It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff of the Seanchai Library SL.
As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.
Sunday 21st July, 13:30 – Tea Time At Baker Street
The last tea time visit to 221B Baker Street did not end happily, with Holmes apparently plunging to his death alongside his nemesis, James Moriarty, at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.
Now we move forward three years (in story time) as Caledonia Skytower and Corwyn Allen bring us The Adventure of the Empty House, first published in 1903, ten years after Holmes’ last adventure reached print, and subsequently the first (of 13) stories to appear in the 1905 volume The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Widower Doctor John Watson attends the murder of a young gambler, the Honorable Ronald Adair. Apparently shot at close range with a revolver, Adair’s room was locked from the inside with the only other exit being a 20-foot drop out of an open window to the street below; not an easy escape route for a murderer. While visiting the crime scene, Watson encounters an old book collector, and is perplexed when the book collector follows him back to his Kensington Practice – until the old man removes his disguise and proves himself to be: Sherlock Holmes!
Thus, Watson is reunited with Holmes and learns some of what has transpired in the three years since the events in Switzerland. He also learns that Holmes is still in danger and has baited a trap in which he hopes to catch one of Moriarty’s henchmen, who, as it transpires, is also responsible for the murder of Ronald Adair.
Monday 22nd July, 19:00 – Let’s Explore David Sedaris (with Avatars!)
American humourist, comedian, author, playwright and radio contributor David Sedaris is well-known on both sides of the Atlantic (he currently resides in England and has enjoyed a number of BBC radio series in the UK), and has sold over seven million copies worldwide.
Sedaris’ humour is predominantly autobiographical and self-deprecating, and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, and his Greek heritage, as well as touching on his life in France and England, and topics such as drug abuse and obsessive behaviour. His most recent title is Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, published in April 2013, which went directly to the number one spot in the New York Times bestseller list.
Here Crap Mariner brings his own inimitable style, wit and delivery to Sedaris’ work, in what is bound to be an entertaining evening which, time zones allowing, is not one to be missed.
Tuesday 23rd July, 19:00: Ruffles On My Longjohns (3)
In 1913, American-born Ralph Edwards established a homestead in Bella Coola Valley, British Columbia, and went on to become famous as a conservationist and the “Crusoe of Lonesome Lake”.
In the early 1930s, following his return to Bella Coola, he was joined by his brother Earle, and sister-in-law Isabel, who came straight from the city of Portland, Oregon on what was supposed to be a vacation visit. However, both of them fell in love with the wilds of British Columbia and decided to move there themselves, settling into a farm near Bella Coola.
Ruffles in my Longjohns is Isabel’s autobiographical account of her pioneering life with her husband, far from all the trappings of “civilisation” in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a firsthand account of homesteading, told with wit, whimsy and panache, the tale of “city girl” living on the frontier in a world of hard-bitten men, and how she coped, told in a loving, personal style.
Join Faerie Maven-Pralou as she embarks on the third part of a reading from this inspiring book.
Wednesday 24th July, 19:00: Vacationland
With Kayden Oconnell and Caledonia Skytower.
Thursday 25th July, 19:00: The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People
Another fascinating pick by Shadon Loring brings us this collection of original stories and poems selected by editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, published in 2010 as a part of their “mythic fiction” series for young adult readers.
What do werewolves, vampires, and the Little Mermaid have in common? They are all shapechangers. The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People, brings together works on all of them and more, from authors both established and new.
The volume includes an introduction to the subject of shapechangers and the genre by Terri Windling, and the stories are gathered from all corners of the world – from Finland to India and the Pacific Northwest to the Hamptons of the United States.
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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and additions to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for July and August is Little Kids Rock. Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 