I think I'd be tempted to wing it and write something from the heart. I don't like poetry but I loved poetic Sci-Fi from Zelazny. He wrote better >from the First Person than most anybody I can think of. I loved the way he could give a compelling picture of someone with only three descriptive bits. He was somebody fascinated with power and humanity and really pushing the envelope. Instead of planning something, I'd just spend a couple of days writing some free-form thoughts and see what comes out. Zelazny was the one who really *got* To Reign In Hell and I suspect there is some reverse insight among common thinkers. While this appears to be daunting, I think SKZB has a better shot than most of pulling this off (with apologies to Gaiman). johne (phy) cook wisconsin, usa blog: http://breezeway.blogspot.com forum: http://forum.instagiber.com/index.php?h=1&pf=268 stormfort list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stormfort/ >Three thousand words in praise of RZ - all SKZB has to do is write the >truth for 10 pages (I assume the editor isn't looking for, Here's the >first ten pages of A Rose For Ecclesiastes: > I was busy translating one of my _Madrigals Macabre_ into Martian >on the morning I was found acceptable. The intercom had buzzed >briefly, and I dropped my pencil and flipped on the toggle in a single >motion. > "Mister G," piped Morton's youthful contralto, "the old man says I >should `get hold of that damned conceited rhymer` right away, and send >him to his cabin. Since there's only one damned conceited rhymer..." > "Let not ambition mock thy useful toil." I cut him off. >etc. - taken from a Russian site on the web that's probably violating >copyright - but presumably just this much is fair use...) > >In SKZB's boots, I think I'd say: RZ gave me a huge push at the beginning >of my career and I'm saddened but honored to assist in a small way in the >completion of his career, the more so because he was interested in closure >(citing _Isle Of The Dead_, _Eye Of Cat_, "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by >Hokusai"). I'd find a better word than "closure" because I'm SKZB. I'd >riff on his views of fate and destiny and recurrence. I'd write about the >influence of Dumas in his work - how well he could describe a duel and how >colorful his worlds are - how entertaining his work is. I'd then turn to >how interested he was in religion and philosophy. I'd assert that the >above two points make him one of the most important SF writers of last >century. Then I'd try to put his short stories into some context in terms >of his novels, because the random reader is more likely to know the >latter, and maybe I'd write briefly about the concerns of the stories in >this collection. I'd quote him a lot, because it's scholarly, because it >takes up space, and because it's RZ. I certainly wouldn't pay attention >to what random fans of RZ think I should write, because my insight's >deeper, as shown by my successful integration of RZ's influence into my >work. > > >Anyway, aside from maybe Tom Disch (whose book of criticism, _The Castle >of Indolence_, I heartily recommend to anyone who reads contemporary >poetry), or possibly the Dean of Pamlar University, if gya reads English, >I can't conceive of anyone better to write about RZ than SKZB, and it >suits my sense of justice. > > > > >On Wed, 23 Jul 2003, David Silberstein wrote: > > > Steve Brust, in his weblog for 2003-07-17, says: > > > > ] I've been asked to do an introduction to a collection > > ] of short stories by Roger Zelazny. I'm more than a little > > ] flattered and honored. But I have no bloody clue what to > > ] say. No one wants to read three thousand words of, "But. like, > > ] he's really good!" I have this terrible urge to call Neil > > ] Gaiman and say, "Here. You write it." > > > > Well, you could, perhaps, describe some of the tropes that run > > through his works, like his heros possessing near-supernatural > > strength, in many of the stories. Or you could point out that > > there will be all of this action-adventure stuff going on, but > > suddenly there will be transitions to these paragraphs of near > > lyric beauty. Or you could talk about the playfulness that is > > in even his serious stories, or his way of taking a silly idea > > and just *running* with it, spinning out a story like a stage > > magician who will just keep pulling scarves from nowhere. Or, > > you could channel Zelazny, and write what *he* might have said > > about his own works. > > > > Hmm. Who is the publisher? What stories are in this collection? > > I am curious to know if there is something I haven't read. _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail