I am writing a long sequence of sonnets that will see publication in 2023. I thought it might be fun to share some of them in advance. A sonnet is included below, along with an audio recording of me reading it. Autumn Chill I no longer mind your troubled brow naked like a frosted winter … Continue reading Autumn Chill – a sonnet
Category: Reading
I’m being interviewed!
On Friday 25th November I am being interviewed in Harrogate Library as part of their 'Books and Beverages' series. The interview will cover both my writing and publishing exploits. I'm looking forward to it hugely! Although this is an in-person event, it is also being filmed and streamed, and will be available 'live' and from … Continue reading I’m being interviewed!
I’m being interviewed!
On Friday 25th November I am being interviewed in Harrogate Library as part of their 'Books and Beverages' series. The interview will cover both my writing and publishing exploits. I'm looking forward to it hugely! Although this is an in-person event, it is also being filmed and streamed, and will be available 'live' and from … Continue reading I’m being interviewed!
On Being Thrown Over – a sonnet
I am writing a long sequence of sonnets that will see publication in 2023. I thought it might be fun to share some of them in advance. A sonnet is included below, along with an audio recording of me reading it. On Being Thrown Over Would your love for me increase were I to die? … Continue reading On Being Thrown Over – a sonnet
“A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain”
If I was disappointed by Robert Butler Olen's short story collection "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" then it was not because of the individual stories themselves. They are all well-written, and some of them exceptional. But reading the book cover-to-cover, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed/bored by the lack of variation in the … Continue reading “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain”
On “Four Quartets”
The BBC recently broadcast a reading of T.S.Eliot's "Four Quartets" by Ralph Fiennes. I say 'reading' but with Fiennes, a stage and spotlights, it was more like a performance. Which was fine. Some parts worked especially well, I thought. The programme prompted me to go back and re-read the poem - possibly for the first … Continue reading On “Four Quartets”
“Starve Acre”
It's fair to say that it would be entirely realistic to suggest that one could sit down and read Andrew Michael Hurley's "Starve Acre" in a single session. The book is the right size, well-written, and rattles along at a suitable pace to make consumption in one go not a ridiculous notion. What is less … Continue reading “Starve Acre”
‘Fountains by Floodlight’ – an update
After a little bit of a false start last week, I am pleased to have been able to read yesterday evening at Fountains Abbey's regular October event, 'Fountains by Floodlight'. The event takes place each Saturday during October, and also includes the final two Fridays as well. Tickets are selling fast! In addition to spectacular … Continue reading ‘Fountains by Floodlight’ – an update
“Perfume River”
Riveting and brilliant... After "Late City" I was looking forward to my second Robert Olen Butler - and "Perfume River" didn't disappoint. There were a number of things I liked about this book: The way Butler seamlessly weaves flashback into the present, much as we do when we are thinking back to our own lives. … Continue reading “Perfume River”
‘Fountains by Floodlight’
I am excited to announce that I will be reading at Fountains Abbey's regular October event, 'Fountains by Floodlight'. The event takes place each Saturday during October, and also includes the final two Fridays as well. Tickets are selling fast! In addition to spectacular lighting, special tours and music, there will be a number of … Continue reading ‘Fountains by Floodlight’
Ian Gouge - Writer 