I wish,
So I guess introductions are in order, huh?
I'm Reese Menezes (as it says just over yonder to the right unless something has gone terribly wrong in the layout) and this is my blog! Which I guess is obvious, since you're here, and this is blogspot, and you probably got here by one of my links or cards... Hmm, you may be picking up on the fact that I'm not particularly great at this whole introduction thing. That's kind of why I do what I do, which is talk about fiction, a lot.
No seriously, like, too much sometimes.
I just can't help myself. The power of the fictional word has held me since before I could read, but once I could? Well, I was screwed. I have a few stories about that actually, but I'll get to those in later posts since they're kind of funny and deserve their own space.
The point I'm trying to get at in my own rambling way is that fiction, speculative fiction, is important. More important than I believe is properly taught or emphasized, especially in higher education and academics. The reason I'm so hot under the collar about this particular issue is that I'm a Westminster College graduate, and my degree is in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing.
I was incredibly lucky to have a phenomenal mentor and major advisor (Huzzah!), as well as a wonderful and patient thesis advisor, both of whom were willing to work with me on my aspirations. I wanted to, and still want to be, a successful freelance author. Depending on how you view success an argument could be made that I'm well on my way to doing just that, but it hasn't come without some obstacles beyond the basic, writing is hard to do, to get into, and to turn into a (financially) survivable life goal. Before going to college I thought I had been prepared for the eye rolls and lowered expectations people would instantly have when I said, "I want to be a writer," but nothing really prepared me for what I found when I got to college.
Which was nothing.
I'm not saying I didn't get an education (I already told you I graduated so duh), and friends, and jobs, and opportunities, and experiences that mattered (LOTS, more on that later), but that there was nothing for someone who specifically wanted to study speculative fiction. Okay, there was one thing, a class on the ethics and implications of science fiction, but that was taught by one professor who was from the Philosophy department, not English, and he didn't even teach it while I was there, so that doesn't get to count.
But seriously, nothing. No classes on the history of, or construction of, or notable names of, or classics of, nada. I won't lie, I was a little stunned, but, if you stick around, you'll probably figure out that I'm damn difficult to truly discourage. So in response to this utter desert of relatable content I tucked my chin, kept my hands up, feet moving, and found some people to watch my back. It wasn't easy, and at times infuriating. To me it was obvious that this was a complete oversight on the part of the college and something had to be done, but the more I talked with people the more I discovered that I was the odd duckling out, not them. My rearing had led me to believe that speculative fiction was the gateway to political, ethical, social, and scientific discussion, as well as being engaging entertainment. It was world bending to realize that this just wasn't so.
And I'm not trying to advocate for it to be, at least, not exactly. My goal is to change the discussion. Currently there is a yawning rift between those who are "literary" in nature (four years, countless discussion, and I still don't really understand what that means), and those who are speculative. Obviously there are some people who have managed to balance themselves across it, or who jump from one side to the other without falling into obscurity, but these people are rare, and I would argue that they shouldn't have to put so much damn effort into it. If, at any level, you believe that stories aren't just for entertainment, but can be shared to create greater understandings, whether between peoples, nations, and-or ideas then I believe you have cause to be concerned about this Us and Them mentality too.
Speculative fiction is not inherently mental candy, just as literature is not inherently groundbreaking.
So, I guess, the primary mission if you will, of my blog, is to help make speculative fiction accessible and discussable in a meaningful way that doesn't try to talk over people's heads, but invites conversation, disagreement, and discovery.
On a less soap box note, some of the other things that will be present on the blog are reviews of games, movies, novels, and a play or two, updates to my projects, personal anecdotes, upon occasion the dreaded topic of American politics, and miscellaneous (I actually spelled that right first try, go me!) to catch anything that might pop up that I haven't thought of yet.
I really do hope you decide to stop by again,
Reese
PS I'm not exactly the most, er, disciplined of individuals when it comes to schedules so I'm not even going to try to have one other than there will most likely be a new post every two weeks? Probably? Maybe. Eh, we'll see. Bye!
