It's been a while since I last read an autobiography, but as a keen film fan I was drawn to Paul Newman's posthumously published "The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man". The book is curated rather than written, with the vast majority of its material recorded in interviews between 1986 and 1991. Newman had always … Continue reading “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man”
Category: Books
Yesterday & Today: 19th January
It's often nice to go somewhere for a change of scenery, so yesterday I spent two hours in the Claro Lounge drinking coffee and working. It was also where I had my meeting about Crash and the Ripon Theatre Festival, 8-11th June. It appears that I will be performing Crash as a monologue this year … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 19th January
The Forward Book of Poetry 2023
Inevitably perhaps there is much to admire in The Forward Book or Poetry 2023, an anthology made up of extracts from candidates for the Forward Prizes: 'Best Collection', 'Best First Collection', and 'Best Single Poem'. Unfortunately there is - thankfully in the minority - a number of pieces which simply don't deserve their place, to … Continue reading The Forward Book of Poetry 2023
Yesterday & Today: 18th January
The library was quiet yesterday which meant I got a fair amount of editing done on The Opposite of Remembering's update. I wonder if aiming to have this completed before the end of the month would be a realistic goal? In addition to that, the other big slug of time went on Write-on Ripon where … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 18th January
Yesterday & Today: 17th January
It's an interesting and unnerving experience when doubt creeps in. I had another dose yesterday when working on my new fiction project. It was a moment when I said to myself "yes, it hangs together, and yes, I could do it, but...". At times like that I find the 'but' all-powerful. So I'm clearly not … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 17th January
Let’s be realistic…
Over the weekend I deleted all those bookmarks and links to my 'old life', the professional life I led which was more about pursuing kudos and power and money - rather than anything truly important. That deletion was, I confess, more a symbolic step than anything else (just like deleting my old LinkedIn account a … Continue reading Let’s be realistic…
Yesterday & Today: 16th January
A modest amount of effort yesterday, though in-line with what I had anticipated doing i.e. drafting the opening four pages of "C", a little more editing on The Opposite of Remembering. In terms of the odd sentence, it's amazing what you can find even after multiple previous edits! The work on the fiction project was … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 16th January
Yesterday & Today: 15th January
Though I hadn't planned to do so, yesterday I recorded a new episode for my WalkingThruFire podcast. The episode is An Irregular Piece of Sky, the title short story in a collection that will see publication this year - one way or another! Apart from that I tinkered around the edges of things, spending far … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 15th January
New Podcast Episode: “An Irregular Piece of Sky”
I have just posted a reading of my short story "An Irregular Piece of Sky". The story is included in a new collection - also entitle An Irregular Piece of Sky - which should see the light of day at some point in 2023.
Yesterday & Today: 14th January
Even though I didn't get that much done yesterday (as expected) I did manage to type up all my Tilt edits, which is something. Just now editing has become something of a spectre hanging over me. I have been re-editing some of my already-published work and I've another old novel to go through. Additionally I … Continue reading Yesterday & Today: 14th January
Ian Gouge - Writer 