#phoebe wagner

[justalittlesolarpunk]

New reading material yesssss

[bcstag]

I can finally share the illustration I provided for Phoebe Wagner’s new optimistic sci-fi novella, When We Hold Each Other Up! I had a great time illustrating this cover. Typography by Android Press.

[solarpunks]

Multispecies Cities Solarpunk Urban Futures

Cities are alive, shared by humans and animals, insects and plants, landforms and machines. What might city ecosystems look like in the future if we strive for multispecies justice in our urban settings? In these more-than-human stories, twenty-four authors investigate humanity’s relationship with the rest of the natural world, placing characters in situations where humans have to look beyond their own needs and interests. A quirky eco-businessman sees broader applications for a high school science fair project. A bad date in Hawai‘i takes an unexpected turn when the couple stumbles upon some confused sea turtle hatchlings. A genetically-enhanced supersoldier struggles to find new purpose in a peaceful Tokyo. A community service punishment in Singapore leads to unexpected friendships across age and species. A boy and a mammoth trek across Asia in search of kin. A Tamil child learns the language of the stars. Set primarily in the Asia-Pacific, these stories engage with the serious issues of justice, inclusion, and sustainability that affect the region, while offering optimistic visions of tomorrow's urban spaces.

Table of Contents ​"Listen: A Memoir" by Priya Sarukkai Chabria "By the Light of the Stars" by N. R. M. Roshak "Old Man's Sea" by Meyari McFarland "Deer, Tiger, and Witch" by Kate V. Bui "Vladivostok" by Avital Balwit "The Exuberant Vitality of Hatchling Habitats" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires "Untamed" by Timothy Yam "It is the year 2115" by Joyce Chng "A Rabbit Egg for Flora" by Caroline M. Yoachim "Iron Fox in the Marble City" by Vlad-Andrei Cucu "Mariposa Awakening" by Joseph F. Nacino "A Life With Cibi" by Natsumi Tanaka, translated by Toshiya Kamei "Children of Asphalt" by Phoebe Wagner "Down the River" by Eliza Victoria "Becoming Martians" by Taiyo Fujii, translated by Toshiya Kamei "Abso" by Sarah E. Stevens "In Two Minds" by Joel R Hunt "Arfabad" by Rimi B. Chatterjee "The Mammoth Steps" by Andrew Dana Hudson "Wandjina" by Amin Chehelnabi "The Streams Are Paved With Fish Traps" by Octavia Cade "Crew" by E.-H. Nießler "The Songs That Humanity Lost Reluctantly to Dolphins" by Shweta Taneja "The Birdsong Fossil" by D.K. Mok Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures will be out in ebook and paperback on April 13, 2021! Preorder your copy now.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

A Shot of Gin by Phoebe Wagner

Well-written, fast-paced, intriguing paranormal urban fantasy that had me wondering what would happen next.

What I liked:

* Juniper “Gin”: twenty-two, works in a casino run by a vampire, half-human and half-other, magical, strong, has powers that keep her somewhat safe from most paranormals, seems to have a chip on her shoulder, has potential if there is a series

* Franklin: human, Colton’s right-hand-man, wise, knowledgeable, keeps the casino running smoothly

*  Colton: vampire, black cowboy two hundred years, ago, manages the casino, has an unusual relationship with Gin

* The supporting characters: Winston, Leia, Kia, Bobbi, Nash – all played a part that was important

* That the vampires were the way I would imagine them to be…rather untrustworthy, bloodthirsty, and difficult – wondering about Clarisse

* That there was one main bad guy that was at least temporarily dealt with but there definitely feels like there is more to the story

* Being on the fence regarding how to feel about some of the characters but then…they are vampires so can one ever trust and have them as friends?

* The plot, pacing, setting and writing

* Learning that I don’t really like zombies in a story

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The manipulation of and lies of omission that Gin became aware of

* Maybe wanting more backstory and a bigger indication of what might come next

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? I think so, maybe?

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

BLURB

Juniper “Gin” Cain is pretty sure she’s mostly human. Working security for the vampire-owned All Saints Casino, Gin’s got an edge on the others: vampires can’t drink her blood, making her perfect for the job. But when a radiated zombie staggers into the casino's club, she’s forced to expose the inhuman traits she’s kept hidden. Now, the powerful Vegas vampires want a piece of her. Her fanged boss Colton—a cowboy turned during the Nevada silver rush—helps her escape into the high desert, but the Vegas vampires and radiated zombies pursue relentlessly, eventually closing in. Cornered and at risk of kidnapping, she accidentally triggers a nuclear explosion in a frantic bid for survival. Reckoning with the fallout, Gin realizes that if she wants to save the casino and the people she calls family, she must give up the idea of being human and uncover the origins of her mysterious blood traits—all while trying to keep her home at the Saints Casino, and the rest of Reno, from getting nuked.

[gigiglorious]

Review | Sunvault, edited by Phoebe Wagner & Brontë Christopher Wieland

Review | Sunvault, edited by Phoebe Wagner & Brontë Christopher Wieland

Title: Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation Editors: Phoebe Wagner & Brontë Christopher Wieland Published by: Upper Rubber Boot Books My rating: 4 out of 5 stars Where I got the book: Netgalley ARC “Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation is the first anthology to broadly collect solarpunk short stories, artwork, and poetry. A new genre for the 21st Century, solarpunk is…

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[lunastnquarterly]

S2/ E6: Eclipsing, an interview with the editors of Sunvault, Part 2

S2/ E6: Eclipsing, an interview with the editors of Sunvault, Part 2

Hello, favorite readers! Last month, was the first part of my interview with the editors (Phoebe Wagner and Bront Weland) of the upcoming Sunvault, an anthology of eco-speculative writing and solar punk, which is being published by the lovely Upper Rubber Boot Press. A Kickstarter to help fund the anthology will begin soon and submissions will also soon be open!   1.) How did the idea for the…

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[gender-race-empire]

5/6 - Phoebe Wagner

Throughout Americanah, the correlation and symbolism of food with each of Ifemelu’s relationships is a subtle and intriguing view into the characteristics of the couple’s dynamics. Particularly throughout Ifemelu’s relationship with Blaine, Adichie uses food and eating as a mirror to the inner workings of the couple.  

