Hello and Merry Christmas! I've already opened my gifts and now I'm busy pondering the true meaning of this holy day...you guessed it, a time to read Stephen Crane Christmas stories!
I found this nice one buried in the digital snow of a Google search. The story is called, "A Christmas Dinner Won in Battle" and according to the site it's posted on, "Curiously, this story was first published in the Plumbers' Trade Journal, Gas, Steam, and Hot Water Fitters' Review on 1 January 1895, probably because the main character, Tom, is a plumber."
So was this rewritten for submission to the trade journal? You be the judge, or ask someone who might actually know. My guess is hekka yeah, Crane probably originally had the male hero written as a railway worker. Damn plumbers, always into something! But at least they had the sense to publish the greatest writer of all time!
What we've got here is a neat story of the steady hero, forbidden love, and the obstinate father/tycoon. Throw in some (quickly suppressed) class warfare, extreme violence, and a couple vague references to Christmas, and the end result is a Crane tale that's good enough to re-gift to you via this blog! Enjoy!
http://members.tripod.com/wackyanne/library/xlbattle.htm
:-D
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Time to Pay the Piper
I suddenly remembered i haven't paid my Stephen Crane Society dues in at least three years! Whoops! It only costs $10 a year to be in their society, so it wasn't a matter of being too broke to afford renewal. Rather, they just fell onto my dreaded IOWA list, as in I OWe A Lotta People A Little Money. Entities that find themselves on my IOWA list are either too good-natured and/or too lazy to claim the petty debt, or the debt is so old that they've forgotten about it entirely. The good thing about the latter is that when i do finally pay you, it will seem like a winfall to you, and will raise my status in your eyes. As in, "That Pat, he's such a great guy, sending me the $3 he borrowed back in 1986."
The concepts of time and interest are anathema when it comes to the IOWA list. So therefore, when i send my Stephen Crane Society 2009 renewal check to Treasurer Sorrentino, it will only be for $10, but will still make me a member in good standing, and remove them from my IOWA list. Everybody's happy!
But seriously, let's take a look at what it takes to join their Stephen Crane Society. Unlike my crew, the Crane Crusaders, they require no abdominal "STEPHEN CRANE THUG 4 LIFE" tattoos or Ford Madox Ford Society member beat-downs. All you have to do is fill out this paper: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/cranemember.htm and mail in your check. Basically you'll be getting a subscription to the Stephen Crane Studies, which is a wonderful little journal for Crane fans. It is usually published twice a year, and you can order back issues pretty cheap. I think i have all the issues, except for the last few years when i wasn't paying dues.
Membership also gets you on the Crane Society email list, and supposedly gives you voting rights and the chance to become an officer, but i don't recall being invited to do either, not even in my "good standing" days. I think that's because the election takes place at the annual American Literature Association meeting, which is attended mainly by academics.
These are the bylaws of the Stephen Crane Society: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/constitution.htm Article 13.1 holds some faint hope that my Crane Crusaders shall someday defeat the Crane Society: 13.1. SCS may be dissolved upon recommendation of the Membership Advisory Board and a two-thirds majority vote of the members. Intention to introduce a motion of dissolution must be announced by mail to all members at least one month in advance.
Ahh, what a coup that would be! For now however, i'll be content to enjoy my newfound "member in good standing" status. Perhaps you'll want to sign up too, or sign someone else up as a holiday gift. All in the name of Stephen Crane worship.
The concepts of time and interest are anathema when it comes to the IOWA list. So therefore, when i send my Stephen Crane Society 2009 renewal check to Treasurer Sorrentino, it will only be for $10, but will still make me a member in good standing, and remove them from my IOWA list. Everybody's happy!
But seriously, let's take a look at what it takes to join their Stephen Crane Society. Unlike my crew, the Crane Crusaders, they require no abdominal "STEPHEN CRANE THUG 4 LIFE" tattoos or Ford Madox Ford Society member beat-downs. All you have to do is fill out this paper: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/cranemember.htm and mail in your check. Basically you'll be getting a subscription to the Stephen Crane Studies, which is a wonderful little journal for Crane fans. It is usually published twice a year, and you can order back issues pretty cheap. I think i have all the issues, except for the last few years when i wasn't paying dues.
Membership also gets you on the Crane Society email list, and supposedly gives you voting rights and the chance to become an officer, but i don't recall being invited to do either, not even in my "good standing" days. I think that's because the election takes place at the annual American Literature Association meeting, which is attended mainly by academics.
These are the bylaws of the Stephen Crane Society: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/constitution.htm Article 13.1 holds some faint hope that my Crane Crusaders shall someday defeat the Crane Society: 13.1. SCS may be dissolved upon recommendation of the Membership Advisory Board and a two-thirds majority vote of the members. Intention to introduce a motion of dissolution must be announced by mail to all members at least one month in advance.
Ahh, what a coup that would be! For now however, i'll be content to enjoy my newfound "member in good standing" status. Perhaps you'll want to sign up too, or sign someone else up as a holiday gift. All in the name of Stephen Crane worship.
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