Kij Johnson's Blog

is there any way to remove all the detritus on my home page?

For the past several years, keeping a journal has not been a priority; but it had and has its purpose. It is a connection with people, with friends and readers and myself. I do not yet know what I plan to do here as I restart. For now, let's say that I am happy and busy, and very absorbed with my final year of graduate school.

I have a scooter that doesn't like starting in cold weather. Tatsuko remains her lovely self, still bunny-furred but grown bird-boned with time. I do not climb so much -- I miss Stone Gardens and Peter and Mika in Seattle, and I miss Will Badger, who left Raleigh to attend Oxford, leaving me bereft. I would say I am wearing black in mourning except that I always wear black; this doesn't change.

I am writing -- fiction -- every day. I am preparing for the post-school job hunt. I am, um, eating a chocolate croissant and drinking coffee. And wearing a scarf and, let's see now, jeans; and, um, go Wolfpack! See, this is why I stopped writing a journal.

For the past several years, keeping a journal has not been a priority; but it had and has its purpose. It is a connection with people, with friends and readers and myself. I do not yet know what I plan to do here as I restart. For now, let's say that I am happy and busy, and very absorbed with my final year of graduate school.

I have a scooter that doesn't like starting in cold weather. Tatsuko remains her lovely self, still bunny-furred but grown bird-boned with time. I do not climb so much -- I miss Stone Gardens and Peter and Mika in Seattle, and I miss Will Badger, who left Raleigh to attend Oxford, leaving me bereft. I would say I am wearing black in mourning except that I always wear black; this doesn't change.

I am writing -- fiction -- every day. I am preparing for the post-school job hunt. I am, um, eating a chocolate croissant and drinking coffee. And wearing a scarf and, let's see now, jeans; and, um, go Wolfpack! See, this is why I stopped writing a journal.

but look for a reboot of my online journal later this year. In the meantime, I am also kijjohnson on Twitter.

I remember there was some sort of tool that would do it, but no idea what it was called. I don't have a backup of any of this, and I would love to have something printable. Anyone?

In totally unrelated news, grad school, writing, life life lie. Actually, rereading some of this makes me remember how much pleasure I got out of writing here. I hope I get organized/get enough time to start doing this again.

Writing and appearances:I will be at the World Fantasy Convention, October 28-31. My reading is 2:30 on Friday. I am also on a panel about dream-inspired fantasy, Saturday at 10pm, with Mark Teppo, Steve Rasnick Tem, Sydney Duncan, and Susan Forest.
I'm excited to be part of the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Night, Thursday 11 November, at 7pm, at the Durham-New Hope Barnes & Noble.
My short-short "Ponies" is now planned to be up on tor.com on November 17th or thereabouts.
I just submitted an essay to a literary magazine. It would be wholly cool to see something of mine in a place like that.
I am working my butt off on Kylen. And yet. The beginnning needs to be fundamentally rethought. Again. It really will be better. Again.

Writing and appearances:I will be at the World Fantasy Convention, October 28-31. My reading is 2:30 on Friday. I am also on a panel about dream-inspired fantasy, Saturday at 10pm, with Mark Teppo, Steve Rasnick Tem, Sydney Duncan, and Susan Forest.
I'm excited to be part of the North Carolina Speculative Fiction Night, Thursday 11 November, at 7pm, at the Durham-New Hope Barnes & Noble.
My short-short "Ponies" is now planned to be up on tor.com on November 17th or thereabouts.
I just submitted an essay to a literary magazine. It would be wholly cool to see something of mine in a place like that.
I am working my butt off on Kylen. And yet. The beginnning needs to be fundamentally rethought. Again. It really will be better. Again.

I'm halfway through my first term, and by now I am settled into this life. Graduate school is the best vacation ever -- so many new things to experience, all at immense expense. I am planning out next term, and think that I will do a graduate seminar on Chaucer (Chaucer! I can't believe they'll give me credit for reading Chaucer) and a memoir workshop (ditto).

I was stressed and unhappy for most of the summer -- too much going on without a home address and with no idea what life in Raleigh was going to look like. I hated feeling like that, but I am glad it happens every so often: it reminds me how good it is to feel good the rest of the time.

Writing news? I have been writing, alternating between a novel and a non-linear short story. Right now they both feel sort of inconclusive.

I'll have a short story, "Ponies," out at tor.com this weekend. It will be here when the time comes.

I have a podcast interview with Brent Bowen up, on Adventures in Scifi Publishing.

I will be at the World Fantasy Con in Columbus, Ohio, in a couple of weeks. I still haven't heard from programming, but I hope to be reading there. If nothing else, I will be meeting friends and drinking bourbon.

It's been cooling off in Raleigh, and last night got down to 50 or something. I slept under two blankets and even so curled up in a ball, Tatsuko nestled down against my knees in her own little heap of covers.

And this morning it was cold enough that I dragged out a heavy sweatshirt and gloves.

But the sun is out, and that will change everything. We really are farther south than Seattle; the sun feels hot, even when the air is not.

I hope I'll go climb today with Will.

But what I really should do is prepare my questions for next week's discussion in the Medieval Dream Visions class.

But all I can think about is fall break, which is Thursday and Friday of this week.

And the book.

I have had some truly wonderful periods in my adult life, each for its own reason. Life in NYC. Seattle, 1995-1999 -- but then I changed jobs. Lawrence, the first year and a half. Seattle for the last couple of years. I think school at Raleigh is like that. I am planning a directed reading in Daniel Defoe. I am editing 300 lines of pentameter about chickens and dream theory. I am working on a novel. I am reading Dante and the Aeneid. Because I am in an MFA program, instead of an MA or PhD, I can if I wish explore these things in terms of craft, instead of as literature. I love this, the best job ever.

If I am lucky enough to end up doing what I want, teaching at the university level (and the writing yes yes), there will be a lot less Roman de la rose and a lot more reading post-adolescent fiction and sitting on faculty committees. I recognize that this is for two years only. I intend to enjoy the luxury of this time, these thoughts, this writing. I will end up owing a ton of money, but so do people who buy BMWs.

I was having trouble with my ankle, and saw a doctor and then a physical therapist last week. Diagnosis: a build-up of internal scar tissue that needs to be broken up -- and (as long as I was there, and she had an extra hour) I have a pile of unrelated exercises to open my pelvis and strengthen my knees. And so forth.