Wislawa Szymborska
Just discovered the work of Wislawa Szymborska through a poem reprinted in an old edition of New Internationalist from last year. It was called Psalm and I thought…
Monday Morning Inspiration #2
Good prose is like a windowpane. — George Orwell, “Why I Write” To find out what this is all about and how…
“Mr Palomar” by Italo Calvino
Mr. Palomar sets out to examine every possible aspect of his life and the world around him, trying to name everything and…
Present-tense novels
I was experimenting with writing my next novel in the present tense. For a while it went well. The present tense felt…
Monday Morning Inspiration
I often find myself reading something beautiful over the weekend, only to forget it as I get all caught up in the…
London Catholic Worker no. 25
Uncle Sam does not believe In the unemployed dole, But Uncle Sam does believe in the money lenders dole.
“An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Gappah
This debut short-story collection by Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah is a wonderful read. The tone of each one is perfect: the language…
Melting ice shelfs
Do you ever have that experience where something you’ve known for a long time suddenly hits you as it’s never hit you…
“A Time to Tell” by Maria Savva
This is a novel about secrets. It begins with Cara as a young woman attempting suicide, and most of the novel takes…