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Selena Chambers

Autor(a) de Calls for Submission

5+ Works 16 Membros 4 Críticas

Obras por Selena Chambers

Associated Works

Cthulhu's Daughters: Stories of Lovecraftian Horror (2015) — Contribuidor — 229 exemplares
Cassilda's Song (2015) — Contribuidor — 39 exemplares
Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories (2018) — Contribuidor — 4 exemplares

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Membros

Críticas

Babes in Toyland's Fontanelle by Selena Chambers is a wonderful look at, arguably, one of the most important overlooked/forgotten albums of rock history (though that number is larger than it should be).

Chambers does an excellent job of giving background on the members and the band and an analysis of the album. One of the strengths of the 33 1/3 series is the freedom each writer has to approach the album under consideration as they think best, and this volume offers some pure music history (including some info from interviews) as well as analysis of songs and contextualization within the times.

The two times I saw them were both Lollapalooza shows so while I knew who they were I wasn't there specifically for them. I was, at the time, deep into my studies, much of which was in our WGS program, so thinking about popular culture such as music was part of what we did. The majority of the people I knew at that time was fine with Babes not proclaiming themselves mouthpieces for feminism since there music spoke volumes.

If you're hoping to get some kind of explanation of "what songs mean" from Bjelland, she wasn't interviewed. But even if she had been, writers are notorious for being less than honest or forthcoming about meaning, besides which, if you haven't figured out a meaning for yourself, maybe you should listen again and think for yourself. We do get plenty of background, from which we can make some guesses about why a song was written, which is different from "what a song means." If you need someone to tell you what a song means, then it doesn't mean anything to you.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in music as well as those who like to explore the interplay between popular culture and society as a whole.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
pomo58 | Feb 23, 2023 |
In short…tales of alchemy, crypts, sinkholes, will-o-wisps, jellyfish and fulfilling lit references abound….all delivered in succinct forms with sublime prose…(fanboy squee!!!)


The full version:
Here are thoroghly realized settings and stories from a writer commanding her own style. All of the contents are well written and flow naturally. There is an effervescent, historical flair that calls to mind lost letters from a poet in the 1800’s. The late Romantic and early Modern authors seem to be her deepest influences in technique and tone. This is her milleue and her essence. For one thing, Chambers is a professed Poe addict. She has also penned a literary travelogue of sorts – [b:Wandering Spirits: Traveling Mary Shelley's Frankenstein|30644535|Wandering Spirits Traveling Mary Shelley's Frankenstein|Selena Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466269301s/30644535.jpg|51184529]. A chapbook exhibited her ardor/admiration for Mary Shelly. While visiting the depictive locations of Frankenstein in Central Europe, she drew clever inspiration from the epistolary form and delivered a transcendent publication.

Chambers sits comfortably between the Decadent Romantics and the contemporary Weird cognoscenti of her peers; those who draw from a spookier yesteryear, but inject a fresh modernism: Nick Mamatas, Nadia Bulkin, Orrin Grey, Silvia Morena Garcia, Jesse Bullington (who co-authors a story with Chambers) and Molly Tanzer, who delivers an enthusiastic introduction. Chambers' first book, the Hugo and World Fantasy nominated [b:The Steampunk Bible|9276833|The Steampunk Bible|Jeff VanderMeer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1325809765s/9276833.jpg|14158747] was co-authored with the award-winning Jeff VanderMeer.

Pointedly, her steam/diesel punk tendencies in Calls for Submission make for some of the strongest stories included. The set pieces are appropriately evocative and the language simply bewitching. “Sehrazatin Diyoramasi Tour” and “Dr. Lambshead’s Dark Room” are particular favorites.

Interspersed between the stories are three numbered vignettes entitled “Vintage Scenes”. Perhaps ruminations under the influence of a good “vintage” wine, it is here that Chambers steps out of narrative form and speaks directly with an intimate voice. Musings on wine, travel, experience, some fictional, some personal reflections. These items truly spoke to me:

“No matter where you are, you always want your breath taken away without appreciating the fact you are still breathing.”

from “Vintage Scenes #2
2010 Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Spätlese”

Chambers also positions herself as a card carrying Gen-X-er. She dedicates this collection to the members of Babes in Toyland! Her story “Dive in Me”, a clear denotation to the Nirvana song, is decorated with early nineties alt-rock references. The characters in “The Last Session” are in a band and clearly influenced by punk/indie rock culture. I sense Chambers is deliberately claiming a voice with these allusions…

Further, in terms of authors' project, Chambers’ body of work intimates the existence of an secret sisterhood called the Bas Bleu. Many of her stories surreptitiously suggest this shadowy feminist society. We are given shards and strands, but not a true herstory of this esoteric sect. It is left to the reader to work with these hints and implications of their existence.

