Sticky, but not in a bad way
Paulo Coelho
Philosopher, activist, bestseller, philanthropist, guru, lyricist, pirate, alchemist and writer: Paulo Coelho gives a rare interview, in which he bares all
For One Night Only This is the story of a play which – for over twenty years – saw just one performance
Third Time’s a Charm Another visit to the Wigtown Book Festival with Danny Gillan
The Well of Lost Libraries WIN a £500 General Critique The Longlist announced
The Most Exciting Place in Publishing by Dan Holloway
Strutting and Fretting Upon the Stage Description and scene setting with Sarah Bower
Pack Your Bags, We’re Jumping on the Bandwagon with Derek Duggan
Literature - a wide and wonderful world December 2011 | January 2012
www.wordswithjam.co.uk
Or why Buzz Lightyear is one of the world’s greatest literary philisophers by Anne Stormont
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http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php 2 | Random Stuff
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Editor’s Desk On Dreaming and Doing: Therapeutic Writing - including discussion with Gillie Bolton, writing from Creative Writing and Personal Development student Marlene Brown, experiences from Watching Petals Fall author Geves Lafosse, and a look at Different Cultures. One World. Women’s Voices from South Yorkshire Book v Television: A Conversation with Peter Robinson by Gillian Hamer The Well of Lost Libraries - an update with Catriona Troth, The Library Cat Paulo Coelho, Philosopher, activist, bestseller, philanthropist, guru, lyricist, pirate, alchemist and writer: Paulo Coelho gives a rare interview, in which he bares all 60 Second Interviews with Andy McDermott and Nick Taussig Third Time’s a Charm - another visit to the Wigtown Book Festival with Danny Gillan The Abyss - procrastinating with Perry Iles For One Night Only - this is the story of a play which – for over twenty years – saw just one performance. A play written and rehearsed in secret. An act of defiance against a totalitarian state that almost (but not quite) succeeded. The story of The Beggar’s Opera, by Vaclav Havel, sometime president of the Czech Republic. By Catriona Troth Writer’s Workshop - Zurich - by Gillian Hamer ‘Ghostwriter’ by Matt Shaw Pack Your Bags - We’re Jumping on the Bandwagon with Derek Duggan Literature - a wide and wonderful world. Or why Buzz Lightyear is one of the world’s greatest literary philisophers by Anne Stormont Exploring the Channel with Richard Wagamese - by Christy Jordan Fenton A night with the Camerata Xara Young Women’s Choir
Competitions 38 39 40 41 41 41
Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition - third quarter’s winners Flash 500 Fiction Competition - third quarter’s winners Words with JAM Short Story Competition 2011 details Comp Corner - be in with a chance to win a hardback copy of Paulo Coelho’s new book, Aleph, in a new competition by Danny Gillan WIN a £500 General Critique by Cornerstones Literary Agency - the longlist announced Giving you another chance - giveaways for Facebook ‘likers’
A Quite Short Story 42
Monogamous by Hayley Sherman
Pencilbox 44 46 48 50 51 52 53 54
The Agent’s View with Andrew Lownie, Shelley Power, Christian Dittus and Svetlana Pironko The Most Exciting Place in Publishing by Dan Holloway Cornerstones Mini Masterclass - exploring first pages with Helen and Kathryn Writing From a Different Place with Dan Holloway Scripts: World Cinema by Ola Zaltin Strutting and Fretting Upon the Stage - description and scene setting with Sarah Bower Question Corner - Lorraine Mace answers your questions on writing What We Think of Some Books
Some other stuff 56 57 58 59 59 59
Guess the Book Crossword Dear Ed - Letters of the satirical variety The Rumour Mill - sorting the bags of truth from the bags of shite Horoscopes - by Shameless Charlatan Druid Keith If in Doubt, Invent Your Own - a new initiative
The Team
Sarah Bower is the author of two historical novels, THE NEEDLE IN THE BLOOD and THE BOOK OF LOVE (published as SINS OF THE HOUSE OF BORGIA in the US). She has also published short stories in QWF, The Yellow Room, and Spiked among others. She has a creative writing MA from the University of East Anglia where she now teaches. She also teaches creative writing for the Open University. Sarah was born in Yorkshire and now lives in Suffolk. Clinical psychologist Sue Carver is serving a long apprenticeship in novelwriting. Her aphorism is: it takes as long as it takes. Her first novel is set in the world of psychological therapy and her second takes her far out of her comfort zone. She has published poetry under her maiden surname: Leppard, but she wasn’t made in Sheffield and, although she has wide tastes in music, she much prefers Raymond to Def. Helen Corner founder of Cornerstones Literary Consultancy and co-author of Write a Blockbuster. Derek Duggan is a graduate of The Samuel Beckett Centre for Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin. He lives in Spain with his wife and children and is not a tobogganist. Danny Gillan’s award-winning Will You Love Me Tomorrow was described as one of the best debut novels of 2008. Now, for entirely cash related reasons, Danny’s novel Scratch is available for Kindle readers (‘users’ sounds a bit druggy). It’s so funny it’s made people accidentally wee, apparently. Really, actually wee in their pants. True story..www.dannygillan.co.uk Gillian Hamer is a full time company director and part time novelist. She divides her time between the industrial Midlands and the wilds of Anglesey, where she spends far too much time dreaming about becoming the next Agatha Christie. http://gillian]wordpress.com/ Dan Holloway In June Dan’s novel The Company of Fellows was voted “favourite Oxford novel” in a poll of readers from Blackwell’s bookstore. On July 28th he took part in Blackwell’s Rising Stars panel alongside authors Naomi Wood, Nikesh Shukla and Stuart Evers, and on October 18th is being handed the use of the Oxford store’s world-famous Norrington Room to host the spoken word event This Is Oxford. Perry Iles is an old man from Scotland. If he was a dwarf, he’d be grumpy. He lives in a state of semi-permanent apoplectic biliousness, and hates children, puppies, kittens, and periods of unseemly emotion such as Christmas. He pours out vinegary invective via a small writing machine, and thinks it’s a bit like throwing liver at the wall. He tells anyone who’ll listen that this gives him a modicum of gratification. Andrew Lownie is a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents and Society of Authors and was until recently the literary agent to the international writers’ organisation PEN. In 1998 he founded The Biographers Club, a monthly dining society for biographers and those involved in promoting biography, and The Biographers’ Club Prize which supports first-time biographers. Lorraine Mace is a columnist with Writing Magazine and co-author, with Maureen Vincent-Northam, of The Writer’s ABC Checklist, has had her work published in five countries. Winner of the Petra Kenney International Poetry Award (comic verse category), she writes fiction for the women’s magazine market and is a writing competition judge. www.lorrainemace.com JJ Marsh - writer, teacher, newt. www.jjmarsh.wordpress.com Matt Shaw - author, cartoonist, photographer, hermit, Billy-No-Mates. www. mattshawpublications.co.uk Anne Stormont - as well as being a writer, is a wife, mother and teacher. She is also a hopeless romantic, who likes happy endings. Kat Troth grew up in two countries, uses two names, and has had two different careers. One career she has spent writing technical reports for a non-technical audience. In the other, she attempts to write fiction. She tries always to remember who she is at any one time, but usually finds she has at least two opinions about everything. Ola Zaltin is a Swedish screenwriter working out of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has written for both the big screen and the small, including episodes for the Swedish Wallander series. Together with Susanne O’Leary he is the co-author of the novel Virtual Strangers, (available as eBook).
Contents | 3
Editor’s Desk
future, other countries will or have faced similar predicaments. This account of what’s currently happening to our libraries is hugely poignant. There’s a few thank you messages due now, but I’ll try and be briefer than the Oscars due to the aforementioned spatial problems (I always considered myself good with space
Welcome to our second anniversary issue. And a very special issue it is too. Space is tighter than a duck’s bum, so tight we have an extra four pages of goodness for you. For those subscribed to the print issue, the extra four pages of that potent and highly addictive smelling ink are on us. Merry Christmas!
The Ed
JD Smith lives and works in the English Lake District. She uses her publishing house Quinn Publications as a source of procrastination to avoid actually writing.
My guess is you didn’t think the cover slots would get any better than they have been over the past few issues, but we’re delighted that author of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho, agreed to give us an exclusive interview. You’ll have already read the blurb, glanced over the cover highlights and hastily skimmed the contents in order to reach this page and the delight that is my Editor’s Desk [coughs], so you’ll know what we’ve got lined up, but I’d like to point you in the direction of one feature which (along with everything else) is a must read. Page 14, The Well of Lost Libraries. The cause is such an important one here in the UK, and I’m sure at points in the past, present and
Happy Birthday, WWJ! I wish Words with Jam had been around when I first started writing - not only for its invaluable insights and encouragement, but also as an entertaining distraction from hours staring at a blank computer screen. Happy Birthday! - Jane Fallon (author of Foursome and TV producer of Teachers, This Life and Eastenders) I never thought I could learn so much from a single magazine, but WWJ is unique in the breadth and depth of writing issues it discusses. Many thanks to Jane and the entire team for putting together the best online literary magazine ever! - Heikki Hietala (writer, reader, short story contributor) Many happy returns, Words With Jam; may you stick around much longer! - JK Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) The literary mag that beats the competition hollow is a whole two years old; Words with Jam – JD Smith’s amazing brainchild. How she juggles all the eggs in her basket no one can figure out. But she makes one hell of a literary soufflé. - Batty Jane x (short story contributor and competition winner) Many congratulations. What a great magazine! - Julia Churchill (Greenhouse Literary Agency) Jane, congratulations on WWJ’s second birthday! You’ve done such a lovely job of putting together a First Class magazine, you deserve to be very proud indeed. On top of that, you’ve surrounded yourself with some First Class talent (except for Gillan), and I imagine you all have quite a bit of fun. If that’s not true, please allow me to live in ignorance. - Pete Morin (author of Diary of a Small Fish) If someone in my family was lucky we used to say they were ‘jammy.’ WWJ’s success is not just luck, though, but a great deal of hard work from a very talented person. Happy 2nd Birthday and keep up the great work. - Tricia xxx (reader and contributor) Happy second birthday to the wonderful Words With Jam Magazine. I was SO proud (I still am) to have been the April 2011 edition ‘cover girl’ for WWJ. A highlight for me! Long may WWJ continue. The magazine is fresh, insightful, clever, funny and just bloody brilliant. Rather like the magazine’s editor
awareness, but that clearly only applies to my PC desktop and car parking). Thank you firstly to the dedicated team who make Words with JAM happen every other month, both those who have been here since the start, and those who have joined us along the way. Thanks also to the publishers, agents, authors and guest columnists who have supported us with their knowledgeable question answering, supply of wonderful prizes, enlightening features and outstanding cover slots. Thank you to our advertisers for allowing the magazine to continue. And thank you to everyone who has subscribed in whichever medium. Lastly, to all those who replied to Jill’s call for Birthday Wishes, the result of which is below; reading an entire document full of such wonderful words is one of the most affirming moments I’ve had during the magazine’s existence. Thank you. As always, enjoy!
