Yes, a Blog

The third universal principle is that when someone—who isn't your mother—asks if you have a blog, you must make one. In accordance with this ancient and esteemed law of reality, I unveil Penentaglossia. Using this hybrid form, part-diary and part-soapbox, I intend to share rough drafts of academic papers; shine light on forgotten works of sf, fantasy, and weird fiction; and, most importantly, brag about my used bookstore finds. 

As for the name, a quick search for the term "penentaglossia" will reveal its origin: "The Primary Education of the Camiroi" by R. A. Lafferty. It's on the syllabus for fifteen-year-old Camiroi students, alongside panphilosophical clarifications, charismatic humor and pentacosmic logic, and construction of viable planets. The definition, "The perfection of the fifty languages that every educated Camiroi must know including six Earthian languages. Of course the child will already have colloquial mastery of most of these, but he will not yet have them in their full depth."

Lafferty is one of a core group of sf writers at the core of my academic interest (including, but not limited to, Cordwainer Smith and Gene Wolfe). His 200-odd short stories and 40+ novels have received little attention from ivy-covered professors in ivy-covered halls, but his ability to intertwine deep and tragic pathos with uproarious frivolity in a style completely inimitable sure has me convinced. You can also look forward to my comments on Jean Ray (the Flemish Poe), Leena Krohn, Mervyn Peake, M. John Harrison, Aristotle, Thomas Ligotti, G. K. Chesterton, Clark Ashton Smith, Jorge Luis Borges, the unread works of C. S. Lewis, and, for good measure, some Pseudo-Dionysius.

From Lafferty's afterword to his "Continued On Next Rock," words that I want inscribed on my tombstone: "Enough of such stuff, end of article, if this is an article. I am both facetious and serious in every word written here."