The Queen’s Gambit by Diane A. S. Stuckart

The Queen’s Gambit is Diane A. S. Stuckart’s first Leonardo da Vinci mystery.  It is told in first person by Dino, one of  Leonardo’s apprentices.  I won’t spoil the story by giving away Dino’s secret.

The novel was a little slow, but I did enjoy it and plan to read the sequels: Portrait of a Lady and Bolt from the Blue (due out in January 2010).

If you enjoy mysteries and historical fiction, I highly recommend it.

Wordle: Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Renaissance Island: Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebration 2009

Saturday, April 25, 3-6 p.m. SLT (PDT)

Globe Theatre, 3:00 p.m.

Sonnet reading
Introductory remarks
Scene from Romeo and Juliet
Discussion with audience

Arena, 4:30 p.m.

Fencing

Rose and Crown, 5:15 p.m.

Storytelling

Sunday, April 26, 12-3 p.m. SLT (PDT)

Manor House Garden, 12:00 noon

Sonnet reading

Arena, 1:00 p.m.

Fencing
Jousting

Globe Theatre, 2:00 p.m.

Scenes from Much Ado about Nothing and  Henry V
Discussion with audience

Both Days

Commons Area

Faire with merchants, games, and dancing

Demonstrations, Tours, and Lectures

Kitchen
School
Globe Theatre
Gardens

Spring Classes

During the January term I’ll be teaching two sections of ENG 121 for Westwood Online, as I did every term last year.

I’m also scheduled to teach one section each of ENG 131, HUM 122, and LIT 127 at Red Rocks this spring.  I taught ENG 131, Technical Writing, last spring and this fall.  HUM 122 covers 800 to 1750 CE.  For LIT 127, Study of the Novel, I’ve selected the following books:

• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

I picked novels with the same theme, a child growing up, but from different times and places, including the future and another world.  The class might end up being canceled.  The last time I checked, there were only five students registered for it, and there have to be twelve for it to run.

In addition, I’m going to be teaching a section of ENGL 112 online for Mesa State College.  The catalog description for the course is brief:  “Critical writing about literature; research.”  I’m going to use The Bedford Researcher for the class.  I figure the literary resources I need can be found online.

Recommended Reading

I’ve been trying to relax some the last week before the big push to get all my grading done after finals next week.  I discovered that Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory had written a new book set in the same world as The Obsidian Trilogy, which I’ve read and enjoyed.  The new book is The Phoenix Unchained, which is the first book of The Enduring Flame.  I actually liked the new book better than the first trilogy because it isn’t as dark or gory, which the scenes with the demons in the earlier books were.  I’d recommend The Phoenix Unchained to any fantasy reader, even one who hasn’t read The Obsidian Trilogy.

Renaissance Classroom in SL

Here’s a snapshot of me (Floria) outside the Renaissance Classroom on Renaissance Island in Second Life.

Literature Alive! Renaissance Classroom

I finished making a presentation on the sonnet for Desideria Stockton’s Literature Alive! Renaissance Classroom in Second Life. I also created a t-shirt to be distributed for free.

There are now four members of CCC SLED.

Writing versus Literature and Humanities

I finally realized (duh!) this week that I’d much rather teach literature and humanities courses than writing classes. Of course, that’s what most of my classes are in. I’m working on my c.v. so, hopefully, I can apply to some other colleges or universities to teach more classes in those areas.

I also wouldn’t mind teaching some poetry-writing classes, though I probably need to do more poetry writing myself. All that I’ve done recently has been lyrics for political songs, and I did that more than a year and a half ago.

The other day, I did write another poem that is less political. I was going to make all the lines end in a rhyme with weary, but I decided to break that up:

Snow Weary

skies dreary
eyes bleary–
kids cheery
snowballs forming

still leery
of “theory,”
my query:
global warming?

I do like the way the title rhymes with most of the lines as well as the way I used punctuation but no verbs.

I’m going to have to start carrying a notebook with me so I can do some writing when I have the time–or the inspiration.