guest post Archives - Andrew Blackman

Thinking

Life-Threatening Repercussions of the Hostile Environment During Covid-19

This is a guest post by Lynsey Burrows at the Immigration Advice Service, an organisation of immigration lawyers based in the UK & Ireland. I don’t normally publish guest posts here, but this one is important and timely, and I…

The writing process

A writer’s life

Writing burrowed itself into a chamber in my heart, building underwater castles and princesses to live in them, when I was around seven years old. This world of words has lived with me now for over two decades, present and…

Reading

On Scandinavian literature

The darkness looming over the Scandinavian Countries has crossed the sea and reached Great Britain and the US. With shows such as The Killing and The Bridge reaching international success and Borgen winning a BAFTA award, New Danish Drama has…

The writing process

When you expect to love being bored

Something I try to stay away from as an author are cliches. You know, those phrases and plot "twists" and character traits that have all been done before? So much that everyone can recognize them in an instant. Cliches have…

Literary events

Sophie Blackall at the Brooklyn Public Library

Like any nosy New Yorker, I first encountered Sophie Blackall on the subway. I most often ride the F line, and found myself pleasantly surprised one day by the depth of feeling in the illustrations above me. Blackall is a…

Reading

Why reading is social rather than solitary

Although reading is termed solitary, some of my best times on holiday have been when we've been sitting beside each other, each immersed in our own book. And in fact here reading becomes very social, because a laugh will make…

The writing process

The worst job in the world

When Barack Obama was elected US President in 2008 “The Onion” ran the headline “black man given nation’s worst job”. Much as I found their take on events amusing, even being President during this period of such economic misery can’t…

Reading

The reflection of read things

The enthralling The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (1997) is what I’ll be musing about. I read the novel earlier this year and was completely taken by both the beauty of it and Roy’s writing. Its narrative is…

Uncategorized

Do you want to write for me?

I'm going on a little trip around other islands of the Caribbean for a month or so in June and July, and had the idea of inviting you to contribute a guest post to this site while I'm away.