Long out of print, I found a copy of Vonda McIntyre’s Dreamsnake on Abe Books.
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote a thought-provoking review of the book in 2011, and why she thought it disappeared:
Theory #1: Ophidiophobia. The phobia is common and extends to pictures, even the mention, of snakes; and the book features them even in the title. A heroine who lets snakes crawl on her, and she’s named Snake? Oh, icky . . .
Theory #2: Sex. It’s an adult book. Snake, though, is barely more than a kid, setting out on her first trial of prowess, so that young women can and do identify with her, happily or longingly, as they do with Ayla in Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children books, though Snake’s taste in men is far better than Ayla’s. But could the book be approved in schools? The sexual mores are as various as the societies, including some very unorthodox customs, and Snake’s sexual behavior is both highly ethical and quite uninhibited. . .
Given the relentless fundamentalist vendettas against “witchcraft” and “pornography” (read imaginative literature and sexual realism) in the schools, few teachers in the 1980s could invite the firestorm that might be started by a right-wing parent who got a hint of how young Snake was carrying on. . .
Theory #3. The hypothesis of gendered reprinting. It appears that as a general rule books written by men get reprinted more frequently and over more years than books written by women.”
Le Guin, Ursula K. . Words Are My Matter (pp. 139-140). Small Beer Press. Kindle Edition.
In this time of anti-Asian hate crimes and Covid frustration, I thought of a wonderful day back in June 2014 — a garden party in Vancouver with folks of many cultures.
I am sharing this nearly seven-year-old post here again because I hope this memory brings a wee bit of comfort and joy to others.
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Had a wonderful evening last weekend. A BBQ hosted by friends of ours in Vancouver. Lovely old house in an older neighborhood. An evening in a gorgeous, modestly groomed, but more wild, back yard, with many burgeoning fruit trees and raspberry bushes.
We were the youngest couple there, and we’re in our mid-40s to mid-50s.
We’re a “mixed” couple, and so was everyone else. And some were in their 80s and 90s, and enjoying life to the full. Former neighbors, still friends, now living in old folks’ homes but graciously picked up and driven to this communal feast in their former ‘hood..
As the evening eased by, there were smatterings of Korean, Italian, and Japanese in the conversations. Not all understood by all present despite efforts at interpretation.
But everyone was cool with that. We were all happy to be with other convivial folks.
And all were sure to ensure that all were happy.
The food was a wonderful mélange of those cultures, and more.
For my fishy friends, and anyone who cares for our beleaguered environment:
Just finished Alejandro Frid’s book Changing Tides: An Ecologist’s Journey to Make Peace with the Anthropocene.
Excellent work based on his experiences as an ecologist working with First Nations on the BC coast, integrating traditional knowledge with Western science.
With his own research into fewer fish, smaller fish, and overexploitation of marine and coastal resources, Frid maintains a positive outlook that humans can change and collaborate for a better future.
I was watching Sora the Cat lazing in the sun with Dori the Turtle, and these words came pouring out. I didn’t have a notebook handy so I wrote them on my cell phone in an email to myself. I am not a poet by any means, but this was fun!
Great Blue Heron takes a fish in a pond in Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC.
It was a bit of a battle as the heron scooped some debris along with the fish, so it carried the fish over to an island and dropped it to get a better grip.
