Where to start with this towering novel by Patrick White? The fact that I finished reading it yesterday evening. That when I started reading it, a couple of months ago, the handsome hardback I bought on our short trip to Lewes, I immediately felt rejuvenated. Here was a book, a writer, I really wanted to …
playtime!
I can't resist fresh snow. I have to be out in it, scuff through it, touch it, crump it under foot, marvel at it. I love how it transforms London - ever so briefly - into a magical new place: dazzling, crisp, quiet. Hardly any traffic, and what there is slow moving and muffled. And …
art in a cold climate
'Tis bitter chill at the moment, but I've warmed myself on a couple of inspiring exhibitions this week. This lunchtime, a brisk and bracing 15 minute walk got me to The Serpentine's Centre for Possible Studies for a proper look at the Fabelist Imprint show. We'd gone to the launch the previous Friday (I'm a …
a bunch or two of cheerfulness
I'd lived in Battersea for years before I discovered there's a traditional greengrocer's just seven minutes' walk from my block. And even though I've been frequenting Thurgood's for a good few years now, I still get a tingle of anticipation each time I set off for their small but invaluable establishment. A proper greengrocer's in …
a quick (late) sketch from the rear stalls
To a seat in the rear stalls at the Royal Festival Hall last night, for the T S Eliot Prize readings. This was the hot ticket on a very cold Sunday night. Nearly 2,000 in the audience. Eight shortlisted poets reading for 10 minutes each (give or take a rambling digression or two). Compered by …
pep talk
New year's resolutions are so last year, don't you think? Besides, I have a constant conversation with myself (mostly not out loud, but the occasional exhortation gets vocalised) about being more disciplined, focussing on what's important, keeping the day job in perspective, not giving in to diversionary tendencies (that sounds like a political crime in …
antithematic
As a writer, I'm allergic to themes. Or, perhaps more accurately, I have an intolerance of themes, rather than a full-blown allergy. I can see why magazine and anthology editors like themes - to give structure and shape, an overall coherence to the final selection. The theme may also help restrict the volume of submissions …
all quiet on the literary front
Not much writing going on, for various reasons (excuses?). I'm still adapting to (resisting) the full time work routine. And then, last week, there was my significant other's significant birthday to celebrate. Cue: midweek break to Margate for bracing walks, sea air, magnificent skies and a visit to the new Turner Contemporary gallery - unprepossessing …
big paintings, small review
Well, hardly even a review. But I've been thinking about the Gerhard Richter retrospective, Panorama, on at Tate Modern at the moment. I've been twice now, and there is so much to see, and the work is so varied, which is one of the things I like about Richter. The same artist can produce bleak …
less is more, more or less
To Kings Place on Friday evening for a concert billed as 50 Years of Minimalism: Europeans & Experimentalists, featuring the sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque, alongside musicians involved in Katia Labèque's 'contemporary rock band'. It turned out to be quite a varied programme, ranging from incredibly quiet and delicate pieces to the cacophonous. Now, …
Hilaire 