Here is a reading of my poem, 'Coast'. I hope you like it. Comment
As someone who has read just about everything Haruki Murakami has written, Genki Kawamura's "If Cats Disappeared From The World" was on something of a loser from the start. As soon as I realised it was the kind of magic realism tale at which Murakami excels, then comparisons were inevitable - and were also never … Continue reading “If Cats Disappeared From The World”
A second reading from my new volume of poetry. "First-time Visions of Earth from Space" (1/1/2019) Comment
I have never tried audio recording my work, so this is a first. You may need to turn the volume up on your machine - and I may need to invest in a proper microphone!
Colm Tóibín's "The Master" took far too long to read. Not that it's a bad book; it isn't. It's very well written, in fact; one might almost say meticulous, and in that way almost a homage to Henry James, it's subject. But what I struggled with was, I believe, tone. It is difficult to know … Continue reading “The Master”
I wrote my first story when I was five. I can still remember writing it. I had my first poem published in our local museum - framed and hung on the wall - aged about twelve. That was the beginning, the beginning of a lifetime of writing, on and off... Indeed. But what I realise now, … Continue reading Mourning the lost words…
Completing the first revision of my new novel, "At Maunston Quay", I was struck by how undeniably positive it was. One might even say 'romantic'. Others might use less positive adjectives to demean what they may see as a saccharine viewpoint on life. At a time when many modern novels present us with stories about … Continue reading I make no apology…
After about a month's work, I have just completed the first screen-based revision of my next novel, "At Maunston Quay". Now I can put it down (metaphorically) for a few weeks before a second screen-based review in December and then a proof review during January. Publication date is now the beginning of February 2019. It's … Continue reading Revisions: one down and two to go…
For once the blurb on the cover of a book veers dangerously close to the heart of the matter, and, in the case of my edition of David Szalay's "Spring", the key word used is 'contemporary'. It is an unashamedly modern take on relationships - even if a little fanciful at times (who in their … Continue reading “Spring”
I can still remember the first time I used the joke about how wi-fi had become so critical to Teenagers that it was now their number one need above food and shelter etc. Rewrite Maslow's Hierarchy, we said! So who's laughing now? We are renting a cottage in the English countryside where the internet connection … Continue reading Don’t joke about Maslow – or who’s laughing now?
Ian Gouge - Writer 