Comics Get Medieval 2011 Update (Cross-Posted)

A belated update on the status of The Comics Get Medieval 2011 sessions for the upcoming Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association's annual meeting this spring:

The session has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

Please consider submitting a proposal for The Comics Get Medieval 2012 sessions to convene at PCA/ACA in Boston and (pending approval) at Kalamazoo. 2012 is the 75th anniversary of Prince Valiant, and it would be great to make ourselves visible as we commemorate this landmark event.

Michael Torregrossa

Blog and Listserv Editor
Co-Founder

King Arthur Forever Returns

The Society is pleased to announce the relaunch of KingArthurForever.org as a blog dedicated to study and debate of the representations of the Matter of Britain in post-medieval popular culture produced from the close of the Middle Ages through tomorrow.

New Study on Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles

One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle and Orson Scott Card
Marek Oziewicz

Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Foreword by Brian Attebery

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3135-9
Ebook ISBN: (isbn not yet available)
notes, bibliography, index
271pp. softcover 2008

Description
This work presents the genre of mythopoeic fantasy from a holistic perspective, arguing that this central genre of fantasy literature is largely misunderstood as a result of decades of incomplete and reductionist literary studies. The author asserts that mythopoeic fantasy is not only the most complete literary expression of a worldview based on the existence of supernatural or spiritual powers but that the genre is in a unique position to transform social consciousness with a renewed emphasis on anticipating the future. The author lays out theoretical foundations for his argument in the first four chapters and then demonstrates how the works of fantasy authors Ursula K. LeGuin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle, and Orson Scott Card exemplify his argument in the remaining four chapters.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      v
Foreword by Brian Attebery      1
Introduction      3

1. The Confusion over Fantasy and the Confusions of the Theoretical Era      13
2. Reductionist and Holistic Criticisms in a Battle of Worldviews      39
3. Mythopoeic Fantasy as a Modern Genre      65
4. Twentieth-Century Rehabilitation of Myth and the Search for a New Story      91
5. Rediscovering Harmony: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Sequence (1964–2001)      118
6. Bridging the Past with the Future: Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles (1964–1973)      144
7. Integrating Science and Spirituality: Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet (1962–1986)      171
8. Reconnecting with Nature: Orson Scott Card’s Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003)      198

Conclusion      225
Chapter Notes      229
Works Cited      245
Index      259


About the Author
Marek Oziewicz is assistant professor of literature and director of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Fiction at the Institute of English Studies, University of Wroclaw in Poland.
Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He lives in Greenville. C.W. Sullivan III is in the English department at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

 Award Winner
Winner, Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies--The Mythopoeic Society

A Hard Day's Knight by Simon Green

The latest in Simon Green's Nightside series is Arthurian in content.

Here are the details from publisher Ace Books:


A Hard Day's Knight
Simon R. Green - Author

$25.95
Hardcover | 9.25 x 6.25in | 304 pages | ISBN 9780441019700 | 04 Jan 2011 | Ace | 18 - AND UP

John Taylor is a P.I. with a special talent for finding lost things in the dark and secret center of London known as the Nightside. He's also the reluctant owner of a very special-and dangerous-weapon. Excalibur, the legendary sword. To find out why he was chosen to wield it, John must consult the Last Defenders of Camelot, a group of knights who dwell in a place that some find more frightening than the Nightside.

London Proper. It's been years since John's been back-and there are good reasons for that.


Amazon.com has additional information from Publisher's Weekly. Apparently the series has always had some Arthurian content, but this seems the most Arthurian (I think).

Private investigator John Taylor returns in the 12th novel (after 2010's The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny) of the Nightside, "the dark, secret, brooding heart of London." Having killed the former Walker, the voice of the Authorities, Taylor's now the closet thing the Nightside has to a leader. When the sword Excalibur shows up in the mail, he must return to London Proper to consult with the descendants of the Knights of the Round Table. The blood runs red (and golden) as he teams up with King Arthur and tangles with Merlin, elven royalty, traitor knights, sons of the devil, the Lady of the Lake, and various creatively named denizens of the Nightside. Taylor's irrepressible sarcasm and a twisted take on quotidian scenes compensate for a few too many solemn, self-important pronouncements and evil-overlord lectures. (Jan.) 

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card's latest novel The Lost Gate, book one of the Mither Mages trilogy, features a number of figures from Norse mythology. The publisher's website has sketchy information on the plot (after the jump), but the trailer for the book (below) is told from Loki's perspective.

Chiller January 2011 Listings

The following represent this month's medieval-themed listings for Chiller. Of note are 3 mini-marathons of Forever Knight and multiple airings of The Forsaken. Both feature vampires from the Middle Ages and their attempts to survive in the twentieth century.


MON., 3 JAN
09:00 AM
Forever Knight The Code
10:00 AM
Forever Knight Curiouser & Curiouser
11:00 AM
Forever Knight Near Death
12:00 PM
Forever Knight Baby Baby
01:00 PM
Forever Knight Close Call
02:00 PM
Forever Knight Crazy Love




FRI., 14 JAN
12:00 PM
Dark Realm Castle Keep


TUES., 18 JAN
08:00 PM
Movie The Forsaken


WEDNES., 19 JAN
12:00 AM
Movie The Forsaken



09:00 AM
Forever Knight Dark Knight
10:00 AM
Forever Knight Dark Knight: The Second Chapter
11:00 AM
Forever Knight For I Have Sinned
12:00 PM
Forever Knight Last Act
01:00 PM
Forever Knight Dance By The Light Of The Moon
02:00 PM
Forever Knight Dying To Know You


SUN., 23 JAN
09:00 AM
Special Cracking The Da Vinci Code
12:00 PM
Special Cracking The Da Vinci Code


THURS., 27 JAN
10:00 PM
Movie The Forsaken


FRI., 28 JAN
02:00 AM
Movie The Forsaken


SAT., 29 JAN
08:00 AM
Forever Knight False Witness
09:00 AM
Forever Knight Cherry Blossoms
10:00 AM
Forever Knight I Will Repay
11:00 AM
Forever Knight Dead Air
12:00 PM
Forever Knight Hunters
01:00 PM
Forever Knight Dead Issue


Also airing this month: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Poltergeist: The Legacy.