in fact… - Amanda Hodgkinson (author of 22 Britannia Road) Literary magazines arrived with the boom in print. Then everything changed and we needed to merge the great printed tradition with the electronic revolution. Your robustly healthy two year-old augers well for the future of the written word. I bet there were plenty of nay-sayers who told you it would never work, Jane - well, sucks to them! Bravo! - Andrew Crofts (author, judge and ghostwriter) Thanks for all the reading pleasure and congratulations on the escalating success of WWJ - proof at last that talent and energy need not go unrewarded. May you have many happy returns and reissues! - Lee Williams (co-author of Triclops) Congratulations so much on the birthday, and on continuing to thrive during tough times. Here’s to many more. - China Miéville (author of Embassytown) WWJ and the whole team behind it is a joy to work with. If one person deserves singling out it is the incomparable Ms Dixon-Smith. Me simpleton, she Jane. - Ola Saltin (columnist, screenwriter, Scandinavian mentalist) Congratulations on the successful launch of a fine publication - may she sail around the world. - Darren Guest (author of Dark Heart) Happy birthday to a magazine which is consistently fresh, interesting, informative and useful whether you’re a writer or publishing professional. - Andrew Lownie (The Andrew Lownie Agency) Our Ed, the Guvnor, Jane (aka Wonder Woman) it’s been a total pleasure and privilege to be part of WwJ from day one and I’m grateful you’ve allowed me to be part of the successful journey. Each issue brings something fresh and unique, and I tingle with pride at every new page. The print edition is outstanding - better than anything you can find in the High Street. I’m never less than amazed by your array of talents and the way you handle everything with such quiet confidence. You’re a treasure and we’re lucky to have found you. Here’s to the next two years, four, six, eight ... Happy Birthday to all the team at WwJ! I hope you’re all as proud to be part of it as I am! - Gillian H. (writer and contributor) In two years WWJ has developed from a work in
progress with some dross about the Romans on the front page to something that’s a must read for anyone interested in books and writing. Nobody seems to know how it gets out every month, but I recall from my previous incarnation that it involves a lot of people running round in circles and disappearing up their own ... I seem to have lost the thread. Anyway, how does all that smut get through the editing process ... No, lost it again. I only have one final word to say. JK Rowling. - Douglas Jackson (bestselling author, first ever cover star, reader, lovely chap) Many congratulations to Words With Jam on reaching its second birthday! It’s a really refreshing read which I highly recommend to my authors. Well done everyone! - Robin Wade (Wade & Doherty Literary Agency) I’ve been a reader of Words with Jam (or WWJ as I’m sure we all affectionately call it) since the first issue and look forward to it appearing in my inbox every other month. Its mixture of practical advice, irreverence and (increasingly) big name authors makes it the perfect antidote to some of the more established writing magazines. I’m sure it will continue from strength to strength; I will definitely be reading! - Guy Saville (cover star and author of The Afrika Reich) Happy 2nd Anniversary, to Jane and the whole team! You do a remarkable job. The very idea of creating and putting together a magazine by and for writers (mainly) about writing is brilliant but daunting. Given the large but terribly fragile egos most writers of my acquaintance have (except those reading this comment, of course), the fact that you have consistently pulled them together and produced a magazine of interest to EVERYone, the quality and variety of which just keeps getting better and better, is nothing short of a hyperbolic miracle! Here’s to you, Your Editorship, and all of the little writer elves who sit up all night stitching and sewing and hammering it together. - Tom Mciver (reader, musician, poet, Scot) Congratulations on two years of the best writing mag on the block - here’s hoping Words with Jam continues to scream and stamp its foot - after all, you are now in the ‘Terrible Twos’! - Jo Reed (contributor and author of The Blood Dancer series) It made me laugh, it made me cry! And that was just the anticipation! Thanks for giving me somewhere to vent spleen, somewhere I can say ‘KABOOM’ and not be ridiculed and for giving me a damn fine read each
New Podcasts: Writing to Live Again Freedom from Torture’s creative writing group Write to Life was set up by the playwright Sonja Linden eleven years ago. It began with just four writers and a couple of mentors and showed how writing can help survivors cope better with their pasts and with the present. The group now comprises some 20 clients, all referred by counsellors who recognise that for some writing can heal like no other form of therapy. Their work is truly ground-breaking. Write to Life is possibly the only therapeutic writing group in the world dedicated specifically to survivors of torture. We are privileged to be able to bring you a podcast that features performances from seven of Write to Life’s very talented poets.
Also new since the last edition: Dark Heart, by Darren J Guest, read by Daniel Barzotti - A demon returns after twenty years. An Angel follows close behind. Leo is caught in an ageold conflict, his past lying at the dark heart of it all.
issue too. Your hard work is very much appreciated, cheers! Andrew Ramsay (Comic column guru, wastrel, drunk) Those two years flew past quickly. I love WWJ. Really look forward to getting my copy, knowing I’m in for a good read, not to mention a laugh. It goes from strength to strength and that can only be down to all the hard work from Jane and the rest of the team. Not an easy task when you’re raising children and looking after dogs! Long may WWJ continue and the best to you all. Love Pam. - Pam Howes (writer, reviewer) To say how much wine and beer is consumed by the editorial staff during the production of this quality magazine, it’s a miracle it ever makes a deadline. I’m glad it does though, it’s a wonderful periodical and I wouldn’t go without my copy if you paid me...Ok, maybe I would, but I’d miss it... - Trevor Belshaw (writer, reader, nutter) Fresh, funny and factual - Words with JAM is simply wonderful. - Hazel Cushion (Managing Director Accent Press Ltd / Xcite Books Ltd) Is it really two years since WWJ first burned out my monitor? If nothing else, you reaffirm my faith that are others just as depressed as me. Great stuff guys, keep it up and raise a glass to the next XXX years. - David W Robinson (reader, writer, flat-capped cynic) As a past, and very proud, contributor to Words with JAM, as well as a regular reader, I’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Jane and the crew for an accomplished, innovative and all-round delectable magazine. Here’s to the next two years. - Maureen Vincent-Northam (freelance writer and co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist) Many congratulations, Jane. WWJ is just brilliant. A big thank you for much reading pleasure. Please keep going - I need my fix. - Chris Curran XXX (reader and writer) Only two years old, yet so wise. Fabulous job, Jane! Love Liza xxx Happy Birthday, Jane. Talented, beautiful and a wonderful mother. I’ve no idea how you manage to juggle all your balls but you’re doing an amazing job. Your Lancaster fan x I still have to pinch myself about being part of the fabbest magazine out there. Jane, you’re a 24-carat legend. - Dan Holloway (writer, columnist, polymath, bearded)
Kimi’s Secret, by John Hudspith, read by JJ Marsh - Gothic horror meets supernatural sci-fi; Kimi’s Secret will leave you gagging, breathless and sleeping with the light on. Suitable for grinning little monsters aged 10 to 100. You can listen to all these podcasts and more at http://wordswithjam.podomatic.com/.
