The Thunderbird Blues of a Buffalo Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's latest masterpiece, an extraordinary example of old-school design and expert silversmithing in an all-new collector's-item work. It's the thunderbird blues of a buffalo sky, spirits that command the power of the elements and the ability to deliver their medicine to us.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales as we enter this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and there are many opportunities and occasions for gifts to come, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Do you appreciate good writing?

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Do you like speculative fiction blended with creative nonfiction, magical mystical realism?

Do you enjoy nature photography, and the stories of the subjects that inform it, of their many cultures and names?

Do you like supporting the marginalized voices and views, those who inhabit the interstices of this world and others?

Then go here to donate.

If you haven't seen it yet, or if you've missed installments, click "Archive" and start at the bottom.

There's a lot more to come.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

With Wings, In Form and Spirit

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Summer. 

Father's Day.

A bird that is itself a yellow flute.

And, come to think of it, very close to the shape of this bird.

Those who know the name will know the spirit.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Updated: Keeping The Interstices Inhabited

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

For the time being, at least, I've decided against going the Patreon route. I've discussed it with peeps in other online spaces, most of whom show up here at least occasionally. Some indicated that they would support such an effort, but I have several reasons for deciding against Patreon right now (none of which need to be discussed here).

In lieu of a such a third-party platform, I've decided simply to post our PayPal account button on the Tumblr site that functions as The Interstices. It doesn't have Patron's jazzy interface, nor a "rewards" program for specific monthly donations. Nonetheless, I can and will commit (have already, in fact, and for nothing but my own interest in telling my stories from my own point of view) to the following: To the extent practicable, I'll continue with the pattern I've maintained over the last month. That means roughly a week and a day of my sort-of-but-not-really-fiction, serialized as I've been writing it, followed by a week and a day of photography. The photography periods are designed to give my spirit a break from what lies deep within my family's history, and also to bring light to another space that I inhabit, that of the natural world here, where I live now. Folks have all the same options they'd have with any other platform: Donate nothing at all, and still have access to what is frankly good writing, unique storytelling, and unusual imagery; make a one-shot donation when the whim strikes; or make a recurring donation to help provide a regular enough cushion to permit me to take the time away from my regular work to write.

I'm not sure most people understand what my writing is. Most of what I do is perforce nonfiction, and much of that is woven with autobiographical themes. At The Insterstices, however I allow Thunderbird to stretch her wings. I've had these stories in my head, in my heart, from childhood, with no way to get them out into the light of day. I also realized, early on, that I would never be able to allow them out in literal terms, and so names are changed, places are altered, time is expanded and/or telescoped in some instances, at least as often to protect the guilty as the innocent. In the process, it becomes a wok of creative non-fiction combined with speculative fiction to create what the literary types call magical realism. Ironically, the "magic" is often the most "real" part of the story. That's not unusual; what is unusual is treating it matter-of-factly. But it's always been a part of me, of who I am and where I come from.

I also don't think — no, I know — that people understand the how of my writing. It's one of the reasons that I take the photographic breaks, because the process is entirely organic, but by the same token, extremely wearing. It comes from very deep places, some of them dark, some them too well hidden for too many generations. It comes from a well of memory, personal and ancestral, one that is saturated with sensation and emotion, nearly tangible in these three dimensions when I choose to revisit it. And so when I write each segment, there is no planning, no drafting, no endless repetitive cycles of writing and editing. No. For those who've been following along thus far, each of the segments you've read? Each of those has been written straight through, off the top of my head (or perhaps better described, pulled from the depths of my heart and soul and memory) on that day at that time. There is no real editing; the story comes as it will. It makes for, yes, an organic process; it also makes for an abraded, sometimes even flayed, spirit as I draw on what's there and bring it out to paint the picture for others to see. In one sense, of course, I know that no ones cares; they either like it or they don't, and process is irrelevant. But I do want people to understand the amount of labor, physical and spiritual, that goes into what I write: This is not writing to some publishing-industry formula for quick commercial success, nor is it any attempt to produce something called "Lit-er-a-ture." So when someone donates to keep such segments coming, s/he is really donating for me to produce, quite literally, on the spot. I do. And I want people to understand that what they're getting here is not the result of endless (or even any) drafts and revisions; I genuinely do write this well straight through, at least when the story is this integral to my very being. I'm sure there will be people who think I should keep that to myself, but it's important for me to make sure that it's understood.

