“Out of Office” by Mark Piggott
When I lived in America, I went driving along the coast of Maine once. My girlfriend at the time was experimenting with a new photographic technique, some way…
Monday morning inspiration
“To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” – Raymond Williams
“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 2
Continuing my journey through Russian literature: if you want to see the introduction and reviews of earlier stories, click here. Bobok by…
Spring and resurrection
I’ve been reading The Golden Bough recently – an old 1920s work on myth and magic in ancient societies around the world.…
“Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida” Part 1
I was always going to enjoy this book. I have loved Russian literature from an early age, and this short story collection…
Monday morning inspiration
Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they’ll know it too. Esther Freud The Guardian, Feb…
“The World Is What It Is” by Patrick French
A lot has been made of how frank this biography is. It’s certainly true that V.S. Naipaul gave his biographer Patrick French…
“How to Write Short Stories” by Sharon Sorenson
This is a very useful basic guide to writing short stories. Most of it I have read or heard elsewhere (e.g. “show,…
Monday morning inspiration
You see more sitting still than chasing after. Jonathan Franzen The Guardian, Feb 2010