Reader Letters My favourite reader letter since the last issue went out, which will win a copy of the magazine is:
I will not, I said to myself, spend the entire afternoon online. Oh wait, I said to myself as I was about to switch off my laptop, I haven’t looked at Words With Jam yet. I opened the email and clicked... 2 hours or so have passed and thus far I have:- Read a couple of articles and bits and pieces; leaving loads more for later. *liked* you on Facebook. Entered the “what’s your favourite book” FB comp. Noted that my favourite book of the moment, {Patrick Hamilton’s The West Pier}, may not stay my favourite as I have trouble with the concept of favourites, am fickle, have a relatively short attention span, and oh wait hang
Happy Two Years Old, Words with Jam, all the best! Laura Longrigg (MBA Literary Agency) Two years already? Time flies when you’re... producing one of the best magazines by and for writers out there. WWJ is something that delivers every single time. A real feat! Thanks to Jane and the team there. Here’s to the next year, and the next, and the next... Michelle Elvy (comp corner winner, writer, reader, lovely person) Jane, you’re a star! Happy WWJ birthday, best wishes, Clair x (reader and contributor) A big hooray and happy birthday for Words with JAM! From humble beginnings, you’ve created a first rate writers mag. With humour and sensible advice going hand in hand it’s just plain FANTASTIC! Here’s to many, many more jammy years! Lisa Hinsley (author of The Ultimate Choice) I was over the moon when Words With JAM gave me my very first cover article and was very impressed with the quality and content of the magazine. As a debut author, it meant so much to have a great magazine invest so much faith in me. It’s fantastic to see the success of Words with JAM and I’d like to send my sincere congratulations to Jane and the team. Wishing you greater success to come! Brightest wishes - Miranda Dickinson (author of Fairytale of New York, Welcome to My World and It Started With a Kiss) Whatever I’m doing, when Words With Jam arrives in my inbox, I have to read it there and then. In my view it’s essential reading for any writer or aspiring writer. Kudos to Jane and her team for the astonishingly high standards they maintain. - Nick Daws (Freelance Writer www.mywritingblog.com) Pleased to see Words with JAM entering its terrible twos except in this case I know they’re going to be brilliant. I’m thrilled to have been featured in this fabulous magazine and to see how successful it’s been. Congratulations to Jane and everyone involved. Here’s to many more anniversaries. love jane wj xx www. janewenham-jones.com (writer and interviewee) Happy Birthday, Words with Jam. It’s been one hell of a ride. I remember when Jane first mooted the idea, I told her it sounded brilliant but I had no idea what I could contribute. She said, “You keep banging on about writers making more use of libraries. Why not
on, I love Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, the mere title makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up; should I have chosen that instead and does it actually matter anyway? Read the banned book list. Noted that I’ve read 18 or so of the banned books, which is a bit of a poor show. Remembered that I wished I hadn’t read a couple of them. *cough* One Hundred Years of Solitude aka Fifty Four Pages before I couldn’t bear it any more *cough* Reserved 4 of the banned books from the library catalogue and put a further 2 on my library wish list. Felt ever so slightly smug as I was part of a, {mercifully successful}, campaign to prevent the closure of my local library. Felt sad for those who no longer have a local library. Vowed never to re-locate to anywhere sans library. And so on and so forth... I could continue in this vein for a while but I’ll spare you further insight into my mind, dear reader. You get the general idea. I am enjoying the October Issue. I’m glad you didn’t call it Words With Ham. Typos Make Titles. Just not such good ones. Jo Hudson
write something about that?” So I did. Two years later, I have interviewed some amazing people, from the man who set up Britain’s first community-run library to the participants in Freedom from Torture’s Write to Life group and the founder of Pelican Post. I’ve gained associate membership of the Society of Authors and buckloads of confidence. And I’ve done that with a magazine that I am SO PROUD to be a part of. Jane, you had a vision of a new kind of magazine, and you made it happen. You’ve created fantastic opportunities for readers and writers alike. I am sure that these first two years are just the start, and that you and the magazine will go from strength to strength. Happy birthday, grrrl. Many happy returns. (Oh, and thanks for all the slosh.) - Kat (writer and contributor) I’ve heard it said that big thinking precedes achievement. I’d like to thank Jane and the whole team at WWJ for thinking big and accomplishing greatness in just two short years. You make success look so easy. Congrats and Happy Birthday! Donna Fasano (bestselling author, e-book hero, Australasian) Congratulations! Apparently we should celebrate your 2nd Year Anniversary with a gift of “Paper”. Although at first glance this seems fitting - to be honest next year seems more in sync with WWJ’s quirky wild side – it’s leather!!! Here’s to another great year. May your readership continue to soar! Nick Johnson (Founder Director, The Pelican Post) WwJ is entertaining, enlightening and often erudite – sometimes all three at once. Well done on gathering a fantastic bunch of writers together and producing a mag that looks as good as it reads. Barbara Scott Emmett (writer, reader, eroticist) Happy Birthday WWJ! Congratulations and huge thanks for your hard work, nous and style, Wonder Woman Jane and the team. Love from Sue C xxx (contributor, psychologist, smart cookie) Jane, thank you so much for all your hard work, dedication but most of all your inspiration which makes Words with Jam so utterly readable and thought-provoking. Happy 2nd birthday! Love, Geves.
New Stuff | 5
On Dreaming and Doing: Therapeutic Writing by Catriona Troth
As Gillie Bolton says in the opening to her book, Write Yourself: Creative Writing and Personal Development, “Art has the power to help people understand themselves, each other and the world better.” Writing is still a relative newcomer on the therapeutic block, less well recognised, even by professionals, than, say, art or music therapy. Nevertheless, you can now find therapeutic writing groups in all kinds of settings – working with adults and children, the sick and the dying, refugees and people in prison, recovering addicts and those with mental health problems, and many more. So what exactly is therapeutic writing? Those of us who write know that almost any writing can, at times, be therapeutic. However, the essential purpose of therapeutic writing is the exploration of self. We may choose, at some point, to show it to others. We may publish what we have written; we may perform it in public. But first and foremost, we are writing for ourselves. As one member of a therapeutic writing group put it: “I didn’t know what I felt until I heard what I had written.” Unlike when we talk – be it to a friend, a family member or a therapist – the words we write on a page are recorded, just as we first wrote them. We can put them aside for days or weeks if we choose, and then return to them, exactly as they were. We can “go deeper into our own truths.” We can edit them, shape them, fashion them into something new. We can choose how and when we share them with someone else. We can destroy them, if we wish. And when someone does read the words, or listens to us read, they don’t interrupt or interact. They hear the whole thing, as we intended.
Filling in the Gaps Gillie Bolton is one of a handful of people in the UK who, in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, more or less invented the field of therapeutic writing from their own experiences. For Bolton, it began when her own demons began to catch her up and her husband, not knowing how to help, suggested that she wrote her autobiography. “I sat down at my kitchen table and wrote a nice neat story on every other line of a hardback notebook. A childhood in a lovely farming village. Somehow writing that first version gave me permission to explore what was wrong. I went back and filled in the gaps, scrawling in red felt tip all over big sheets of paper. ”
6 | Random Stuff
As many others have discovered since, Bolton found that writing down our experiences can help provide separation, a necessary distance. Rather than thoughts going round and round in our heads, we have a narrative that can be shaped. And shaping that narrative allows us to make sense of traumatic events and to begin the process of recovery. Not long ago, I heard a powerful interview on the radio: Bob Geldof, describing his reaction to hearing that his ex-wife, Paula Yates, had committed suicide. After weeks of being barely able to function, he went down into his basement and began composing music. He poured his anguish onto a CD and once it was done, the hurt was there, but it was contained. Manageable. He could function again. Not all of us can distil our emotions into a musical composition, but we can all write. As Sheila Hayman, coordinator of Freedom From Torture’s Write to Life group says, “all it takes is a pen, paper and enough peace to let the words come out.”
Exploring the Hinterland Bolton began to study how writing could help others as well as herself, eventually gaining her PhD in Reflective Practice: Therapeutic Writing for Professional Development, particularly in the medical profession. “I trawled therapeutic practices. One of my favourites was the ‘two chair’ method, where you have a conversation with yourself in two different voices. I got people to write in different voices. If they had written something in the voice of their inner critic, they had to consciously seek out their inner mentor and write in that voice too.” Bolton is particularly interested in what social anthropologists call ‘liminal states’: periods of transition between one life stage and another. Bereavement, convalescence, retirement, redundancy, ‘empty nest syndrome’ are all liminal states. “Our society is particularly bad at allowing us time to make adjustments from one stage to another and to come to terms with the new conditions of our lives,” says Bolton. “But they are often also times of tremendous opportunity.” A primary influence mentioned by several of my interviewees is Marion Milner. Milner was a psychoanalyst in the early 20th century. In her book, A Life of One’s Own she explored the benefits of keeping a journal and of ‘letting one’s mind speak for itself ’ – perhaps the first experiment in tapping into the unconscious mind through free writing. Free writing – writing done in that ‘hypnagogic state’ between waking and dreaming – is the first step in therapeutic writing. As Marion Milner found, allowing oneself space and time – and silence – can be a powerful way to access something beyond our conscious minds – whether we think of this as something spiritual or as
what Bolton refers to as our ‘inner mentor’. Free writing is best done with the body as well as with the mind – something may be lost if it’s mediated through a keyboard and a computer screen – when those insidious red and green lines start to criticise even before your thought is fully formed. But free writing is only a first step. Milner went on to explore the nature of creative activity in On Not Being Able to Paint. Having experimented with free drawing, as she had with free writing, she became aware of a parallel need for a frame or structure, “without which human activity can spend itself in disastrous dissipation of energy.” Bolton agrees. She has reservations about the practice, expounded in books such as Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, simply to write for thirty minutes every day. Sometimes, that can be a trap. “You can get stuck with the voice of your critic, with everything just getting blacker and blacker.” To avoid this, Bolton suggests free-writing for just six minutes at a time. “After that, you need something playful.” Plenty of ideas can be found for such ‘playful’ exercises. Some people respond to the formal structures of poetry, others to the familiar form of fairytales. “Once upon a time there was a… is such a powerful trigger,” says Bolton. “You can use it to explore your own archetypes, or discover what magic gifts you would give yourself. The golden rule is: you must write the positive.” This is not simply a facile instruction to ‘always look on the bright side of life’. It is important not to shy away from the dark stuff. But afterwards, it’s vital to actively seek out the light. Another trap that people may fall into is to imagine that what they have tapped from their subconscious is somehow sacrosanct – immune from the need to edit. Virginia Woolf described finding ‘diamonds in the dust heap’ when she wrote her diaries ‘at a gallop’. But as she well knew, those diamonds still require cutting and polishing. Often it is the shaping and reshaping of an image or a narrative that will allow you to find its real meaning.
Alone or in a Group You don’t have to join a group to take advantage of the benefits of therapeutic writing. Bolton’s advice to anyone thinking of starting out on their own is to find a trusted friend. “Not a life partner or a business partner. And preferably someone who also wants to write, so there is an exchange, a quid pro quo.” If possible, she says, read aloud to each other. There is something tremendously powerful about the process of giving your words a voice. Working in a group, however, can provide a frame, a discipline, that is not available when you work on your own. You don’t have to share your work or comment on anyone else’s until you’re ready, but you must write. A typical group session will begin with a few minutes of silence or meditation, perhaps listening to music. And then a period of free writing before moving on to a more structured exercise. But different groups can have different needs. Judy Clinton, who works with recovering addicts and alcoholics, says that her clients can find silence threatening. “There is often so much subconscious stuff they are trying to run away from. Writing
trains them to slow down, teaches them to reflect.” She finds that if she lets them free write for a few minutes first, they can dump some of the chaotic baggage that is cluttering their minds and they are then more open to other things. The next stage will be some form of exercise, with everyone in the group given time to work on their own. Different triggers work with different groups. River Wolton, working with refugee women who had been forced to leave almost everything behind, used ‘In the Museum of My Life’ to help the women select objects and images that represented something important about their own history. Lydia Fulleylove, working in a men’s prison, chose exercises that took the imagination beyond the prison walls - “the only legal form of escape,” as the Writers in Prison Network states. When everyone has had time to finish writing, the group gathers again. Those who are ready to do so read their work aloud. Others comment. “It’s important to remember that this isn’t psychotherapy,” says Bolton. “No one has the right to ask personal questions. You’re here to talk about the writing.” One advantage that a writing group can have over ‘talking therapy’ is that it allows space for both introverts and extroverts. The introvert is given space and time to frame their thoughts; the extrovert must learn to sit back and listen. Groups that carry on working together for long periods develop their own alchemy, as members share experiences and learn to trust one another. Wolton talks of women giving each other, “messages of strength and encouragement.” Clinton describes seeing men be really tender to one another as defences start to come down. Groups vary in whether they wish their projects to culminate in some form of performance or publication. For some, their writing can be deeply personal – a way of communicating with a partner, say, or a parent, or just to understand themselves. For others, like refugees and prisoners, who feel marginalised and voiceless, producing a book or performing in public can be a powerful way of re-engaging with the world. To quote Sheila Hayman of Write to Life: “As one writer put it, the rapt attention of an audience is like a mirror in front of her, reassuring her that, after all the horror and degradation, she is still, powerfully and triumphantly, alive.”
