Being scolded for gasping with joy at the sight of so many books rather put me off libraries as a child, which may well have been the old bat’s intention. It seemed she believed the edifying power of books teetered … Continue reading Libraries Week
With three hours till my first event I expected to get to Wigtown in plenty of time for a leisurely lunch and maybe even get in a little bookshop browsing before kick off; it is, after all, only seventy five … Continue reading Wigtown Odyssey
Tomorrow we leave for London*, where we will house-sit for three and a half weeks. Which feels like a gift from the gods, and I hope to use it wisely, thus, as well as the usual clothes, camera, and bathroom … Continue reading Capitalisation
Now in its fourth year, the Writers’ Gathering is an inspiring day of events aimed at writers in Dumfries & Galloway and beyond. Taking place on Saturday 19 May 2018 in Wigtown, it will be led by some of the liveliest figures … Continue reading News from Wigtown: A Gathering
I have been taking (making?) photographs since 1979 when I was given my first SLR camera for Christmas – actually, my father gave me a small Instamatic when I was ten because I kept wanting to use his camera, so … Continue reading Catalogical
One of my favourite things in the whole world is Bookworm, a radio show hosted by the disarmingly deep reader Michael Silverblatt. I listen to it to learn about writing, and luxuriate in the conversation about what makes writing worth … Continue reading On Writing
I’ve had the WordPress app on my phone for years (and have barely used it) but I only discovered there’s one for computers today. Curious, I mean why might it be necessary? I downloaded it, and can’t see any difference … Continue reading WordPress the App
I don’t have the resources (temporal, cognitive…) to write a post at the moment; things seem to have become hectic. But I’ve just listened to a Bookworm episode featuring some members from OULIPO and think it worth sharing. You can … Continue reading Writing Beyond the Sonnet (& Other Conventional Constraints)
Today Bernadette Mayer, speaking through the Salt-Pig, told me to: write a poem that reflects another poem, as in a mirror. Turns out this is not an easy thing to do in an hour, so I flipped through a notebook, … Continue reading Where’s the Smoke?
The exercise for today* turned out to be: Make a pattern of repetitions. And this is what I got: A Pattern It’s not because she doesn’t want to leave the house; not because she doesn’t want to see the beech … Continue reading A Bruised Peach
