grayrose

I know it's ironic, but I've written a story which, I feel, would have been perfect for Clockwork Phoenix. Funny, huh? If not perfect for it, at least time_shark would have given me comments, I feel. I feel!

Well, it was entirely wrong for Eclipse 2:. The editor asked for long, "mid-genre" Science Fiction, and I sent him short mythic fantasy which is weird, experimental and poetic.

And now it's back home, and I don't know where to send it. My friend Shweta suggested Clarkesworld, but I do not have a good feeling. The story includes four short poems, and Clarkesworld never publishes poetry. Plus, the language is a bit... I dunno. I was trying to get the feeling of Old Norse poetry through English prose. i doubt Nick Mamatas will dig it.

So, please, I beg your advice about markets. Whatever shall I do with "Imperfect verse?"

In the short story I finished yesterday, the heroine causes (in a way) an evolution of poetic forms.

There are four poems overall. The first in Eddic (epic) meter, the second is a skaldic poem,  third supposedly a ballad (rhymed), and the last is free verse.

Surprisingly I had the most trouble with the formal Eddic metre, fornyrðislag - "the way of the old words," . It is surprising because this is the stuff I've been reading for years, but it is not as easily transferable into English as I thought.

The Old Norse epic meter is built on the following principles:

WARNING - IT GETS BORING HERE

Principle 1. Two half-lines, united by alliteration of two, sometimes three words.
(The bolded letters in the translation correspond to the original alliterations)

Two-word alliteration:
sól þat ne vissi     hvar hon sali átti,
máni þat ne vissi     hvat hann megins átti

Sun did not know that, where she had her  hall.
Moon did not know that, what might he had.
(this is from Voluspa)

Three-word alliteration - in many Eddic poems the three-word alliteration full line is usually followed by a shorter two-word alliteration line:

Loki:
Þegi þú, Njörðr,  þú vart austr heðan
gísl of sendr at goðom;
Hymis meyjar  höfðo þik at hlandtrogi
ok þér i munn migo.

Shut up you Niord,     you were, east of here,
Sent as a hostage for the gods;
Maidens of Hymir (a giant)    had you for a chamberpot
And pissed in your mouth.
(This is from Lokasenna)

If this is of interest, I will be happy to continue. Please tell me if I am boring too :-)