Gillie Bolton
Creating the Charmed Circle So how do you approach facilitating a therapeutic writing group? Gillie Bolton says the three essential principles to establish are: Show respect for one another (which includes setting boundaries such as confidentiality and ensuring that responses and advice are constructive and focused on the writing); Take responsibility for what you write and for the feedback you give; Trust in the process. Don’t be afraid that people are going to lose all control. Trust that they will be strong enough to deal with whatever they access within themselves. And trust the group too.
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Wolton describes it as a dance – at times standing back to allow a group wisdom to unfold, but remembering that you are still the leader. She finds it helpful that she’s a therapist as well as a writer. “Sometimes people can start to project their demons onto others in group, say. It’s good to be aware of group dynamics, so you’re not thrown when that sort of thing starts to happen.” Clinton suggests that you should be open about your own experience, where and when it resonates. But use that sparingly! Bolton cautions that the facilitator should always be the last to comment on someone’s work. “Your silence gives others permission to respond.” What if something traumatic emerges? How should you react? “Stay with it,” Bolton says. “‘Hold’ the person in a supportive silence and allow the group to take care of them. Don’t try and move on or smooth it over. Give them time.” Even in groups of people who have experienced trauma, therapeutic writing is not all about grief and suffering. “People share the most awful, unbearable things; then you get this amazing laughter. Whatever the circumstances, what will always come out is the joy.” It’s important, though, not to let people go out of the room completely raw. Find an exercise that allows everyone to come down
from the peak of emotion. Or just let them chat for a while about normal things. Many facilitators find it essential to write about their own experiences of working with the groups. Clinton says, “You have to be able to deal with your own inner stuff. So you find yourself in a quiet space and write. It’s amazing how supportive and matter of fact your inner mentor can be.” Many of those I interviewed found the role difficult to begin with, particularly when working with challenging groups. But the comment I heard again and again was, “This is the most satisfying work I have ever done.”
Hangman’s Stone
Hangman’s Stone, by Marlene Brown
Marlene Brown was one of a number of fortunate students accepted onto the MA course in Creative Writing and Personal Development at the University of Sussex, run by Dr Celia Hunt – another early pioneer of therapeutic writing. Marlene, whose first degree was in Psychology, had written stories and poems, and kept a journal since childhood. “The opportunity to join the programme came at just the right time – I had been struggling with a number of personal issues and felt stuck. I knew I was lucky to get on the course: it was unique in its approach and had many more applicants than places.” The MA course, which closed in 2010 following Dr Hunt’s retirement, primarily focused on a variety of methods for using creative writing as a developmental and therapeutic tool. Students were expected to combine a reflective practice alongside the development of an authentic writing voice and critical skills. It examined the origins of the sense of self and the nature of memory. How do we remember ourselves and is what we remember true? Students learned how it was possible to transcend traumatic or painful events by rewriting their own autobiographical narrative – telling a different truth. Several years earlier, Marlene had witnessed a young woman commit suicide. The incident triggered episodes of depression and effectively silenced her writing voice. Prior to the MA she hadn’t felt able even to record the incident in her journal but afterwards could examine what had happened and deal with it creatively and positively. “The MA was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. The nature of the course meant that often challenging personal material came up, and we were advised to have counselling at the same time, which I did. I passionately believe that creative writing is a powerful healing art.” Marlene has been able share what she learned, working for a time with a group of people with mental health problems. She also teaches imaginative writing to primary school children and is currently working on a novel. Her story Hangman’s Stone, written during the MA, is due to be published in an anthology by Leaf Books and is reproduced here with permission.
If you are interested in post graduate study of therapeutic writing, an MSc is now being offered at the Metanoia Institute.
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If you are interested in learning more about Therapeutic Writing, Words with Jam has set up a permanent resource page at www. wordswithjam.co.uk/resources with links to many further sources of information.
On fine summer evenings my young son, James, and I often walked our dog along the coastal path that runs between Brighton and Newhaven. One evening in late August 1999, I caught sight of the tip of a large block of stone on the cliff above as I waded out into the sea beyond the black and green rock-pools to retrieve the Frisbee the dog refused to fetch. I remember thinking the stone must have moved nearer the cliff edge because it hadn’t been visible the previous summer. ‘Hangman’s Stone’, as it is known locally, has a curious story attached to it: more than a hundred years ago, a man from Saltdean stole a sheep, which he controlled with a rope around its neck. He tried to lead it but it grew fractious, so he hoisted the sheep onto his shoulders and carried it. When he reached the stone he stopped to rest and began to lower the sheep from his back, but it struggled and slid off the stone, drawing the rope tightly across the sheep-stealer’s throat. He was found dead on the cliff top next morning but the sheep was still alive, tethered by the rope to the ‘hanged’ man. I’m not sure now why I looked up to the cliff top - whether some movement caught my eye or a vague premonition caused a stirring of unease. Perhaps I simply imagine this now with hindsight. I could see a group of teenagers cooking on their portable barbeque in a small sheltered cove. A fluorescent yellow kite, tied to a half-submerged, rusty sewage outlet pipe, hung forgotten in the blue sky. There was no one else around except for a couple of cyclists turning the point at Ovingdean. It was about 6 o’clock in the evening – teatime - and the tide was returning slowly up the beach. James ran along the shingle with the dog and I climbed the steps to the broad expanse of concrete that snakes along that stretch of coast. My bare legs were brown from the long, hot summer and my toes flecked with grey cement dust. I was admiring my feet when I heard the sound: not loud; a kind of muffled thud. As a matter of fact, it’s that sound I can recall most clearly; can hear again if I close my eyes, but it’s the one thing I can’t describe with words. Anyway, I looked back and just a few yards behind me on the concrete path was a brown bundle. I shaded my eyes, peering up to the cliff top - almost vertical, the white chalk dazzling in the late sun – and down again. Everything stood still, hovering in a timeless place of absolute silence where the heart freezes. Then everything speeded up. I ran toward the bundle, the cyclists who seemed so far away began racing toward me and I shouted to James to stay where he was, on the beach, with the dog. It was a woman, face down, on the concrete. I knelt beside her and
heard words coming from inside the thick, brown hair that flowed down her back and pooled onto the concrete with her blood. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, even though I put my ear as close as possible to her face. I said inadequate things like ‘I’m here’, and ‘You’re not alone’. Later, the Coroner told me the woman would have been unable to speak: what I heard were noises made by the lungs as they expel air during the dying process. I didn’t believe her. I stared in horror as my mind urged, ‘Run away. Run away.’ I was terrified my son would follow me up the steps – my overwhelming desire to protect him struggled against my instinct to remain with the dying woman. I wanted to gather her in my arms but was afraid to touch her. I tried to gently straighten her dress, covering her underwear, shielding her final vulnerability and noticed, with infinite sadness, that she had lost one of her brown t-bar sandals in the fall. I took her hand splayed on the cruel concrete and stroked her back through the rough brown wool of her cardigan, which had seen better days. Gradually her sounds became deeper and more guttural, then ceased altogether. After the inquest, I discovered her name was Hayley and she was 21 years old. Among so many other, more important things I would never know about her, she was a drug addict and it was not the first time she had climbed onto Hangman’s Stone in the belief that if she launched herself off it, she would fly as effortlessly and gracefully as the terns and gulls that nest in the cliff face below. In the days that followed I retreated into myself, drinking copious amounts of wine, learning the Latin names of all the plants in my garden whilst watching them die of neglect. It was as if I had absorbed what I had seen, recording it in every cell of my body. Eventually I found the courage to walk the cliff path again, but was distressed to find I was unsure of the spot. Removed by the Council, Hangman’s Stone lay amongst the groynes and rocky sea defences on the beach, its majesty diminished; chivvied by waves, it will eventually become a pebble, a grain of sand and then nothing. I leaned against the stone, unafraid, while the sea tugged at my legs, the smell of salt and weed rising from the warmed rocks. I left a rose upon it for the tide to take. Even though there are stretches of time when I do not re-live my experience, I can’t help but think, out of that moment on a summer afternoon, the rest of my life took shape. And I believe that nothing truly happens in the past or future, for there is only here and now and all is simply a matter of perspective.
Watching Petals Fall, by Geves Lafosse
The first time I had my heart broken, I walked into a New York stationery outlet and bought myself an A4 spiral-bound notebook, and a strong-nibbed pen. I was backpacking around America – in fact the boy who had just dumped me was the real reason I was here. Page after furious page I scribbled and after each occasion that I wrote I felt calmer, clearer, and ready to board another Greyhound bus. In the years afterwards came a predictable litany of heartbreaks until finally, I met my husband. It was a happy time. We produced baby after baby but then while pregnant with number four, our three-year old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. Juliette died nineteen months later, and all at once no previous pain was relevant. With Steph back at work, I was alone with three young children and a grief I thought would drown me. I started to write again. At naptimes or during nursery mornings I would shut my bedroom door and give in to a stream of anger, pain and a carnal desire to hold my daughter again. I wanted to be where she was. In other words, I wrote what I could never say out loud. Screaming my feelings on paper made possible the pleasantries with other mothers at the school gate. Purged of the most debilitating thoughts, I could still look after my children and not succumb to a paralysing sense of how futile it all was. It allowed me to function. During the madness of those early months I was afraid I would forget Juliette. In my diary I started to jot down memories, desperate little snapshots in which I tried to capture her essence. Each sketch I managed
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to record comforted me, and made my daughter feel less ‘gone.’ After a year, I’d amassed a lot of words. I decided to set out the story of Juliette’s life, so that her siblings would have my memories to add to their own. Arranging the words into some kind of order was a rhythmic task which distracted me from the worst of grief. My writing developed a new purpose. The longer I wrote, the better I could see how far I’d come since we first lost Juliette. The story inadvertently documented how as a family we had survived and how we’d In one session, messages were written found we could be happy again. It had on household objects like tea towels morphed into a hopeful testament and kitchen roll – something which that I wanted to share. Although it proved a challenge to incorporate in was often painful to write, completing the book. Watching Petals Fall was one of the proudest moments of my life. With hindsight, I think I believed that writing Juliette’s story would somehow contain it; I could shelve it, stop grieving and move on. However, a little over a year ago I suffered a breakdown. In the confusion of depression I started writing a blog. Like the words I poured out as a teenager and again after Juliette died, I’ve found the simple act of describing what I feel to be powerfully therapeutic. Drawing emotions from the tangled mess in my head and giving them a name, seems to limit their power to overwhelm me. I understand now what losing my daughter means at this point in my life. A year of introspective writing and looking backwards has given me the strength but above all, the enthusiasm to go forwards.
