The second book in my free three-book promotion is now available on Amazon: "Degrees of Separation" - 6th to 10th March This will be followed by "Secrets & Wisdom" - 11th to 15th March Both of these are collections of short stories.
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“John Crow’s Devil”
You could be forgiven for wanting to stop reading Marlon James' "John Crow's Devil" fairly early on into the book. If so, it will be the Jamaican patois that will most likely get you. But my advice is to persevere. Try and get a 'voice' in your head against which you can process the language … Continue reading “John Crow’s Devil”
Time for a Poetry ‘sabbatical’?
I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical from poetry. Giving it up for a while. A bit of 'detox'. Why? Multiple reasons really. The easy one is to say that "I want to focus on my prose". Very little collateral damage in that one I suspect. And it also has the benefit of being true! I … Continue reading Time for a Poetry ‘sabbatical’?
‘The Language of Diamonds’
In one of Lawrence Durrell's poems there is a wonderful line: Give us the language of diamondsThe Death of General Uncebunke, Fourteen Carols (V) That simple phrase - "the language of diamonds" - has always seemed to me complex, profound, powerful, beautiful. The subtlety of it comes in the unpacking of it of course, and … Continue reading ‘The Language of Diamonds’
Free Kindle Book Promotion
I have a free Kindle book promotion running over the next two weeks on Amazon: "At Maunston Quay" - 1st to 5th March "Degrees of Separation" - 6th to 10th March "Secrets & Wisdom" - 11th to 15th March
“Primeval and Other Times”
Olga Tokarczuk's "Primeval and Other Times" is simply stunning; a plethora of literary squares woven together to make a quilt that lays bare what it means to be human. Unvarnished, all of life is here: the tragic, the mystical, the sad, the violent, the superstitious, the unavoidable. And - ultimately - the powerlessness. It seems … Continue reading “Primeval and Other Times”
“Love and Other Thought Experiments”
I have to say that I'm not really sure how Sophie Ward's "Love and Other Thought Experiments" made it to the 2020 Booker Prize longlist. Perhaps they were seduced by the surreal nature of the narrative, both its timeline and how it shifts through different versions of reality. Perhaps they were recognising the quality of … Continue reading “Love and Other Thought Experiments”
The Hybrid Us
It seems frankly bizarre that we sacrifice around a quarter of our lives to an unseen agent over which we have no control whatsoever. We succumb to an invisible force which has dominion over us, both physically and mentally. Decisions as whether to sleep on our left or right, front or back, are abdicated to … Continue reading The Hybrid Us
Buried treasure…
Working through some old notebooks (see My Writing Diary) and I came across this: “He stared at the photograph. It was not how he remembered it. It had been less sunny, surely; and there appeared no trace of wind. He thought he had been wearing his green jacket - the old one with the torn … Continue reading Buried treasure…
You can’t be a Writer without writing…
Sounds obvious, doesn't it? But how many of us like to think of ourselves as 'Writers' (note the capital 'w'!) when - to be frank - we don't really put the hours in. Think about it. How could you be a surgeon without learning your craft and then operating on people day-in day-out, or a … Continue reading You can’t be a Writer without writing…
Ian Gouge - Writer 