In this univocalic story from The Snowman Three Doors Down, Ebenezer and Celeste have to decipher a coded message sent by the settlers. This may mean trouble for Fessenden. Here’s how it begins… THE SECRET SENTENCE Ebenezer’s beeper beeped. He pressed the desk beeper; Celeste entered the belvedere.“Yes?” she beseeched. He greeted her, petted the […]

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Sleeping Beauty and Rip Van Winkle had much in common, but never met. In this tale in verse, they switch places on awakening, to general confusion. Here’s how it begins. SLEEPING BEAUTY AND RIP VAN WINKLE Sleeping Beauty, Rip Van Winkle, Slept beneath the wheeling twinkle Of the starry sky on high, Slept as decades […]

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The second volume of Le Scat Noir Encyclopédie is now available! This cornucopia of information, like its predecessor, is edited by Norman Conquest and published by Black Scat Books. I was among over forty contributors; my contributions include articles on Aleatoric Temperament, Boxing Kangaroo Rats, Communion Waffles, Spicy Railroad Stories, Viper Midwives, and other more […]

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My 17th string quartet was written during the pandemic. It consists of two movements: a brisk tune and round, strictly diatonic in C, E-flat, and A; and a slow movement in not-strictly-diatonic G. More may follow.

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My 16th string quartet consists of arrangements of some of the piano music I’ve written over the years. Here’s “Radio Valentine,” written for a radio show in San Francisco long ago.

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In the course of my miscellaneous musical reading, I found an article by the organist and composer Friedrich (or, in England, Frederic) Weber, “On Melody in Speech,” in the Feb. 1887 issue of Longman’s Magazine (pp. 399-410). Weber notated the pitches and rhythms of the cries of several animals (dogs, birds, donkeys), and added some […]

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Here’s another classic nipped in the bud, from Black Scat Review 18. This would save everyone a lot of trouble.

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Here’s another example of a classic work of literature nipped in the bud. Potions are often unpalatable! This too appeared in the latest issue of the Black Scat Review.

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Here’s a translation of a song by Charle Cros, from Black Scat Review 18. SONG OF THE SCULPTORS (Charles Cros, 1879) Proclaim the principles of art! And shout with all your might! That marble is a stone apart, Because it is so white. Proclaim the principles of art! And fix them in your head! Like […]

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Here’s an example of my comic strip “Shorten the Classics,” one of four for an upcoming issue of the Black Scat Review. This version of “The Raven” not only makes it more concise, but gives it a happier ending. Please click on it to make it more legible.

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