The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain
The Heart of the Race is a classic of Black British women’s history. First published in 1985, the book filled in large gaps in…
A Steam of Consciousness
As I was writing recently, a slip of the pen turned a stream of consciousness into a steam of consciousness. I quickly…
August 2020 Reading Roundup
After my quick trip to the UK last month, I’m back in Belgrade again. We made a few stops on our drive…
I’m Teaching a New Online Writing Class
I was happy to be asked recently to teach an online writing masterclass for Litro, a London literary magazine. I’m teaching a…
The Unsaintly Side of Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi is one of those people whose position as a hero of history is assured. He overcame the most powerful empire…
July 2020 Reading Roundup
I’m writing this in the middle of a two-week quarantine in the UK. Don’t worry, I don’t have any Covid-19 symptoms—it’s just a precaution…
Children of the Cave: A Fascinating Finnish Novel of Ideas
In Children of the Cave, Finnish writer Virve Sammalkorpi imagines an encounter between a group of explorers and some strange creatures living…
No, I Don’t Have the Bandwidth Right Now
Something is very wrong with the English language. People have started asking me if I have the “bandwidth” to work on new…
How to Write About Suicide and Self-Harm
The UK Society of Authors recently published a new factsheet on writing about suicide and self-harm, and I wanted to highlight it…