Archive | July, 2008

Sleepless

25 July 2008 · On the Holloway Road · Comments { 3 }

It’s past four in the morning and I can’t sleep. Haven’t slept all night. I tried reading for a while, but that didn’t work – I couldn’t focus for more than a few seconds at a time. All that I have been able to do is lie in bed for five hours with my eyes [...]

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“Afterwards” by Rachel Seiffert

14 July 2008 · Reading · Comments { 0 }

The style of writing is very conversational. No beauty, not even many full sentences. The sort of writing with not many verbs. Just reportage,and not always very grammatical, like you were hearing someone tell you it on the phone. That part didn’t work for me, but the advantage of it was that it focused my [...]

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Two years in jail… for graffiti!

13 July 2008 · Thinking · Comments { 3 }

On my way to work on Friday, passing Southwark Crown Court, I saw a group of people protesting outside. I always love people protesting about something instead of just complaining or watching TV, so stopped to ask what it was about. They said that a friend of theirs had been convicted of graffiti and sentenced [...]

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Caine Prize for African Writing

13 July 2008 · Literary events · Comments { 0 }

I’ve been attending quite a few readings at the Southbank Centre lately, and always find that, while I spend some time wondering why I am there, I get something from the experience in the end. Last Sunday it was the shortlisted writers for the Caine Prize for African Writing. My first observation was that, whereas [...]

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