I've never been good at this. Oh, I'm actually very good at writing. But I suck, terribly, at asking people to compensate me for the work involved. Too many years of internalizing the lesson that I am here to produce and be grateful for the opportunity, that "exposure" and "adjacence" and subsequent erasure of my ownership of what I create are more than sufficient reward for someone like me.

I'm done with that. I will write for myself, and if it's good enough for people to want to pay to keep it coming, I'll give them the means to do so. Otherwise, I'll write as I breathe, because I must, but with no commitments to anything but my own spirit.

So if you're so inclined:  Support the voice and the view from the spaces between, here. And if you have no cash to spare, but like the work, you can always share the link regularly, with your endorsement.

Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Spines and Shadows

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

A shadow along the spine of some ancient sea creature?

No.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Russet crown, white shirt, gray cloak.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

He may be known elsewhere for spoiling the crops, but here, he's just a welcome visitor.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Name Known Only to Her

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

She bears someone else's name: a possessive, and that of a goddess of a culture half a world away.

But she's a singer of the clouds and rivers.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Little Firebird

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Not the ballerina.

A beautiful, graceful, fierce little girl nonetheless.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Small Ones From the South

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Their gifts are the same, but this year's migratory pattern is very different.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Immigrants, Unconsenting.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now, they are family.

Their own, and ours.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Parent/Teen Dynamics

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Some things cross all lines.

Check out the captions on each photo, in order.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

My Girl.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

She comes when I need her.

Even when I don't know that I do.

Captions on the individual photos, too, as always.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Winter Bird/Summer Bird

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Another bird of many names and talents.

Also one whose clan are family friends.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Emissary, Intermediary, Bringer of Gifts and Messages

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

He has returned in the footsteps of his brother, who lived out his days in the home of another brother.

With still another, they brought a gift and a message on a day to honor them all.

Like yesterday's, these are mine. Each image is captioned, with a collective caption below them all.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Ones Who Sing Father Sun's Journey

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

The collared ones, the ones who wear necklaces, and bowties, and who dig for food with their beaks.

These are only a few of their names.

Here, they are the ones who sing Father Sun awake at dawn and back at dusk to slumber, male and female opposite each other, one to the East, one to the West, a call-and-response to herald the change of day to night to day again.

It's a set of four photos, each captioned, with a collective caption below the set. Yes, these are mine. Wings has taught me well, and the wingéd woman in the photo gave me, quite deliberately, the gift of capturing her image.

Perhaps she wanted her song to be heard by a wider audience.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The orange-robed alder birds have returned home.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Last year, they built their home directly over our outdoor breakfast table.

They've returned.

This year, they've learned a new trick.

[Photos are captioned; click them individually to read.]



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Little Cedar Bird

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

There's only one photo tonight, here. But it tells his a little of his story, and of his many names.

Sometimes, it's a gift just to see one.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sometimes, it's all about being a warrior.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

I've had to learn that lesson repeatedly. Including today.

If you click on each photo, you'll be able to read each image's caption. There's an order to them.

The photoset is here.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Where the Thunderbird Flies

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Introducing a new photographic series . . . here.


As I said elsewhere this evening:

I'll resume Hunger Road in a week or so. I'm still dealing with all of the new health problems (on top of all the old ones) and all the dizziness and fatigue that accompany them, as well as even less time than usual as a result to spend on writing pursuits. Besides, as much as I love the world of Hunger Road, as much as that place owns a piece of my soul and always will, there's only so much of my family history that I can take at one time. Thanks to recent events, compounded by issues raised this week by the Duggars, my threshold has been exceeded for several days now. The story is about to enter a new phase anyway, one that will have its own set of triggering ghosts, so I'm taking a week or so off to rest my spirit. 

In the meantime, I'm turning to another project I've been intending for Tumblr, as well: a series featuring some of my own photography. No, it's nowhere near Wings's level, but it's mine, and that matters to me. Tonight launches a new series, one featuring my winged kindred spirits. This is merely the introduction, and thus features only one photo; future posts will sometimes contain one image, sometimes entire photosets.

There'll be more there tomorrow.





All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.