Different Cultures One World
When I write about myself I am like the ink in an empty cartridge trying to write on flimsy tissue paper. The line is faint, I try my best but it vanishes. Ibtisam Al-Farah (Yemen)
Sheffield is one of many cities around the UK to which refugees are dispersed by the Home Office. Women from countries such as Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Afghanistan and Cameroon find themselves making new lives here in this Yorkshire steel town. The book Different Cultures. One World. Women’s Voices from South Yorkshire came about, ironically, because the funding for the Refugee Women’s Development Project was running out. The women involved – volunteers and asylum seekers from the Northern Refugee Centre – didn’t want the project simply to come to a dead halt. To begin with, the idea was to produce a cook book featuring recipes from all the countries the women represented. But it soon became clear that the abundance of talent within the group deserved a wider chance of expression. The group also recognised the therapeutic value of allowing the women to tell their own stories. The poet and therapist River Wolton was asked to run a series of
creative writing workshops. Twenty women from thirteen countries took part, some coming regularly and some attending perhaps only one workshop. Some needed help to scribe their work; others wrote in their own languages and then were helped with translation. Altogether, they had four months to generate material, edit it and produce the book – something which piled on the pressure, but also gave the project a tremendous energy. The result is achingly beautiful. It mixes poetry and prose from individual writers with group poems, recipes, and blank pages that invite the reader to record their own thoughts. The book was launched in October 2010 as part of Sheffield’s Off the Shelf Literary Festival. Supported by the Ice and Fire Theatre Company, the women gave a live performance of the group poem, Recipe for a Better World for Women:
Ingredients: A happy atmosphere, where women are cooking, singing and writing together 100,000,000 tonnes of love Lots of hugs Happiness without end Sharing 500 drops of friendship 500 cupfuls of family 100 doses of respect 50 kilos of equality 0 kilos of war
Method Mix together hugs and love Fold in friendship Drain off any war and violence against women Grind together respect and equality and add to the mix Switch off what’s happened before in your life and dry off the tears Sprinkle with optimism Add a dash of stress-free Bake in everlasting happiness Blow out the candle and go for it Proceeds from the book, published by CAM Publications, are now funding the Development and Empowerment for Women’s Advancement (DEWA) Project. As Ibtisam Al-Farah puts it, ‘Women’s Voices was born out of the ending of Refugee Women’s Development Project. And in turn Women’s Voices has given birth to DEWA.’ With the ending of almost every other form of funding for their work, the proceeds from the book are a vital lifeline.
If you would like to buy a copy of Women’s Voices, please send a cheque for £9.99 to DEWA Project, c/o NRC, Scotia Works, Leadmill Road, Sheffield, S1 4SE Poems and photograph first appeared in Different Cultures. One World. Women’s Voices from South Yorkshire, published by CAM Yorkshire, 2010. Reproduced here with the kind permission of the Development and Empowerment for Women’s Advancement (DEWA) Project.
‘In the Museum of My Life’ Competition What five objects would you have in the Museum of Your Life? Think about colour, shape, size, sound, texture, smell; who gave them to you, what they are used for and what stories they could tell. Write a poem or piece of short prose and email it to kat@wordswithjam. co.uk. We will share your entries with the DEWA women’s project, and the best entry will win a copy ofMcDiarmid ‘Women’s Voices’. Photograph by NiallStuff 10 | Random
win a copy of Women’s Voices
Book v Television:
A Conversation with Peter Robinson by Gillian Hamer
This issue we speak to a best-selling author who has been fortunate enough to recently see his major character break into the tough world of television’s elite crime detectives. And to follow this issue’s theme of world literature, this writer is a Yorkshire man who bases his novels in the county of his birth, but now lives and works in Toronto, Canada. Peter Robinson’s first novel in the Inspector Banks series (Gallows View) was published in 1987, but it was his twelfth novel of the series (Aftermath, published 2001) that was first dramatized for ITV under the title DCI Banks. So, after numerous literary awards and over two decades experience as a successful crime writer, what are his thoughts on television’s interpretation of his novels?
How were you first approached about the TV adaptation of your DCI Banks novels and what were your initial thoughts/fears? Left Banks took an option on the series after Granada’s expired without result. By this time I’d had twenty years or more of options and was resigned to nothing happening, so I had no real expectations, let alone thoughts or fears. I’d heard it all before. If it happened, fine; if not, par for the course.
You’re a Yorkshire man who uses northern England (the fictional market town Eastvale) as a strong backdrop in the DCI Banks books. How do you think the sense of place comes across on TV compared to your books? It comes across very well, especially in the first full series. Fabian Wagner, Director of Photography for Playing With Fire is terrific. There are some wonderful shots in Aftermath, but not enough of them, and that was something I discussed with the producers. We’re all happy to have more Yorkshire in the series now.
The brilliant Stephen Tompkinson plays DCI Alan Banks in the television series, do you feel his portrayal mirrors the character in your head? Of course not! He’s too tall, for a start. But that doesn’t really matter as I think Stephen is a good enough actor to bring out the character. When critics complained about Aftermath being played out in a narrow emotional range of anger and frustration, they forgot (or simply didn’t know) that it is exactly that way in the book. In other adaptations, Stephen can extend that emotional range and bring out more of Banks’s character, bit by bit, as happens in the series of novels. You can’t just put out a performance of a complete character all at once, especially one who has developed over nearly thirty years. Watch him in Friend of the Devil, for example.
How much of yourself did you write into your lead character, and is it therefore odd watching the role on television? Not much, really, except for the music. And that’s my only real complaint; they don’t put enough of Banks’s music in the series. Still, I don’t suppose the producers want to end up with another Heartbeat or George Gently—or even
Inspector Morse. But I miss the music.
When you watch the TV adaptations, do you see the evolution of the character of DCI Banks that you maintain as a theme throughout the novels? It’s early days yet, but as I have already said, Stephen is bringing out aspects of Banks’s bit by bit.
What do you think are the key points needed to create a successful detective character? I have no idea or I would have done it years ago. Everyone talk about Banks being an ordinary sort of bloke, an everyman figure, which may be why it took so long to get him on the screen. Most other TV detectives are quirky or eccentric.
With ITV1 recently showing the latest mini-series of DCI Banks, how much involvement do you have in the actual TV production? Would your choice be for more or less? I don’t really have any involvement. I do get to see the scripts about a day before shooting and have made one or two minor suggestions that have been heeded. I wouldn’t even presume to comment on the way the writer changes the plots, or the endings, as TV is a different medium from the one I’m used, and it calls for a different approach. There’s far less time to develop a character or a complex plot, for example. I wouldn’t mind having a go at an adaptation at some point in the future, though, or even an original script, but I’d rather leave it to the experts to get DCI Banks on the map first.
How do you feel TV as a medium handles complex plots and storylines in crime fiction such as yours, and what do you consider the pluses and minuses in this regard? It has to simplify, cut and change. The pluses are that you get a sleeker story-line and a faster-pace. The minuses are that some things are not always adequately explained, and there seems to be a need to tamper with the endings more than I feel is necessary, as I have mentioned earlier. I know there are reasons for this, but it still jars sometimes. Obviously, TV can’t afford to spend as long in setting up a denouement as a novel can, but there’s no reason to alter emotional tone so blatantly. One problem is that TV demands closure in a way that books don’t always do, and another is that TV will more often than not go for the more conventional, populist ending.
How close did you hope the TV adaptation would be to your novel – a mirror image or do you prefer some originality? It could never be a mirror image, so I look on it very much as someone else’s realisation of my characters and story, an adaptation with a degree of
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or detracted from the story?
originality.
Do you feel your writing has changed at all since your novels were turned into TV adaptations? i.e. do you write with one eye on the TV format or do you stick to the same writing principles? No. Oddly enough, when I first heard about the television adaptation I was already working on Before the Poison, which is not a DCI Banks novel. Having got back to writing about Banks now, after seeing a couple of adaptations, I’m very conscious of NOT writing for Stephen, Andrea, Lorraine or Jack, not using the kind of dialogue the screenwriters use—I would never say that a character has been “tasked” with something, for example—and taking my usual time with the unfolding of the plot and ending.
How has your life changed since your books were adapted for television? It hasn’t, really.
Some of your novels have quite graphic content, have there been any major changes made to either character or plotlines? And if so, do you think they have enhanced
Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson Book –v-Television Television: The first scene opens with the murder of a badly scarred, paralysed woman in a wheelchair beneath an electricity pylon on moorland. We see the killer come up behind her and calmly slit the disabled woman’s throat; this visual, graphic imagery sets the scene for the story to come. We also know the killer is a woman. We’re next taken to DCI Banks’ investigation of the murder of a young woman in the back streets of Eastvale. Along with DC Kevin Templeton he questions the man who discovered the body, Joseph Randall, and Jamie Murdoch, the bartender of a nearby public house. The dead girl is identified as Hayley Daniels, and when DS Winsome contacts her family, she finds more complications when the father is at a hotel with his mistress. DCI Banks questions Hayley’s flatmates, including Stuart Kinsey, who, it appears, had a major crush on Hayley and is a drug dealer. Banks takes an instant dislike to one of Hayley’s tutors, Malcolm Austin, and isn’t surprised when he later confirms that he’d been in a relationship with the victim. DI Cabbot is left to investigate the murder on the moor and traces the victim to a nearby care home. An unknown woman had taken her out on a day trip, and when Cabbot fails to find any information about Karen Drew, she begins to think that the dead woman’s identity may
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I think the TV series is far more graphic and occasionally gruesome than the novels. I don’t shy away from describing the results of violence, but apart from the opening of Aftermath you rarely see the violence happening on the page. Again, it’s another thing that TV does, perhaps because it can do it, especially with the prosthetic and CGI elements available these days.
