Category: Writing

My new post on literaturenetwork.org is now live: Big Game Hunting in the Bookshop. It's about the disappearing world of the secondhand bookshop and is unashamedly nostalgic. Writing it has put me in the mood for spending a weekend exploring Brighton's secondhand bookshops. Anyone up for an expedition next weekend?

"I love buying things on-line. No matter how strange or obscure the item I want, there always seems to be someone selling it. The most interesting thing I’ve bought recently is a mid-nineties guide to British second hand book shops. This book, by the mysterious Driffield, is long out of date: most of the shops listed that I remember from 15 years back are no more. The guide would likely be little use in navigating present-day second hand bookshops (although I sometimes day-dream about trying)."

I'm a bad person: I meant to post a month or so back about the new issue of Penumbra magazine, which includes a story of mine called 'Easter Rains'. Here's the opening:

"Ghost songs. They’d been drinking beer, kind of bored, when someone mentioned this radio station out in the woods that broadcast to no-one. Some guy had a radio transmitter and broadcast his favourite songs, not caring if anyone listened or not. A passing car might pick it up, if anyone actually drove out that way.

So they’d gone into the country, turning the dial until they found a station that was playing the Sid Vicious version of My Way. They pulled over and sat on the bonnet drinking beer. Song followed song with no adverts or idents, mostly cheesy rock, each record becoming something more in the moment. And he often thought he’d never have felt like he did now if making music meant as much to him as transmitting it had to that man."

Easter Rains recounts the last few days in the life of Kurt Cobain. I was a huge Nirvana fan at the time Cobain died and have read most of the biographies published since his death. What fascinates me is how the story has changed over the years. Initially the books recounted a doomed love affair between Kurt and Courtney but some later volumes have taken a more cynical turn

Listening to Doll Parts again recently ('yeah, they really want you, but I do too'') brought back the freshness, the innocence of those early accounts. I miss the story of Kurt and Courtney how it was originally, two lost people who found in each other the missing parts of themselves. Whether or not the later accounts are more accurate, for me the earlier books told the better story.

I wrote Easter Rains in Coventry last summer. It's closely based on factual accounts of the hours preceding Cobain's suicide, most notably the Cross biography and Everett True's stunning work, Nirvana: the True story. But, as you'll find if you read it, I tinkered with the end a little.

As mentioned above, Easter Rains can be found in the new issue of Penumbra. Copies can be bought from the Penumbra website for £4.95 which includes P&P. Thanks to Alex and Elle at Penumbra for publishing the story; and to Rosy and Ian for their feedback on the earlier drafts.

My new post is up on literaturenetwork.org: Let's have a golden age:

"Every year 1,300 creative writers qualify from British universities. Every year. Think how much raw talent that represents. Thousands upon thousands of people capable of crafting their experiences, hopes and fantasies into decent prose and poetry. So where are they? Where are all the little magazines, spoken word nights, pamphlets and small presses? There are some out there, but not enough to reflect the work of 1,300 additional writers a year. It’s an artistic version of the Fermi paradox: if they’re out there how come we don’t see them?"

One of the things I've enjoyed most about writing for the literature network is exploring different aspects of the explosion in creative writing. In this post I'm considering the huge potential of the huge number of people studying creative writing. Please have a read and add a comment. Thank you!

I had a fantastic time at Short Fuse last night.  There was an excellent line-up and it was lovely to read just before Rosy, who has done some amazing performances recently.  The night ended with stories from David Bramwell and Ros Barber, both of whom were enthralling.  I loved being be part of such an exciting, friendly night.

I'm currently very excited as Alex and Elle, the folks behind Penumbra Magazine, have invited me to
read at Ride the Word X on Monday June 15th.  The night is organised by Salt
Publishing and features a range readers, including Salt poet Vincent de Souza and short story writers Jay Merrill and Richard Bardsley.

Alex and Elle are doing a talk at the start of the evening, which will feature readings from myself and Luke Roberts. I've been asked to read LIBRARYS, a story of mine that was published in Penumbra's first issue.  It's probably my favourite story, but I'd not considered reading it aloud until Penumbra suggested it.  I'm very excited about reading this piece since its formatting makes it interesting to reproduce orally.

The event takes place at Stratford Library, E15 1EL (map here).  Admission is free and the night starts at 7pm, continuing until 9:30pm. It would be lovely to see some familiar friendly faces there.

I was asked last night if I could read at Short Fuse in Brighton tonight as one of the other performers was unable to read.  I am going to be reading my story Puddlejumping.  Also reading tonight are the stunning Ros Barber, as well as Cheeky Guide author David Bramwell and my friend, poet Rosy Carrick.  The theme for the night is True Stories.  Ros is reading an award winning piece called 'Re-Shape Whilst Damp', and David Bramwell has "an hilarious
story set at a Saltdean Seance".  It's going to be a fascinating and exciting night, so do come along.  The night is held at the Komedia's Studio bar and doors open at 8pm.  Entry is £5.

Last night I read at the opening night of Short Fuse Hastings, which was held at the Rooms. It was my first trip to St. Leonards in a long time but I didn’t get much chance to explore. I was reminded, however, exactly how dull the road from Brighton to Hastings is.

The Rooms was quite a small space, which the audience easily filled. The night featured a mix of Brighton and Hastings writers – Short Fuse is good at picking an interesting mix of writers, and all the stories were interesting and engaging. My favourite performances were AK Benedict‘s fairy tale Zoetrope and an excellent story by a recent Sussex Graduate about unemployed slackers watching TV.

