Tag: books

That which we fear we lock away, drown or bury,  if we can and, hopefully, forever (or perhaps until Time catches up with desire at least). “Close it down, Danni. Put a dust sheet over the piano. Bolt the shutters. Turn the key”.  This is a blog on Rose Tremain (2026) ‘The Housekeeper’.

October 28, 2026

What’s a book or movie that genuinely scared you? View all responses That which we fear we lock away, drown or bury, if we can and, hopefully, forever (or perhaps until Time catches up with desire at least). This is precisely what Max de Winter does with the body and memory of his first wife Rebecca … More That which we fear we lock away, drown or bury,  if we can and, hopefully, forever (or perhaps until Time catches up with desire at least). “Close it down, Danni. Put a dust sheet over the piano. Bolt the shutters. Turn the key”.  This is a blog on Rose Tremain (2026) ‘The Housekeeper’.

The world of ‘The Perfect Gentleman; or, Etiquette and Eloquence’ of 1860 USA.

October 23, 2026

Which book’s world would be the absolute worst to live in? The world of ‘The Perfect Gentleman; or, Etiquette and Eloquence’ of 1860 USA. In 1860’s New York, the ‘manners’ of a New York ‘Gentleman’ may well have aped those of Old England, it being understood tht by then the word ‘gentle’ in ‘gentleman’ had … More The world of ‘The Perfect Gentleman; or, Etiquette and Eloquence’ of 1860 USA.

‘… happy endings are best achieved by keeping your mouth shut, and the right doors locked. … but who cares about public opinion now? The opinion of shadows, of echoes. So I’ll spin a thread of my own’. Preparing to see ‘The Penelopiad’ at York Theatre Royal.

October 17, 2026

What’s something you’ve done that your past self would be proud of? View all responses ‘… happy endings are best achieved by keeping your mouth shut, and the right doors locked. … but who cares about public opinion now? The opinion of shadows, of echoes. So I’ll spin a thread of my own’. [1] Preparing … More ‘… happy endings are best achieved by keeping your mouth shut, and the right doors locked. … but who cares about public opinion now? The opinion of shadows, of echoes. So I’ll spin a thread of my own’. Preparing to see ‘The Penelopiad’ at York Theatre Royal.

Seeing the author Ibtisam Azem [trans. Sinan Antoon] (2026 {first published in Arabic 2011}) speak of ‘The Sleep Thief’ [Sheffield, etc., And Other Stories] at The People’s Bookshop, Durham: Part Two.

October 15, 2026

In an interview Ibtisam Azem says of The  Sleep Thief that the novel is’fragmented and experimental, with surreal elements, references to Greek mythology, inner voices, the grotesque, and satire. Some of these elements may not sit easily with some readers, … perhaps because they do not expect to encounter them in Palestinian literature, because there … More Seeing the author Ibtisam Azem [trans. Sinan Antoon] (2026 {first published in Arabic 2011}) speak of ‘The Sleep Thief’ [Sheffield, etc., And Other Stories] at The People’s Bookshop, Durham: Part Two.

You know one when you see one being ‘good’! A blog on seeing, hearing and feeling together with Christopher Eccleston reading Tony Harrison. A reflection on viewing how ‘The Working-Class library’ makes its podcast on Tony Harrison’s acceptance into the library for ‘The School of Eloquence’.

October 12, 2026

What does it mean to be a good person? View all responses You know one when you see one being ‘good’! A blog on seeing, hearing and feeling together with Christopher Eccleston reading Tony Harrison. A reflection on viewing hoiw ‘The Working-Class library’ makes its podcast on Tony Harrison’s acceptance into the library for ‘The … More You know one when you see one being ‘good’! A blog on seeing, hearing and feeling together with Christopher Eccleston reading Tony Harrison. A reflection on viewing how ‘The Working-Class library’ makes its podcast on Tony Harrison’s acceptance into the library for ‘The School of Eloquence’.

Since Iris Murdoch we no longer have the right to centre our narratives on questions about a morally good person, for that demands consistency. Lets’s instead show how a satifying person in fiction is one who bears their inconsistency. On Edith Hall (2026) ‘Medea: A life’.