Are there any other books to screen adaptations you particularly rate? And if so, why? I always enjoyed Inspector Morse, though many of the TV episodes were original scripts. It was never afraid to be an intelligent series. I think Agatha Christie stands the test of time well in her TV adaptations, as does Sherlock Holmes, perhaps because characters such as Hercule Poirot and Holmes have great iconic value, and if you get the right actor, the rest should be easy. In some ways, though, I prefer original series rather than adaptations—things such as The Wire, Waking the Dead and The Killing. I mean, if there’s a book, and I want to read it, I read it. That’s why it always struck me as odd over the years that so many readers were anxious for a DCI Banks TV series. It’s as if being done on TV is somehow the final accolade, the crowning glory. Of course, now that it is being done, it’s not exactly what they all had in mind, so they complain. What’s wrong with the books?
lead to clues about her murder. And she’s right. The solicitor in charge of Karen reveals that her real identity was Lucy Payne, a convicted serial killer who had been disfigured and paralysed during an attack while in prison. During the post mortem of Bank’s victim, Hayley Daniels, we are introduced to Dr Elizabeth Wareing. Wareing becomes involved in the case team, and gets close to Banks while advising him about killer’s motivations. Annie Cabbot is less impressed with the pathologist’s views. The whole team are in shock when DS Templeton is murdered in the Maze, apparently while patrolling the area off duty. And it takes all of Bank’s resolve not to lose his temper when Joseph Randall, the man who found Hayley’s body, admits that he did move her and tamper with evidence. At Templeton’s post mortem, Wareing realises her mistake, and decides to damage the neck wound so that it differs from Lucy Payne’s murder. And this is her fatal flaw. Annie Cabbot notices the difference when comparing crime scene and post mortem photographs of Templeton’s body. Back in Eastvale, Banks uncovers information about the pub manager, Jamie Murdoch and how he controls his staff to bring in duty-free booze and cigarettes from Europe. Banks starts to wonder where he stores the goods, and realises there could be another exit from the pub not covered by CCTV. When he sets up a mock raid, Murdoch attempts to escape through the concealed exit, and confesses to Hayley’s murder when captured. Annie Cabbot decides to confront the pathologist about the differing knife wounds, and at the same time, background information comes into the station about a victim of Lucy
Payne’s who survived. Putting two and two together, Banks links the medical background to Wareing at the same time and heads to the pathology department. In an emotional exchange between Cabbot and Wareing, when the pathologist realises Annie is herself a rape victim, she admits to the murders. But when Banks appears, she grabs a scalpel and slits her own throat, dying in Cabbot’s arms.
Novel: The novel opens with a visual scene of a disabled woman in a wheelchair, staring out to sea from a cliff edge while seagulls swoop and squawk around her. A dog-walker discovers the woman a short time later, and realises that her throat has been cut. DCI Banks investigates the rape and murder of a young woman in a shop storeroom in the Maze; a labyrinth of alleyways near the centre of Eastvale. There is an immediate discrepancy with the time of discovery reported by shop owner, Timothy Randall, and the time he was seen entering the Maze. Meanwhile, on secondment to Whitby, DI Annie Cabbot heads up the murder of the disabled woman on
Would you like to move one day into film directing? Are we ever likely to see DCI Banks as a Hollywood blockbuster? Or would you like to write something specifically for this medium? No, I think if Hollywood happened, it would be something different, like Before the Poison. I’d like to have a go at adapting that for the big screen—an epic blockbuster! It would be a real challenge.
Do you think it’s helpful for a writer to have one eye on television or film versions of their stories when creating a setting or character – or should they focus solely on the novel format?
publishers? Well, don’t write about an everyman character, for a start! Give your character all kinds of weird tics and mannerisms that an actor can really go to town on. Perhaps a character raised by wolves in the Black Forest who also happens to have a genius level IQ, six fingers on his left hand and a beautiful, bald sidekick with a lot of facial piercing.
You published poetry before moving into the crime genre, what, if anything, do you think this background has added to your writing? An appreciation of the sense of place and a certain liking for descriptive writing.
It’s up to the writer, really. To be honest, writing the novel gives me more than enough to cope with.
Finally, as an aside, for any up and coming writers who subscribe to Words With Jam, do you have any advice or words of wisdom you’d like to pass on?
If you were creating a brand new series or storyline today, what would be the key checklist of ingredients to ensure the book was snapped up by agents and
Sit down and write. I’ve taught a lot of creative writing courses, and, quite frankly, lack of talent isn’t the main reason most people don’t get published; it’s laziness. Writers write. So many people want to be writers, but they don’t actually want to write.
Lanesborough Head. She gets the call as she wakes up in a stranger’s bed following a night out drinking with colleagues – and Eric, who turns out to be half her age – becomes an increasing pest throughout her time in Whitby. Cabbot traces the victim to a nearby care home, and via the staff and a social worker, discovers that the woman was actually Lucy Payne, a convicted serial killer who’d been paralysed in a drink-drive accident. DCI Banks continues to investigate the murder of Hayley Daniels, and soon builds up a list of suspects: Timothy Randall, who found the body; Malcolm Austin, a tutor who was also having an illicit affair with his student; Stuart Kinsey, a friend of Hayley’s who’d been rejected by her; and Jamie Murdoch, the manager of the local pub who’d had a row with Hayley on the evening of her death. When a semen stain is found by SOCO, and the DNA is identified as a match with Randall, the case seems close to conclusion. Randall is charged, but not before Hayley’s father – eaten up with guilt as he was bedding his mistress while his daughter was being killed – attacks Randall when he becomes aware the shop-keeper is a suspect. Randall maintains his innocence, even after he’s charged – and when a neighbour comes forward with a solid alibi, Banks has to choice but to release him. But not before making the man confess that he had moved the body and tampered with evidence. Meanwhile, a second girl is attacked in the Maze, and Banks is called to the crime scene. The girl is unhurt, her would-be attacker had his throat slit in front of her, but no one is prepared for the identity of the dead man – one of Banks’ team, DS Kevin Templeton. After searching his flat, Banks realises that Templeton had set up a one man vigil around
the Maze, when the team dismissed his serial killer theory. Cabbot continues to struggle with personal issues, including a drunken pass at DCI Banks, while still working on the Payne’s previous victims. At Templeton’s wake she meets with pathologist, Dr Elizabeth Wareing who has been in charge of both post mortems. They discuss different knife wounds, and agree to meet at the mortuary the next day to discuss Annie’s theories in more detail. Banks, who has an affair of his own to work round, strikes lucky on the Daniel’s case when a snippet of music reported by several witnesses becomes clear. He confronts Jamie Murdoch about alleged smuggling, and arranges for the bar manager’s phone to be called at the same moment. The same track begins to play as a downloaded ringtone. Murdoch is charged with Hayley Daniel’s murder when they find a secret room and exit from the pub into the Maze not covered by CCTV. Cabbot heads to her meeting with the pathologist, and at the same time Banks finds a tenuous link between an associate of Lucy Payne’s and Dr Wareing. Sensing a problem, he heads to the mortuary – but he is too late. During an emotional scene between Cabbot and Dr Wareing, the pathologist admits she was the survivor of the Payne’s vicious attack, and that once she’d discovered Lucy Payne’s new identity, had no choice but to kill her. After also confessing to Templeton’s murder, Wareing slit her own throat.
Result: Although the graphic images and visual scenery worked as a superb accompaniment
to the story, I found that so many of the layers that made the novel gripping had been condensed that, for me, the storyline became weakened. There was no mention of the tangled private life of either Cabbot or Banks in the television adaptation, which failed to make the end revelation half as emotional as it should have been. The characters felt to be a lot more two dimensional; there was no feeling of intimacy or history between them, and this too affected the balance for me. I also found some of the links rather tenuous in the television adaptation. For example, Cabbot was led to Elizabeth Wareing via the altered neck wound on the photographs of DS Templeton. But I find it very hard to believe that a professional (even with the mind set of an avenging serial killer) would make that kind of error. The pathologist would have known the body had been extensively photographed at the crime scene, so any further damage to the wounds would point immediately to her. Also, with the viewer knowing the identity of the killer from the very opening scene in the television version, I found this really detracted from the build of tension as the crimes were solved. Although there was some clever uses of links throughout that could only be used in a visual format, I much preferred solving the cases along with Banks and his team. So, whilst I enjoyed the acting, the graphic imagery and the attention to detail in the television version – for me the depth of both story and characters brought the novel to life on a different level.
So, Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson: Book 1 – Television 0.
