Q: What is your name?
A: Good question. You can call me Jonathan. Which is my name, though you could call me any manner of things. The possibilities are literally almost limitless.
Q: What do you do?
A: For money? For recreation? For spiritual uplift?
Q: For money.
A: I’m a graduate student at the University of Maryland. I get to study the history of the early modern Middle East, mainly the Ottoman Empire and its neighbors, do some teaching, write stuff, and other history things. They pay me to do all that. It’s quite nice, really.
Q: Where do you live?
A: Takoma Park, Maryland, with my wife and our two cats. Takoma’s a nice place. Lots of trees. We like it- close to the big city, but not too close.
Q: Are you a socialist?
A: While there are no doubt more socialists per capita in Takoma Park than anywhere else on the East Coast, I wouldn’t really call myself a socialist.
Q: What would you call yourself?
A: Like I said, you can call me Jonathan. I’m not really in the habit of speaking to myself in the third person, so I don’t have any especial title for myself. But I suspect that wasn’t your intent. As far as political affiliation goes, well, I have lots of probably incommensurate sympathies and inclinations, some of which depend on what day of the week it is and whether the sun’s out or not. I’ve come to realize how radically contingent one’s political-philosophical beliefs are, which make me something of a political relativist I guess.
Q: Yeah, whatever. No one cares, you know.
A: I know. I’m fine with that, really.
Q: Are you a spiritual person?
A: Are you? What does that even mean?
Q: Like, do you go to church and stuff?
A: Yes. I’m Eastern Orthodox. Now, the story of that is…
Q: Ok, sure. Last question: what is this blog about?
A: It’s not about anything in particular. Just whatever I want to write about, in whatever format or style, as explained in this inaugural post: I Write to Make Progress, Or Something. Really, I doubt anyone should bother too much with reading most of what’s on here. But if you do- well, you could have been looking at pictures of cats, but instead you chose to read the textual traces of my emotional and mental states, so, you’d probably be better off looking at the cat pictures. But thanks anyway, and enjoy.
Sohbetname 
Interesting! Please continue to write.
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I’m really enjoying it so far. Very impressed…and when it comes to fiction there are only a handful of writers whose worldbuilding and narrative voice impresses me…with this little you just joined that list. What I’ve read here so far leaves me with the same feeling I had when first encountering Watership Down, the Last Unicorn, or The Lord of the Rings, no lie. That’s rare. Do continue this. Finish it. Oh…btw there’s one place I think you meant to write “Istanbul” but you wrote “Islambul” instead…Freudian slip, I’m sure. Worth a search and replace, if so.
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Wow- thanks for such kind words! This is my first attempt at fiction writing in any sustained way since college (I wrote some earnest schlock, I can assure you), so it’s nice to get some feedback.
As for the Islambul thing- it’s not a typo, actually. Ottoman writers alternate in what they call Constantinople-cum-Istanbul, depending on the format, setting, audience, and so on. Constantiniyya- Constantinople- remains common for a long time, with Istanbul sometimes appearing (which itself is of course just an alternative Greek name/phrase: eis ton Polis, to the City). ‘Islambul’- ‘full of Islam- is a punning name Islamic Ottoman writers sometimes use, often as a poetic descriptor. I don’t know when it first appear- sixteenth century perhaps?
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You are welcome. I graduated with Honors in Creative Writing in 79. I’ve taught it at high school and college level. I’ve been writing and studying writing for close to 40 years, and I don’t impress easily. Moreover, I’m snobbish enough about my own writing when on my stride to admit few peers and fewer superiors published or not. Maybe it’s just hubris or small ponditus. I do not kid you, the narrative voice and the world building of these three short chapters can hold their own against writers like Gene Wolfe or Melvin Peak, or R.A Lafferty (If you don’t know these, you should).
These are all men I consider much better writers than me. What will prove that you can stick in this rank is your persistence…the completion and refinement of this story, how you develop your characters in the face of robust conflict and the shattering of all their hope. (rule of thumb get your characters stuck up a tree and throw rocks at them). Then you may chose to rescue or redeem them somehow at some non token price (or not). If you finish this you will find an audience…might even find yourself invited to speak at Doxacon (Yes…of all the strange things to learn, Orthodoxy has it’s own SciFi/Fantasy convention)
One thing I think especially in your favor is your “antique” literary voice. There is a growing market for it. One of the breakout fantasy hits of the past couple of years is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norvell which is essentially written in an early to mid 19th century English style. It was/is unlike anything on the market…with the possible exception of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. The other thing is that fantasy has gnawed the sun bleached bones of Medieval feudalistic tropes to dust. The market is hungry for new voices, new visions, and right now there are few that can skillful see any world through anything but western eyes and mindsets. You don’t have that problem at all. There is very little competition for the type of world you have created.
So, I just wanted you to know, I’m not glad-handing you. The feeling I got discovering the little bit of the world you’ve revealed so far was just the same when I encountered the likes of Dune, Gormenghast, or Watership Down, to name just a few. It left me just slack jawed with delight. The last time that happened was over 10 years ago when I stumbled upon Okla Hannali by R.A. Lafferty and found some of the best dialect work since Twain. I’ve read a number of books since then, many I really enjoyed, but none evoked that sense of wonder…like when the Wizard of Oz switched from Black and White to color until I read your chapters. In my opinion, your story is that good, right now.
Don’t let my gushing turn your head. Finishing is going to take time and be hard work, and making revisions and refinements even harder. But if, God willing you do finish, what a great gift you will leave to the world…one I think that will fully comport to Tarkovsky’s vision of the purpose of Art…not to inform, or entertain, not to present ideas and philosophies…but to prepare the soul for death, to plow and harrow the soul, and render it capable of turning to good.
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