October 6, 2026

What does it mean to be a good person? View all responses Since Iris Murdoch we no longer have the right to centre our narratives on questions about a morally good person, for that demands consistency. Lets’s instead show how a satifying person in fiction is one who bears their inconsistency. ‘… determined to make … More Since Iris Murdoch we no longer have the right to centre our narratives on questions about a morally good person, for that demands consistency. Lets’s instead show how a satifying person in fiction is one who bears their inconsistency. On Edith Hall (2026) ‘Medea: A life’.

The most underrated skill is that which creates poly-mytho-factive worlds using the skills of curation, collage and, sometimes, the best of scholarship. A first blog on the joy of beginning to read Edith Hall, ‘Medea: A Life’, taking as an example Medea’s plea to help from her goddess-mother, Eidyia.

October 2, 2026

What’s the most underrated life skill? View all responses The most underrated skill is that which creates poly-mytho-factive worlds using the skills of curation, collage and, sometimes, the best of scholarship. A first blog on the joy of beginning to read Edith Hall (2026) Medea: A Life, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, taking … More The most underrated skill is that which creates poly-mytho-factive worlds using the skills of curation, collage and, sometimes, the best of scholarship. A first blog on the joy of beginning to read Edith Hall, ‘Medea: A Life’, taking as an example Medea’s plea to help from her goddess-mother, Eidyia.

How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some personal and otherwise reflection on reading Robert Tressell before seeing the Ensemble ’84 production of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’: Part One,being ‘My Dad’.

September 30, 2026

What’s the most underrated life skill? View all responses How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some … More How can a drama be created out of the fate of a boy who ‘acquired a knowledge of decorative painting and design, and graining and signwriting’ from the fag-end of a remnant of pre-capitalist values, and the sad shadows of that system that followed it. Some personal and otherwise reflection on reading Robert Tressell before seeing the Ensemble ’84 production of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’: Part One,being ‘My Dad’.

‘No settled senses of the world can match / The pleasures of that madness’. The Pygmalion Moment in art. Visiting the Turner prize 2026 exhibition at MIMA today.

September 29, 2026

What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive? View all responses There is a puzzle in this question in this prompt question that makes me ask if I find ‘a moment’ where I might be said to be ‘truly alive’, how should I describe my state in the remant of the … More ‘No settled senses of the world can match / The pleasures of that madness’. The Pygmalion Moment in art. Visiting the Turner prize 2026 exhibition at MIMA today.

At the end of Oedipus Tyrranus Creon says to Oedipus: ‘Seek not to be master more. Did not thy masteries of old forsake thee when the end was near?’ You are not in control of what relationships do or mean to you entirely. if anything relationships set bonds and bounds to you!

September 27, 2026

Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself? View all responses Relationships and their meaning for those who form a part of them are at the heart of dramatic fiction for a reason.  Human culture has always judged itself in terms of how it articulates the worth and value of a person in relationship … More At the end of Oedipus Tyrranus Creon says to Oedipus: ‘Seek not to be master more. Did not thy masteries of old forsake thee when the end was near?’ You are not in control of what relationships do or mean to you entirely. if anything relationships set bonds and bounds to you!

I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what becomes our practise when we think ourselves grown up. This is really a blog in preparation for seeing Hollie McNish reading from her 2025 collection ‘Virgin’ and talking to Michael Pederson in Durham on Friday 9th October 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Gala Theatre

September 24, 2026

Do you believe in karma? View all responses I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what is our practise when we think ourselves grown up. Hollie McNish at the Latitude Festival said to the BBC reporter, Charlie Jones: “My poems are pretty much word for … More I believe in karma, only in as much as we practice in our early life or lives what becomes our practise when we think ourselves grown up. This is really a blog in preparation for seeing Hollie McNish reading from her 2025 collection ‘Virgin’ and talking to Michael Pederson in Durham on Friday 9th October 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Gala Theatre

Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’. Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) ‘Switzy’.

September 20, 2026

Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’.[1] Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) Switzy London, London, Chatto & Windus (Penguin). In a final … More Should we start much earlier than we do learning about ‘Life, the littleness of it’. Do little books about littleness in enlarged contexts need prizes or forgetting? This is a blog on Emma Cline (2026) ‘Switzy’.