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The Well of Lost Libraries by Catriona Troth, the Library Cat
R
eading the reports from the library campaign these past few paint over the posters were told they were ‘pornographic’. (Campaigners weeks, you might be forgiven for thinking you’d slipped through showed them otherwise, and the workmen left.) the cracks into a world penned by Jasper Fforde – where writers Kensal Rise campaigners kept up their twenty-four hour vigil for five are heroes and books the stuff of intrigue and high drama. days, with neighbours providing blankets and hot food, and ‘white vans As campaigners left for the Royal Courts of Justice, on the morning circling the library like sharks’. Then, with what one lawyer described that the decision was due in the judicial hearing into the closure of six of as ‘quite remarkable’ speed, an appeal was granted (to be heard on Brent’s twelve libraries, a sign was displayed in the windows of all twelve. November 10th and 11th) along with a further injunction preventing the council from removing any further material from the six closed libraries. It read, ‘Closed at 2pm for staff consultation.’ By the time word was out that the decision had gone against the At Kensal Rise, campaigners are now running a ‘pop-up’ library outside campaign, the sign at Kensal Rise Library had changed to ‘Closed until the locked building, open seven days a week from 9-5. Volunteers work further notice’. Within an hour, workmen were spotted measuring the in two hour shifts to keep it going. As part of the deal to keep Brent windows. Text messages flew round and a group of campaigners went to council off their backs, they are paying the challenge them. Yes, they admitted, they costs of a security guard that none of them were preparing to board up the library. has ever seen. As the workmen left to pick up Brent’s claim that, even with all six threatened libraries As I approach, I can see the library materials, the campaigners rushed to closed every resident will still be no further than 1.5 building festooned with banners reading: put up notices in the local primary miles from a library has recently been called into ‘Let Us Run Our Library’. Boxes of and nursery schools. By the time question. But perhaps the deepest irony is that Willesden books donated by well-wishers line the the workmen returned at 4pm, the Green, Brent’s much vaunted flagship library is shortly wall, protected from the elements with site was surrounded by children and to be closed for two years for a major renovation. When tarpaulins. They’ve been lucky up till their parents, brandishing placards campaigners suggested that the library could relocate to now; the weather in October has been and chanting ‘We Love To Read’. The Kensal Rise for the duration, they were told it was too far unseasonably warm and dry. It can only get workman, wise enough to recognise a for people to travel. harder from here on in. bad publicity move when they saw one, They’re in the process of building a retreated to consult with the Council. wooden frame that will contain a rack Brent Council promised to do of around 30 boxes of books. It straddles the low wall that skirts the nothing more that day. But, wisely as it turned out, the campaigners building and will provide some measure of shelter for books and decided that two people should sleep on site. Six o’clock the following volunteers. I imagine it’s a risk – the council could decide this constitutes morning, the workmen returned, but were once again persuaded to back trespass. But they haven’t got this far without taking a few risks. off. Despite the cold and drizzle, in the short time that I am there, people Others amongst Brent’s threatened libraries weren’t so lucky. At are coming and going all the time. A nurse stops by for a chat. She lives Cricklewood Library, workmen began removing books and equipment. round the corner. “I have no internet at home. This is where I always Preston Library had wooden hoardings erected round it. When used to come,” she says. A woman from another part of Brent arrives protestors turned the hoardings into a ‘wall of shame’, workmen sent to
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with a boxful of books to donate and volunteers to do a shift outside as duty librarian. Another comes to ask about the date for the appeal hearing. If the appeal succeeds, then the council will be forced to redo its consultation. If it fails, then campaigners will open negotiations with All Souls College, Oxford, who hold the covenant. If the building ceases to be used as a library, then it reverts to the college, and the college may well wish to sell it to realise its value. But the campaigners hope they will be allowed to take on the library themselves. As Rachael Newberry of the Kensal Rise Campaign said to me, “Where else can you go that’s free and quiet and available for everybody? Is there any other place like that? I don’t think there is.”
The War Against Stupid Not all campaigners are so keen on local communities taking over their libraries. At the Library Campaign Conference on 22nd October, half of those attending believed that volunteers should not run libraries at any price, because of the danger that councils will use their example as an excuse to off-load library services and make paid staff redundant. There was agreement, though, that forcing volunteers to run libraries is unfair, particularly in deprived areas that don’t have the same resources available as in prosperous areas. There is a danger, too, that even successful volunteer groups will face burn out after the initial enthusiasm, and that councils will then blame the volunteers for the failure of their libraries. York Gardens Library in Wandsworth could be a case in point. On 1st November it was reopened by volunteers after a failed campaign to keep the council running it. In the most deprived ward in Wandsworth, the community must find and retain 12-16 volunteers and raise £70k (far more than the £5k they have had from ‘Big Society’ funds) to keep it going. What happens over the next few months in York Gardens may be a barometer for the whole country. Meanwhile, the first of Buckinghamshire’s new wave of volunteerrun libraries opened in October at Farnham Common, with possibly as many as 13 more to follow over the next year. Elsewhere in the country, Suffolk County Council has proposed setting up a charitable trust to run its libraries, with no closures but a reduction in staff and in mobile library services. The Public Libraries News blog has talked about a ‘hollowing out’ of library services: “less bookfund, less hours, less staff, self-service or that ultimate in do-it-yourself, blackmailing volunteers to run the library itself (while still charging them for it, naturally”). This view seems to be born out by the latest CIPFA statistics. (See box on right.) Philip Pullman calls all this ‘the war against stupid’. In a powerful closing speech given at the Conference, he set the library campaign in the context of larger global crises and said, “when we look at it objectively, what must occur to us is—how stupid. What a stupid way of running a country. What a stupid way to treat our children. What a stupid way to look after the only planet we’ve got, what a stupid way to look after a pearl of great price like a library service.” You can read the full text of his speech at http://www.thebookseller. com/blogs/consider-context.html Thanks also to the Public Library News blog for publishing their detailed notes of the Library Campaign Conference. They can be found at: http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2011/10/library-campaignconference-latest.html
Starbooks Occupation Library If you need a demonstration of how important a library is to the creation of a community, you need look no further than Occupy London’s tent city outside St Pauls. There, protestors have set up the Starbooks Occupation Library, housed under the same canvas as the Tent City University, which runs lectures, music gigs and poetry readings. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming and the selection of books is eclectic. “No porn and no Barbara Cartland,” the middle aged man in charge tells me cheerfully. “Apart from that we’ll take anything.”
The library operates strictly on an honour system. Those who borrow books are trusted to either return them or replace them. Or for a small donation, you can buy a book. While I’m there a teacher makes a donation for an old copy of Teach Yourself Speaking and Debating. “I work with a group of young boys,” she says. “This is just the sort of thing I need to help build their confidence.” The three books I registered that morning on Bookcrossing have been left at Kensal Rise and I have nothing to give. So I drop some money in the box and take a copy of John O’Farrell’s The Best A Man Can Get. But I’ll be back. I can imagine that a book set free here could end up having quite a tale to tell.
DON’T FORGET: 4th February 2012 is National Libraries Day. We’ll be letting you know about events and campaigns via our blog. Getting what you pay for? CIPFA statistics for library use in England and Wales in 2010/11 show that, compared with 2009/10, 33 libraries have closed, budgets have been cut by 5%, books bought by more than 7% and paid staff by 4.3%. Meantime, the number of volunteers has gone up by 22.3%. There are now 23,681 paid staff and 21,462 volunteers working in the library system. At first glance, this would appear to suggest that almost half of all library staff are now volunteers. However, that’s probably misleading, as the figure for paid staff is measured as ‘full time equivalents’, whereas the number for volunteers probably counts individuals. With this background, it is sad but perhaps not surprising to learn that library visits are down by 2% and adult library loans by 4%. Two faint areas of optimism remain. Loans of children’s fiction continue to grow, though at a much slower rate than in previous years. And Wales is bucking the trend, with a 1% increase in visits and an 8% increase in active borrowers. (For more information see: http://www.readingagency.org.uk/media/libraries/.) Meanwhile in Scotland, where funding has remained constant, library usage has increased slightly over the past year. For the sixth year in a row, Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library remains the busiest in England and Wales. As the Public Libraries News blog points out, this might have something to do with their opening hours. (The main library is open five days a week from 9 am to 8 pm, plus 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. And the ‘express’ library is open six days a week from 9 am to 8 pm, plus 10:30 am to 4:30 pm on Sundays.) Perhaps it’s a case of, “Open your doors and they will come.”
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Paulo Coelho an exclusive interview with JJ Marsh Your books concern ordinary people, individuals who do or experience something extraordinary. How do you feel about the culture of celebrity? There are two questions in one. As for the first part: everybody may experience the extraordinary at any given moment in life – if he or she knows where to go, and it paying attention to what is happening. St John illustrates the most frustrating facet of the human condition: our persistent desire for that which is unattainable that we carry in our soul. But the fact that you know your dreams is not enough. You have to think how to manifest your dreams and be brave enough to pay the price of it. You have to learn how to own your mistakes; otherwise your mistakes own you. I think that the only advice that I can give is this: nurture
The meditations on the Seven Deadly Sins, to accompany The Witch of Portobello, references many different faiths and moral systems. How much can we learn from an open mind towards other beliefs? People who accept that God is more than rules and commandments, and try to dwell into the adoration of beauty and passion, this feminine energy, are called “witches”. But in fact, this is a person that is capable of letting intuition take hold of his/her actions, who communes with the environment, who isn’t afraid of facing challenges. Recently I was reading Karen Armstrong’s book on the Prophet (Muhammad, Harper Collins), and there is a part that she mentions: “each recitation began with the
You have to think how to manifest your dreams and be brave enough to pay the price of it. You have to learn how to own your mistakes; otherwise your mistakes own you. intuition instead of seeking for literary rules. Tell a story instead of trying to impress your peers with style and grammatical exercises. It’s more important to keep on questioning than to find answers. As for the second part of your question: I wrote an entire book about the culture of celebrity (The Winner Stands Alone). But if I have to summarize it, I would say: the trap of celebrity is when you start behaving that you are what people think you are. From this moment on, you are lost
How far do your experiences as a songwriter influence your writing?
invocation: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate (alRahman), and the Merciful (al-Rahim)…the divine names Al-Rahman and al-Rahim are not only grammatically feminine, but related etymologically to the word for womb.” I am not an expert in Arabic etymology, but I believe that Mrs. Armstrong is. The Witch of Portobello explores this Compassion and this Mercy, as I see from my perspective. I felt the need to question why society had tried to lock away the feminine side. The character of Athena, with her freedom and courage, was my way to tackle this subject and to unveil the shackles of dogma.
By writing lyrics to songs, I learned how to be direct without being superficial.
I think, that despite all the fanaticisms, we are seeing the beginning of an era where feminine values, such as generosity and tolerance, are surfacing again.
Someone recently told me that Veronika Decides To Die should be compulsory reading for all teenagers. Do you agree?
Which, in your view, is the worst of the Deadly Sins? Why?
No. The message in Veronika Decides To Die is that: dare to be different. You are unique, and you have to accept you as you are, instead of trying to repeat other people’s destinies or patterns. Insanity is to behave like someone that you are not. Normality is the capacity to express your feelings. From the moment that you don’t fear to share your heart, you are a free person. You can speak the truth. And this is the beauty of truth: whether it is bad or good, it is liberating. However, this must be a choice, and the book (either Veronika or any other book on this subject) must reach the reader when he/she is ready to face the challenges that come with freedom.
