Reading August Kleinzahler's selection of Thom Gunn's poetry (in Faber's 'Poet-to-Poet' series) I confessed I really struggled - not with the selection made, but with the source material. It wasn't just that I felt the poems hadn't travelled well across the years (the selection covers 1954-2000), nor perhaps any translation from California to the UK, … Continue reading “Thom Gunn”
Coverstory books currently has two open submission windows: Pebbles on the Strand - for short stories between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Closing date 30th November. New Contexts: 6 - for poetry and short prose (less than 2,000 words). This will be the sixth edition of the anthology. Closing date 31st December. For details on how … Continue reading Two Submission Opportunities
I have just finished re-reading Lawrence Durrell's Monsieur - my first reading of the book being many years ago, not that long after finishing The Alexandria Quartet. I remember being spellbound by the latter, though I worry now that memory may only be a byproduct of a certain fondness for the rosy literary hue... This … Continue reading “Monsieur”
I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that I haven't quite made up my mind about Simon Armitage. Clearly his 1992 collection Kid isn't entirely representative of what he's writing now, so perhaps it is better to see it as a way-marker on his journey - it was thirty years ago after all! … Continue reading “Kid”
In To Hell on a Fast Horse, Mark Lee Gardner's portrayal of both Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett just about manages to maintain a balance between fact and fiction, the romantic and the repellant. It also keeps a pretty decent handle on the reality of late nineteenth century New Mexico, Texas at al. This … Continue reading “To Hell on a Fast Horse”
If you’re ‘a name’ - a politician, a sports person, an actor or media personality - you might do so in order to entertain, set the record straight, earn money. And you do so because you know people will be interested. But what about everyday folk with their ‘normal’ lives - though every life is … Continue reading Why do ‘ordinary people’ write memoirs?
Ian Gouge - Writer 