I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that I haven't quite made up my mind about Simon Armitage. Clearly his 1992 collection Kid isn't entirely representative of what he's writing now, so perhaps it is better to see it as a way-marker on his journey - it was thirty years ago after all! … Continue reading “Kid”
In To Hell on a Fast Horse, Mark Lee Gardner's portrayal of both Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett just about manages to maintain a balance between fact and fiction, the romantic and the repellant. It also keeps a pretty decent handle on the reality of late nineteenth century New Mexico, Texas at al. This … Continue reading “To Hell on a Fast Horse”
If you’re ‘a name’ - a politician, a sports person, an actor or media personality - you might do so in order to entertain, set the record straight, earn money. And you do so because you know people will be interested. But what about everyday folk with their ‘normal’ lives - though every life is … Continue reading Why do ‘ordinary people’ write memoirs?
The most remarkable thing about Samuel Beckett's Stories and Texts for Nothing is the percentage of the short 'nothing texts' which prefigure or overlap Waiting for Godot. Even to the extent of remarkably similar - if not repeated - phrases. Not surprising really given that they were all written around the same time, 1945-1950. There … Continue reading “Stories and Texts for Nothing”
Here is a summary of my activity on Substack this week. Click on any of the images to be taken to the post concerned. Free Preview Free Preview FREE FREE Free Preview FREE
I would like to offer my website subscribers a free month's subscription to my Substack site. However, in order to do so I need to be confident that you have accepted receiving emails from me. I'm pretty sure you have as you'll get an email every time I put out a post like this one! … Continue reading Free subscription anyone?
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Ian Gouge - Writer 