Imagine a vast ocean of mirror-still translucent turquoise so clear that you can see its bottom so vast that its edges are become the horizon. Imagine that. One day, from an invisible somewhere, a pebble is dropped into the very centre of the ocean and a single ripple forms. All around the ocean’s edge, … Continue reading “Noise (or Between God and the Internet)”
“Fear (or Politics)” – 100-word challenge
"When people are afraid," he said, "they turn their backs on what they know to be right, become Followers, and seek leaders and solutions that promise to take their problems away from them. They give up some of their freedoms in exchange for what they believe to be security and protection." Shaking his head sadly … Continue reading “Fear (or Politics)” – 100-word challenge
Time for some collaboration?
A few years ago, I worked with a friend, Tom, on a chain of Haiku. I wrote one and gave it to him simply to read. He responded by writing a second Haiku to follow-on from my own. In the end I think we produced maybe 30 or 40 verses in something we ended up … Continue reading Time for some collaboration?
“The Balloon”
The Balloon Against a uniform grey sky, a balloon unexpected in its redness. An escapee from a party perhaps, it seems to float with a purpose not governed by the air at all but as if steering a course to where all such balloons must gather. Mesmerised, you watch it … Continue reading “The Balloon”
Advice from a would-be Literary Agent…
Harry - who is thirteen and often wiser and deeper than his years - has told me that I need to focus on writing something 'big'. By this I assume his implication is that working on Writeral, writing poems, and tackling the '100-word challenge' are largely a waste of time. I might argue that - in sequence … Continue reading Advice from a would-be Literary Agent…
“Lucca” – 100-word challenge
From the top of the Guinigi Tower hardly any roads are visible. Instead, all you can see are church towers and the haphazard pattern of terra cotta roofs jostling against each other, misshapen rectangles in an image that might have been a Klee-Cezanne collaboration. Against a wash of umber, peach and magnolia, a green tree-line … Continue reading “Lucca” – 100-word challenge
“The Silent Type” – 100-word challenge
He couldn’t recall when he had stopped speaking. It had crept up on him, borne from an ever-increasing ability to live life with a single mouse click: like, share, post, love. Anything and everything had become possible - and fast - and without the need for any tangible personal commitment. So when he met Georgia … Continue reading “The Silent Type” – 100-word challenge
“Dawn Chorus” – 100-word challenge
The first note of birdsong in the morning. Have you heard it? How it comes suddenly, breaking the silence? Yet it comes softly, nervously, tentatively as if to ask "Now? Am I the first? Are we ready?". Then that small fragment of bravery is taken up, expanded; others join to reply "Yes, Yes, Yes!". And … Continue reading “Dawn Chorus” – 100-word challenge
“Near Enough” – Snippet 3
The second solid memory is a very real episode, and one which is both proven fact and unforgettable not simply because of what happened, but because of one single photograph which, if I close my eyes even now, I can recall vividly. A black-and-white image, perhaps 2 inches square, of a small boy, smartly dressed, … Continue reading “Near Enough” – Snippet 3
“Male Model” – 100-word challenge
He looked too crisp, too coordinated, like someone who had escaped from the front cover of an out-of-date men’s fashion magazine. He seemed to have taken ownership of a complete tonal range and then embarked on a crusade to shade the world accordingly. Nothing clashed; each crease was perfectly sharp. And he walked like a … Continue reading “Male Model” – 100-word challenge
Ian Gouge - Writer 