Author Archives: Barry Pomeroy

About Barry Pomeroy

I had an English teacher in high school many years ago who talked about writing as something that people do, rather than something that died with Shakespeare. I began writing soon after, maudlin poetry followed by short prose pieces, but finally, after years of academic training, I learned something about the magic of the manipulated word.

How We Write the Future

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Whenever I think of writing about the future, I always remember those early writers of science fiction beginning in the forties and extending into the seventies, Heinlein and Asimov among them, who thought we’d be smoking in spacesuits, and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Literature, Singularity, Writing | Tagged Electric Ant, Flight to Forever, H. G. Wells, Men Like Gods, Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson | Comments Off

What Meat Means to Argentinians

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Most of the people I met in Argentina were by times bemused and horrified that I was a vegetarian. It proved to be a challenge and I think, although she was very graceful about it, a bother for the mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Superstition, Travel | Tagged Argentina, asado, diet, health, Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Vegetarian | Comments Off

Writing is a Poor Person’s Art

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Writing is the poor person’s art, just like soccer is the poor person’s sport. All you need to play soccer is a will, for a ball can be made out of torn nylon stockings, my friends from Chile tell me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, Literature, Solitude, Writing | Tagged blogging, meditation, quills, reader's digest, Writing | Comments Off

An Authorial Dream of Wealth and Success

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Perhaps because my latest book, Not Quite Dark: A Post-Apocalyptic Adoption Story is doing well in terms of sales, I had a strange dream about being a popular writer the other night. I dreamed that Obama had unwittingly endorsed my … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Literature, Mars, Post-Apocalyptic, Writing | Tagged Not Quite Dark, Obama, Surviving the Apocalypse, Thailand, Writing | Comments Off

Killing Kids in Books and Film

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Perhaps because I teach courses about apocalyptic literature, and I’m an avid fan of end of the world stories, I have read and watched enough of the genre that I’ve noted a significant, if not disturbing trend. This is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Post-Apocalyptic, Teaching, Writing | Tagged Blood and Gore, Children of Men, Cormac McCarthy, Dale Pendell, Dystopia, End of the world, Eternity Road, Frank Darabont, Gratuitous Violence in the Media, Jack McDevitt, Killing Children, Lord of the Flies, Not Quite Dark, Resident Evil, Surviving the Apocalypse, The Great Bay Chronicles of the Collapse, The Road, The Walking Dead, William Golding, Working After the Collapse | Comments Off

Proof of Alien Life, or at Least of Human Silliness

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

There has been a lot of excitement lately, in scientific circles at least, about the star that experiences periodic and unexplainable dimming. Conjecture about the causes of the phenomena range as widely as the people who are doing the dreaming … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Culture, Supernatural, Superstition | Tagged Alien Civilization, Aliens, Astronomy, Creationists, Dyson Sphere, Fundamentalists, Ken Ham, Kepler, KIC 8462852, Religion | Comments Off

Generalizations about Politics

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Typically, we are told to avoid generalizations. I even caution my students against this most facile of errors. When we examine this directive closely, however, we can see that while we commonly generalize about other animals we are scolded when … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged anarchy, Conservatives, José “Pepe” Mujica, Left wing, Liberals, NDP, poverty, Right Wing, Tea Party, wealth | Comments Off

My Consistency Meter

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

As long as I can remember, I have always been concerned about consistency. Perhaps it had to do with the mixed messages of my childhood, as tossed from one place to another I had endearments muttered to me that were … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Police | Tagged lying, Memory, Rolodex, truth, witness studies | Comments Off

My Various Projects

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

The various projects I have done in the past fall into two broad categories. Some of them were individual exercises that depended on my endurance, intelligence, and the natural strictures of materials and the physical world. Others, and in some … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged Cabin, canoe, Opinions of Others, projects | Comments Off

Preparing to Leave

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Barry Pomeroy

Late this week I make my last round trip into town. Then, I have to prep the land for the winter. It is a relatively easy task now, since I’ve set up shutters for the windows and a framework for … Continue reading →

Posted in The Cabin, Writing | Tagged Visitors | Comments Off