I read a story called ‘Puddlejumping’. I’d rehearsed it quite a few times so, once the first few paragraphs were done, I felt fairy relaxed. When I’m reading and it seems to be going well I sometimes feel weirdly disassociated. I’m reading the words, but at the same time part of me is looking at the audience and wondering what they’re thinking of the story. Which is fine, except I sometimes panic because I won’t remember actually reading the previous paragraph aloud: what if I’ve been standing onstage, reading it in my head? But I’m sure somebody would have told me if I had a habit of doing that.

Thanks to Tara for inviting me to read. I’m looking forward to watching the next Short Fuse, on June 7th at the Komedia, which features Ros Barber and David Bramwell reading true stories about Brighton.  I’m also hoping to visit Hastings for the next event there, and will maybe explore some old haunts beforehand.

Today has been tiring, so I’m off to bed to read comic books. Hopefully tomorrow will be less trying.

I don't know how many readers this weblog has in the Hastings area, but just in case: I'm reading at the opening night of Short Fuse Hastings on Sunday May 31st.  The night starts at 8pm in The Rooms Cafe Bar in St. Leonards and costs £5. 

I like St. Leonards.  Back in 1998 I lived in the Grand Hotel ("as seen on Channel 5's The Hotel Inspector").  St Leonards was a strange place, dominated by the impressive Marine Court; under the building nestled a Dr. Who shop, keeping the faith in the programme's wilderness years.  I believe Iain Sinclair lived in Marine Court around the time I was in St Leonards – certainly I recognised some of the background characters in his novel 'Dining on Stones'.  You can get a good idea of the town from the Lost Promenade's recent visit (see here and here).

Anyway, if you're at the night, come and say hello.  I've not decided what to read yet.  I do have one story about St. Leonard's ('The Final Performance of the Puppy Dog Ballet') but I might ignore that in favour of something more substantial.

I'm putting on a one-off night of spoken word on June 16th at Brighton's Marlborough Theatre.  The best thing about organising an event is choosing who you want to see perform.  I've selected some performers I'm very excited about seeing:

• Rosy Carrick is compere at Hammer&Tongue Brighton and Trailer Trash.  I probably couldn't get away with putting on a spoken word night and not asking Rosy to perform, so it's fortunate she's as good as she is. 
• Bill Jones is one of my favourite local writers.  He's read at Sparks, Short Fuse Brighton and a previous incarnation of Telling Lies.  His stories are funny and whimsical, and I'm looking forward to watching him again.
• We also have Chris Parkinson of the Young Hanoverians.  Chris helps compere the incredible monthly Glue Gun '91 night at the Victory and recently won the monthly Hammer and Tongue Slam.  His poems are funny and intelligent, yet slightly deranged.  
• There will also be a musical interlude from the fantastic Madame's Butterflies.  Featuring two uplifting arial singers, Madame's butterflies are "dazzling operatic cabaret".
• I'm also going to perform a couple of stories including one I've not written yet, but I'll talk about it nearer the time.

Tickets for the night will be £4 on the door (details of how to book in advance will follow).  We're starting at 8 with the main performances finishing around 9:30 – so if you've got work the next day you can make it home in good time.  I'm currently planning a few things for those don't have a curfew and want to linger.  This will be the first spoken word night with a director's cut.

I also want to have a stall on the evening with books and pamphlets from local writers.  Leave a comment below if you're interested and I'll get in touch.

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks but I’ve not been blogging as much as I should have done.  The next few days are likely to see a succession of announcements as I catch up.  Some exciting things are in the works.

One thing I should have announced is my second EMLN blog post: Is Creative Writing a Pyramid Scheme?

“Creative Writing is a big business. A few years ago the BBC claimed there were more than 600 full time creative writing degree courses at British universities. These included options such as Accountancy with Creative Writing (currently available at the University of Derby).  Hundreds of less-formal courses are available, as well as shorter seminars and residential breaks. Requiring little more than desk space and a tutor, such courses are easy to put on and profitable.” [continues here]

This post is something I’ve been thinking about for a while (I almost gave a brief presentation on it in the 10-minute zone at last year’s Litcamp).  In between my article being submitted on May 1st and published on the 8th, an excellent article appeared on the Guardian website covering similar ground.  Ian Jack’s post, The Age of the Gifted Amateur has returned, argues that the profession of author is a  recent, and likely short-lived, occupation.  It includes the staggering figure that “Britain is probably turning out about 1,300 “creative writers” every year.”  What are they all doing with their qualifications?  Jack concludes:

“We need to weigh the smashed hopes of creative writers against the financial needs of their tutors, who are themselves writers, and earning the kind of money that writing would never supply. A closed little dance: tutors teach students who in turn teach other students, like silversmiths in a medieval guild where a bangle is rarely bought though many are crafted, and everyone lives in a previous world.” [continues here]

Some interesting follow-ups to Ian Jack’s article can be found here, here, here and here.  There are also some thoughtful responses in the comments of my blog post which I hope to respond to later this week.

• A lovely article on the Choose What You Read campaign which asks people if they'd prefer to be reading books instead of free newspapers.  They've also taken to handing out novels at stations.  Great quote: "I remember when the novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith came out –
  everyone was reading that. You could pretty much read the whole book
  over a few weeks just by looking over somebody’s shoulder."
• A lovely story by Derby's Nathan Good: Invisible Girls with Green Eyes.  It's only 1200 words.  Go read it now!
• Bands as portals (via Simon Reynolds)
• Profile of Vincent Connare who invented Comic Sans: "[a woman] broke up with her boyfriend in a letter written in Comic Sans to soften the blow"
• Video footage of Sara Crowley reading Porn Mallow at Sparks. Sara has had some great short stories up lately and also recently wrote a great post about her sons.