When Ifemelu spends time with Blaine’s friends, it is almost always around a table at a dinner party. As Ifemelu struggles to fit in with the cultural and behavioral norms of his friend group, particularly between Blaine and his ex-girlfriend Paula, the cultural differences that Ifemelu feels are illustrated through fried chicken, as Ifemelu states, “The fried chicken that you eat is not the fried chicken I eat, but it’s the fried chicken that Paula eats.” Blaine responds by pointing out the shared cultural connection represented by food, and asks, “Do you realize how loaded fried chicken is as a metaphor here?” (Adichie, 330).

Blain and Ifemelu’s relationship progresses against the backdrop of only healthy, fair trade, and all organic food, as Blain dictates what that they choose to eat and buy. After Ifemelu and Blaine have their first big fight, Ifemelu’s emotional release from the constraints formed by their relationship is shown through her buying ten chocolate bars from the train station after she leaves their apartment. While eating them consecutively, she feels pleasure from eating the “cheap bars filled with sugar and chemicals and other genetically modified ghastly things” (Adichie, 348). Aunty Uju, however, is appalled and points out the divergence from Blaine’s norms, asking “Since when do you eat regular chocolate? I thought you and Blaine eat only organic, fair trade” (Adichie, 348).

When Ifemelu reconnects with Blaine and they decide to reconcile over dinner, the meal is once again centered on Blaine’s way of cooking and choice of recipes and ingredients. The importance of food preparation with Blaine is also noted, as he criticizes her way of “always over-spic[ing] the chicken” (Adichie, 350). With Blaine, his righteous feelings towards determined correct and incorrect ways to prepare and eat food illustrate his set path in the way each part of his life is enacted.

Although Ifemelu’s diet is restrictively healthy and nutritious while dating Blaine, she finds herself gaining weight and noticing the fat around her body, as well as the “cement in her soul” (Adichie, 6), as her physical and emotional stagnancies reflect her uneasy living situation.

The importance of food as a symbol for cultural and personal constructions is seen in Cecile Emeke’s web series ackee & saltfish. In episode five, titled “deception”, roommates Olivia and Rachel are confronted by an issue of trust and cultural appreciation when Rachel’s boyfriend, Daren, deliberately gives them ackee and white rice without any saltfish. The connection between this episode and Ifemelu’s relationship with Blaine was illustrated by the deeper undertones within the dynamic of food in relationships. Just as Blaine’s affinity with food mirrored larger dynamics within his interactions with Ifemelu, so does the lack of saltfish in Daren’s meal symbolize a disregard for Olivia and Rachel’s lifestyle norms. As Olivia proclaims, “He’s basically just spitting on our culture” (2:08). 

[gender-race-empire]

Popularization of the Personal by the Security State

3/11 - Phoebe Wagner

Inderpal Grewal’s lecture on the “Feminist Critique of the Advanced Neoliberal Security State” was continuously inspiring, as Professor Grewal delved into numerous engaging topics which largely overlapped with the key themes of our Race, Gender, and Empire course. The positioning of popular culture and the media within the themes of the evening symposium created an interesting connection to the security state, sexual violence, and economic violence. With the interpretation and representation of media and popular culture in issues of sexual violence, stories are presented as individual cases that occur independently and isolated from broader contexts of sexual inequality and economic violence. International and local media do not cover of the history of rape culture within India; and nor do they present broader systemic issues. As Professor Grewal described, incidents are seen instead as contemporary issues brought through the lens of popular culture and news networks to showcase individual events that center on “good, neoliberal victims” who were undeserving of a cruel event. While any incident of sexual violence should be brought to light, popular culture and media create public images and conceptions of sexual violence by framing complex and historically significant issues into one standardized form.

Similar to the separation of sexual and economic violence is the lack of representation for the security state within the personal and social realm. Although the security state enforces militarization of everyday life, technological developments used both for communication and enforcing security, and fights the notion of “terrorism” in the private and public realms, the direct involvement of the state with the private is largely ignored. The power of the security state, according to Grewal, is that the populace becomes both the means and the subject of oppression. In order to reach the “exceptionalism” that the United States strives for as a nation, the approach of “humanitarian” governance requires increased and violent police and military involvement as the “authoritarian agents”, in the words of Stuart Hall. Neoliberalism and the security state create mass privatization and ask for increased laws and policing, all under the patriarchal authority and benefit central to the security state.

Professor Grewal illustrated the importance of protests in India for raising awareness against sexual violence and corruption. Although she focused in her lecture on the use of public activism within Indian specifically, the themes and reactions that are made possible through such politic involvement applied to transnational settings. It was compelling to hear Professor Grewal express the importance of numerous solutions to systemic conditions of violence, corruption and oppression. Citizen involvement, whether in India or the United States, facilitates change through direct protests, writing to representatives, and becoming educationally involved with politics to be informed of issues from diverse sources. Despite the disparities and separation portrayed between sexual violence, the security state, and economic violence by popular culture and media sources, it is possible to engage public conceptions of these systemic issues through continued and increased social, historical, and political involvement.