I just finished reading Edward Hirsch's The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration. It's a fascinating read – he draws from all sorts of different sources, from Poetry to Painting to Modern Dance to Jazz, with lots of other digressions along the way. He takes Lorca's idea of the Duende …
The disturbingly talented Emma Jones
Just a little out of date (ok, a couple of weeks) is the news that my disturbingly talented compatriot, Emma Jones, has won the Forward Prize for Best First Book 2009 for her book, The Striped World (Faber and Faber, 2008). Apparently not only is she the first Australian to win the award, but also …
NaNoWriMo – the countdown begins (again)
Dear [supernatural-deity-of-personal-preference], it's almost that time of year again. NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, when people all over the world park their lives for thirty days to try and write a novel. I posted about this last year, but for those of you who need a reminder, this is the process: Sign up with the …
Beware of white bulls
I've just finished reading Moniza Alvi's Europa. It was a Poetry Book Society Choice for summer last year, and has been sitting in my (disturbingly large) TBR pile since I got it. Wow. What a collection! I know I go on about the virtues of poetry collections having some sort of unity, but oh, this …
DIY Pimping for the New Author
(Slightly risky using the p-word in a blog title, but hey, it might actually snag me some new readers.) I was sent this link to a painfully funny article from The New Yorker, spoofing the whole “authors must be proactive in promoting their books!” thing. At least, I think it's a spoof … Actually, as much …
A Dark Feathered Art 