Mack Devlin
Bio
Writer, educator, and follower of Christ. Passionate about social justice. Living with a disability has taught me that knowledge is strength.
We are curators of emotions, explorers of the human psyche, and custodians of the narrative.
Stories (97/0)
"Woom" by Duncan Ralston
A work of implausible anatomical assertions and insertions, Duncan Ralston's "Woom" had this reader scratching his head and reaching for the institutional hand sanitizer. Perhaps in this mess of shock and shlock there is a point … somewhere, but meaningfulness seems woefully absent from this gratuitous and hastily written tome.
By Mack Devlin8 months ago in Critique
"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
In this retelling of The Jungle Book, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a thrilling and frightening adventure through the realms of the living and the dead. The way Gaiman writes makes readers feel like they are enfolded in a warm, comfy sweater, even when he's scaring them half to death.
By Mack Devlin8 months ago in Critique
Mark Twain's Somewhat Pedestrian Rules for Fairly Adequate Writing
Read books. If you have none, read the newspaper, read an old letter. But do not read the stars, for they only bring false hope. Write Letters. Correspondence brings one great joy. There is nothing more satisfying than having someone recall the misery of a life that is not your own. Care not to take too much joy from the pain of others, however, for pain is a plentiful thing. Write in a conversational tone. Oftentimes, I write as though I am speaking to my wife, minus the usual violence. Write for a moment here and there. Don’t replace creativity with volume. Remember why you’re writing in the first place. If writing holds no joy, then be a dentist. If you haven’t the stomach for dentistry, be something else. Go out amongst the people. How can you create diverse characters when everyone around you is either someone you like, tolerate, or someone of close relation? Free write. Take pen in hand, put words to paper - ignore all the rest. Some of my greatest work has come from a lack of forethought. Incidentally, so have several of my children, and they are indeed great work. Take your writing on the road. If you write only in one place, your mind will travel absent of your body, and this may be a mark of insanity. Take time to daydream, because daydreams are where stories are born, but do not daydream yourself into a ditch. Make a schedule and stick to it. That is all.
By Mack Devlin8 months ago in Writers
Poetry in Transition
W.B. Yeats Rather than embellish events with archaic themes and images, William Butler Yeats concluded that poets should merely describe and critique the world around them. This idea was quite a departure from the Romantic Era, in which the use of ancient images and age-old themes from religion and mythology was a popular practice. This practice, however, would soon undergo a massive reconstruction. By the end of the Victorian era, the themes and images from religion and mythology which were popular during the Romantic era, slowly became déclassé, giving way to the more ephemeral images and themes seen in the work of the poets of the 20th century.
By Mack Devlin8 months ago in BookClub
- Top Story - August 2023
The Soil Reader
The King stares at me. All them in the palace do, every time. Well, not Geoff. Geoff makes me turn away. I appreciate that about the royal scribe. But these divine rule types, crowned in holy purpose, look right at me. Mind you, I don’t dare make eye contact. Not ever. I don't need to see to know. I can feel their gazes boring into me, full of judgment and distaste. They stare to remind me of me place in this world. Don’t look up, wretch. Don’t look up. But because of me place in this world, what do I know from Kings and queens and dukes and them others? Could be they're just thick-headed, dim-witted, the touched children of sibling lovers. Don't think much about it. I do me job and I do it well, just like Da before me. Da served the Irish Kings and they were a rough lot. Ate a lot of mutton, I suspect. Mutton don’t come out well. Digests fine, but the slurry it produces is putrid.
By Mack Devlin10 months ago in History
The Devil Inside
Although the age of faith was transitioning into the age of reason when John Milton dictated Paradise Lost, life in the 17th century still very much revolved around the Church. Therefore, it was important for the English upper classes to maintain the appearance of religious piety. As a result, the impious masqueraded as meek and God-fearing Christians. It is because of this religious hypocrisy that John Milton painted a non-traditional portrait of Satan in his epic poem about the Fall of Adam and Eve. The uniqueness of Satan in Paradise Lost has fascinated theologians, scholars, and the laity for centuries, and for some very good reasons. The character is fascinating because he reminds readers that the same evil in his heart is also in their hearts.
By Mack Devlin10 months ago in History
