Author Archives: JE

About JE

James Enge is the author of the World-Fantasy-Award-nominated novel Blood of Ambrose (Pyr, April 2009). His latest book is The Wide World's End. His short fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Tales from the Magician's Skull, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and elsewhere.

Actis Temporibus

For a few years I’ve had a Latin version of “Auld Lang Syne” on my Latin-for-the-holidays handout, but I’ve never been crazy about it. For one thing, it erases the repetitions in the original. For another, references to drinking have … Continue reading

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Fair or Unfair?

In the course of an ultimately frustrating and pointless conversation online today, I found myself thinking of the multiple meanings of fair in English–at once, “light-skinned/light-haired”, “beautiful”, and “just, even-handed”. The meanings are so different that I wondered if they … Continue reading

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The Shadow Nose

I’m reading Ǫrvar Odds saga at odd moments when I should be working, lately. I was looking up útnes which C&V (un)helpfully gloss as “an outer ness”. The AHD more helpfully told me that a ness is a cape or … Continue reading

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Ear Ye! Ear Ye!

Typo of the day resulted from a cut-and-paste error. It started its journey as Dear editors and ended up as ear editors. Ear editors: some kind of digital plastic surgeon, I guess? “Have you run this lobe past the ear … Continue reading

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Wearing the Mask

I’m rereading Seneca’s De Beneficiis, using Kaster’s shiny new OCT edition, and came across this crunchy line: hanc personam induisti: agenda est.—Seneca, De Beneficiis 2.17.2“You’ve put on this mask; you have to act out the part.” Seneca’s line is almost … Continue reading

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Creepypasta

Seen on Bluesky: Gustaw Gwozdecki’s “Evening Melancholy”, c.1905. I didn’t know it on sight, but somehow it felt familiar. I wonder if I saw it a long time ago and it re-surfaced from my subconscious when I needed a creepy … Continue reading

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Age of Aequarius

A Happy Equinox to my fellow Tellurians. To all visitors: proceed at your own risk. Earth is a little weird these days. https://claudionuez.bandcamp.com/track/equinox-coltrane-2

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The End of the Beginning

By the power vested in me, I declare this rough draft COMPLETE. Now to knock off some of the rough edges. I will need my largest and most abrasive rasp.

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Vale!

Whenever I see a news item about Romney, I think it’s about the English artist who did such great drawings of Orpheus and Eurydice. I am always disappointed. This is made even worse by the fact that the artist’s first … Continue reading

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Decisions, Decisions

It’s a three-day weekend (thanks, Organized Labor!) and I was figuring on catching up with some writing projects. But then I saw Criterion had added Duel and Donnie Darko and a bunch of good stuff. So… maybe yes; maybe no.

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