCKING WEIRD. NO ONE REALLY TALKS ABOUT IT, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING SO INHERENTLY WRONG WITH THEM. IT'S NOT JUST THE OBVIOUS THINGS, LIKE THE FACT THEY ARE SO OFTEN FILLED WITH THE WRONG KINDS OF INFORMATION TO GIVE BEFOREHAND AND MISSING THE INSIGHTS THAT WOULD TOTALLY BE MOST HELPFUL. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE A CONVERSATION OF EVALUATION WHEN THE READER IS AT A DISTINCT DISADVANTAGE. I.E. THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THE DAMN MOVIE. THIS REQUIRES THAT THE AUTHOR HAS TO DANCE AROUND THE SUBJECT ITSELF AND THUS TURNS THE WHOLE THING INTO NOTHING MORE THAN A HOLLOW GAME OF INNUENDO." (Capitals in the original, obviously.) So is there an unavoidable asymmetry in reviews? Do we agree with HULK that it's a bad thing? And, if so, what should be done about it?
I... have a whole lot of things I could say about expected audience, and whether there is a difference between reviewing and criticism, and the way reading a reviewer over a long period of time does and does not reveal bias, and we'll see what direction this goes.
9:00 PM ENL Readercon Classic Fiction Bookclub: Memoirs of a Space Woman. Amal El-Mohtar, Lila Garrott (leader), Sonya Taaffe. Naomi Mitchison's 1962 exploration of a life lived nearly entirely in space has deep humanist themes. Mary's specialty in alien communication leads to a life and profession of embracing the Other, literally realized in her accidental pregnancy via a Martian. We'll discuss criticisms of the book's heteronormativity and biological determinism as well as the themes of Mary's immersion in alien cultures.
YAY NAOMI MITCHISON
Friday, July 11th
6:00 PM ENL The Convergence of Utopia and SF. Lila Garrott, Chris Gerwel (leader), Kameron Hurley, Paul Park, John Stevens. In a blog post about Readercon 24's utopia panels, Chris Gerwel wrote, "Utopian thought is a systemic 'what if' game: If we adjust the systems that shape our society, how will our society change?" Observing that "what if?" is at the heart of science fiction, Gerwel adds, "Can we have science fiction that isn't utopian? Or can we have a utopia which isn't science fictional?" This panel will tackle these and other deep questions about the nature of utopia and its relationship with SF.
I think John Crowley gave this talk last year, but it should be an interesting panel.
I have no programming on Saturday, but I should be around. I'm expecting this to be a fairly low-energy con, which means probably various people's readings, dealers' room, and, if it has turned out decently after the renovations, a certain amount of lurking in the bar. Say hello if you see me.
Sunday, July 13th
2:00 PM ENV Reading: Lila Garrott. Lila Garrott. Lila Garrott reads an excerpt from an unpublished novel, and possibly one or two published reviews.
I am very sad to be scheduled against Gemma's reading! That said, PLEASE COME. Given the way con season works, this is the last chance I'll have to read from this book in public before it's Sitting On Someone's Desk Somewhere Waiting For A Decision and I am chewing my nails to the elbow about it.
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no subject
Date: 2014-07-10 03:12 pm (UTC)I'll be at the bake sale on Saturday morning, come say hi if you can?
no subject
Date: 2014-07-10 06:58 am (UTC)Nine
no subject
Date: 2014-07-10 11:33 am (UTC)At 4th St.,
Neither of us is writing utopias. These societies are broken and messy. They're just not broken and messy in that way. And I am finding it even more important that we say to people, no, actually, we think we can fix this part without building perfection. We think this part actually is doable and is more like "there's a water supply that won't give you dysentery" than like "everybody has the perfect job that makes them happy and there is no hunger or want or fear!"
no subject
Date: 2014-07-10 01:43 pm (UTC)