Music
A ballad for Water Logic
When asked about music in her Elemental Logic series, Laurie Marks replies:
Music is in the domain of water logic, and it seemed appropriate that the events I was writing would be remembered in Shaftal as ballads. So I wrote “The Loyal General.” when I was working on the first draft of Water Logic, though the ballad wasn't included in the final version of the novel. Rosemary Kirstein, who is a singer-songwriter, agreed to set the ballad to music, but found it necessary to rewrite the lyrics, as they weren't singable the way I'd written them.
At Readercon, a couple of years ago, Rosemary gave a fascinating account of (re)writing the ballad in a presentation, “Poem to Song,” which she concluded by singing the ballad. Rumor says she may reprise it at Wiscon 31 [which is also where Laurie's new novel Water Logic is being launched, in May 2007], and we hope to be able to video-record it for this web site.
In the meantime, here is a recording of Rosemary Kirstein singing the ballad, “The Loyal General.”
Rosemary Kirstein, one of Laurie's favorite authors, has written The Steerswoman, The Outskirter's Secret, The Lost Steersman, and The Language of Power.