Many lasting impressions are made over the fifteen entries, but for me, the final story “The Neurastheniac” renders the deepest impact. Chambers demonstrates state of the art literary talent. Perhaps it is just my personal taste, but this one helped me identify exactly what I look for in literature. The story experiments with form and voice while skillfully intersperses poetry, history, fictional mythos and literary reference. "The Neurastheniac" does what great art does: >takes sources/lessons of great things from the past >>adds unique/personal touches from the heart/ mind of the artist >>>produces something that make your hairs stand on end. On one level, this story is an exegesis of fictional writer Helen Heck’s fractured oeuvre. Helen is, in Chambers own words, “a failed beat/confessional poet/alchemist/junky”. After we are given objective exposition into Helen’s world and plight, we are immersed in the subjective experience of that very character through her own work...Leading us through tragic rapture. The Neurastheniac is SUBLIME. No doubt it was nominated for a World Fantasy award. In my heart, it wins.

Most of the stories have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies. This is Chamber’s first collection. She has written non-fiction in the form of articles, history, reviews and criticism in print and on the web. Strange Horizons , Tor.com, Bookslut, WeirdFictionReview.com, and Mungbeing.com. Pelekinesis are a press out of Claremont, CA.

I look forward to hearing more from this unique voice in the future.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
starlight17 | 1 outra crítica | Mar 19, 2019 |
A nearly flawless debut collection. Evocative, lyrical prose combines with realistically flawed and complex characters in a pleasing variety of settings, historical and modern, to become a book that is greater than the sum of its parts. There are several stand out stories here, including eastern-tinted steampunk of the Sehrazatin Diyoramai Tour, with its remarkable blend of punch-card era difference engines and a proto-form of exploitative transhumanism. Also excellent were many of the supernatural gothics included, such as Dr Lambsheads' Dark Room, and Gatsby-era Venus of Great Neck, which features a most memorable golem. The brujeria-influenced Descartar is particularly emotionally turbulent, as are a pair of more modern tales; the genuinely creepy Dive In Me, which features a very panic-inducing climax, and the haunting The Last Session, a story which encapsulates all the hopes and fears and awkwardness of being a teenager, but with a disquieting supernatural twist. Last, but certainly not least, I will mention the modern masterpiece The Neurastheniac, an intricately layered story which mixes the King in Yellow mythos, specifically focusing on the Winthrop Lethal Chambers, with the life story and suicidal ideations of junkie poet Helen Heck. Variety, imagination, realistic characterization, intriguing ideas, vivid descriptions, rich and sumptuous prose, simply stated I can not recommend this collection enough.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
michaeladams1979 | 1 outra crítica | Oct 11, 2018 |
4.5 stars. An excellent short story by Selena Chambers, everything in it works so seamlessly. The instigating incident that builds up to reveal the supernatural element, the story of teenage friendship, estrangement, self-discovery, bad decision-making, and ultimately of acceptance and of letting things go. I'm definitely impressed. Another high-quality Dunham's Manor chapbook.
 
Assinalado
michaeladams1979 | Oct 11, 2018 |

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Associated Authors

Nick Mamatas Contributor
Maurice Broaddus Contributor
Robert T. Toombs Contributor
Adrian Van Young Contributor
Mike Libby Introduction
Sarah Hans Contributor
Molly Tanzer Contributor
Kat Howard Contributor
Lauren Beukes Contributor
Jesse Bullington Contributor
Tessa Kum Contributor
Jules Verne Contributor
Alistair Rennie Contributor
An Owomoyela Contributor
Aliette de Bodard Contributor
Michael Cisco Contributor
Delia Sherman Contributor
Jess Nevins Contributor
Carrie Vaughn Contributor

Estatísticas

Obras
5
Also by
5
Membros
16
Popularidade
#679,947
Avaliação
3.9
Críticas
4
ISBN
6