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Envy. I don’t think I need to elaborate.
Most writers try to protect their work being distributed for free. But I was delighted to discover you actively sought to share files with your readers via the Internet. Why? In the former Soviet Union, in the late 1950s and 60s, many books that questioned the political system began to be circulated privately in mimeographed form. Their authors never earned a penny in royalties. On the contrary, they were persecuted, denounced in the official press, and sent into exile in the notorious Siberian gulags. Yet still
About Paulo Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1947, Paulo Coelho chose his career early. As a teenager, he decided he would become a writer. And he did. But it took a while. Escaping a mental institution three times after being committed by his parents, dropping out of law school and becoming a travelling hippie, gaining respect as a songwriter, and being arrested and tortured by the military regime all came first. He was forty years old when he experienced an epiphany on the Santiago de Compostela Trail, which led to his book, The Pilgrimage. The following year, 1988, he wrote The Alchemist, which has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 71 languages. He has published 29 books, including The Devil and Miss Prym, Veronika Decides to Die, and Eleven Minutes, and sold over 100 millions copies of his work. His latest, Aleph, came out in English in September this year. Paulo is an outspoken activist for peace and social justice, and also supports the free distribution of his work. He and his wife Christina split their time between Rio de Janeiro, and France.
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Paulo Coelho - in his readers’ words ... He relates to real life and to journeys. He relates to people ~ Eleven Minutes is a powerful and beautiful work. I felt the author understood me ~ He
sends you on a journey to (re-)discover a certain facet of life. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he doesn't. But when he touches you, he does so deeply
You can align your own existence to his characters ~ His books are happy books. They’re easy to
~
read but take much, much longer to think about ~ He speaks to people, he’s trying to answer some questions. He’s not place specific, so it’s applicable to all of us ~ His work is for thinkers. He makes you thoughtful ~ You can read his work at different times
His work makes you rethink things, refocus on your aims and gives you confidence ~ It’s open
of your life and get different things from it ~
to whatever you want it to be and I think that’s the global appeal of it. It means one thing to one person and something very different to another ~ I
can talk about him to everyone. Older people, teenagers, my Mum and the bloke in the bookshop. Everyone likes to share Paulo ~ I always find a point in his books where I
stop and say, that’s a really good point ~ If you have an open mind and are willing to believe in strange things, you’ll enjoy it ~ He’s a guide for the journey of life ~ I like all the characters and I want them to get where they want to go ~ I’m not spiritual or religious, but I got something important out of The Alchemist
He lifts me and gives me hope 18 | Random Stuff
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they continued to write. Why? Because they needed to share what they were feeling. From the Gospels to political manifestos, literature has allowed ideas to travel and even to change the world. I have nothing against people earning money from their books; that’s how I make my living. But look at what’s happening now: the publishing industry is trying to have laws brought in against ‘intellectual piracy’. Depending on the country, the ‘pirate’ – that is, the person disseminating art on the Internet – could end up in jail. And how do I feel about this? As an author, I should be defending ‘intellectual property’, but I’m not. In 1999, when I was first published in Russia (with a print-run of 3,000), the country was suffering a severe paper shortage. By chance, I discovered a ‘pirate’ edition of The Alchemist and posted it on my web page. A year later, when the crisis was resolved, I sold 10,000 copies of the print edition. By 2002, I had sold a million copies in Russia, and I have now sold 12 million. When I travelled across Russia by train, I met several people who told me that they had first discovered my work through the ‘pirated’ edition I posted on my website. Nowadays, I run a ‘Pirate Coelho’ website, giving links to any books of mine that are available on file-sharing sites. And my sales continue to grow – nearly 140 million. When you’ve eaten an orange, you have to go back to the shop to buy another. In that case, it makes sense to pay on the spot. With an object of art, you’re not buying paper, ink, paintbrush, canvas or musical notes, but the idea born out of a combination of those products. ‘Pirating’ can act as an introduction to an artist’s work. If you like his or her idea, then you will want to have it in your house; a good idea doesn’t need protection.
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As a representative of the UN, involved with UNESCO campaigns including combatting violence against woman, a supporter of Amnesty International and the founder of your own Paulo Coelho Institute, do you see yourself as a political person? One of the few bridges left intact today is the cultural one, and at the moment nobody is capable of understanding each other because there are a lot of prejudices going on around the world. When people talk about the clashes of civilizations, I think it is just an invention of the media. I don’t think there are any clashes. I may not understand the political system or economics, but I understand things through stories. And by extension, every artist is a political person. As for the Paulo Coelho Institute: the social situation here in Brazil is complicated; the disparity between the rich and the poor is very big. The Brazilian government is powerless with regard to the social situation of Brazil. But I have to resist the temptation to name those responsible for it and apportion blame solely on our government. Politicians are concerned mostly only about special things and lose sight of their real tasks, especially their election promises. As a Brazilian, I am also responsible for the situation in my country. That’s why I try to support children in Rio de Janeiro with my Paulo Coelho Foundation. I cannot change or improve Brazil, but I can help the people in my surroundings.
You’re often quoted as saying you write with only one reader in mind – yourself. In Aleph, you take the reader with you on a very personal journey. How did that affect the
writing of this book? Writing is magic. Pure magic. A powerful moment, when I look into my soul, even if it’s only for ten seconds, and I can have a glimpse of my dark and bright sides Thoughts vibrate, thoughts transfer to my fingers. I never in my life had this blank screen syndrome. All I need to do is to get rid of the notion of time. And this is the central idea of Aleph. While writing it, I was describing an experience that took place four years ago, and understanding it for the first time. When I finished and published the book, the reader could understand that this magic may be manifested in anything we do in life.
What would be your English translation of the word saudades? Portuguese speaking people used to be proud that this word has no translation. But I believe it has. It can be “to long for”, or in a specific case, to be “home sick”, etc. And to make it simpler, I would say: “to miss (something or someone)”.
Interviews often show more of the interviewer than the interviewee. What question(s) would you want to ask our readers, all of whom are writers? Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public. Are you taking off your clothes?
Writer’s ABC Checklist Workshops BOOK COVER CREATION AND TYPESETTING
Writing Magazine columnist, Lorraine Mace and co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist, Maureen Vincent-Northam, will be leading a weekend workshop at the beautiful Baskerville Hall Hotel near the book town of Hay on Wye this spring. Arthur Conan Doyle was a regular visitor to Baskerville Hall and, although the final story was set in Devon, the idea for one of his best-loved works, The Hound of the Baskervilles, was born after hearing of the local legend. Cracking the County Magazine Market covers: analysing your market, finding unique ideas to fit your county, interviewing subjects, quotes and how to use them, the value of photographs, creating an arresting outline and writing a winning query letter. That Elusive Flash of Success covers: the art of condensing a complete story into 500 words, tantalising titles, attention grabbing opening paragraphs, effective use of dialogue, characters to believe in, tiny touches to bring settings to life, satisfying endings and originality — old themes given a unique slant.
www.jdsmith-design.co.uk
Verulam Writers’ Circle in association with the University of Hertfordshire Presents
Saturday 11th February 2012 at the De Havilland Campus, Hatfield, Hertfordshire Just a few of our guests will include: Adrian Chamberlin (Horror), Adrian Magson (Crime), Barry Cunningham (Editor, The Chicken House), David Headley (Literary Agent), David Lindo (Wildlife writer), Donna Condon (Commissioning Editor, Piatkus), Julie Mayhew (Radio Drama), Kate Nash (Literary Agent), Marlene Johnson, (Managing Director, Hachette Children’s Fiction), Philippa Pride (Editor), plus many, many more. (See website for full details of our 28 guests)
Competitions Entrance into the Get Writing short story competition could win you a £50 prize, plus a Cornerstones Literary Consultancy critique and the Young Writers Medal (18 to 25 yrs) will be awarded to the highest placed young writer in the competition. Twitter fans can enter the Get Writing Twitfic competition - Tweet entries to @getwriting2012 on the day using the #GW12 tag. Entry open to all. All winners will be published on the National Short Story Week website. Waterstones will also be with us all day, so you will be able to get books signed and chat with the authors. Don’t miss a day packed with not to be missed networking opportunities and inspiration galore - all guaranteed to help you Get Writing.
To book, visit http://www.vwc.org.uk/getwriting2012.php. And keep up with the event on Facebook and Twitter.
The workshops will be held on Saturday 19 May 2012 with an overnight stay for attendees at the historic hotel. Places on the course are limited. The cost is £135 per person, which includes both workshops, hotel accommodation and meals.
Website: http://writersabcworkshops.lorrainemace.com/
A great Christmas stocking filler for the romantically inclined, grown-up, thinking women in your life ... Change of Life, by Anne Stormont. A tale of life. A poignant mix of sadness, hope and love. Be careful what you wish for… Wife to Tom and mother to four adolescent children, Rosie feels taken for granted as she juggles family life and her work as a teacher. She longs for a change. When she hits a teenage boy with her car, her life veers into unpredictable and uncharted territory. The boy is Robbie - and Rosie discovers he is part of a terrible secret that Tom has kept from her for seventeen years. Then Rosie is diagnosed with breast cancer. Rosie leaves home and begins the fight for her life. Meanwhile heart surgeon, Tom, learns what it means to be a husband and father. He struggles to keep his family together and strives to get his wife back. ‘A good convincing voice that had me identifying with the characters from the outset.’ David Wishart, Novelist ‘It’s a real emotional roller-coaster of a read. I was completely involved in the characters and their lives.’ Romantic Novelists’ Association. Also available as paperback at £7.99 from all good bookshops and online (Find Anne at http://annestormont.wordpress.com)
60 Second Interviews with JJ Marsh
Each month, we persuade, tempt and coerce (or bully, harass and blackmail) two writers into spilling the contents of their shelves. Twelve questions on books and writing. Plus the Joker – a wild thirteenth card which can reveal so much. Be honest, what do you put on YOUR chips? Your intrepid reporter, Jill
Andy McDermott Which was your favourite childhood book?
As a movie buff, would you ever write a screenplay?
Depending on which part of my childhood, either Half Magic by Edward Eager or Alistair MacLean’s Where Eagles Dare.
Given the chance, absolutely. It’s also been a lifelong ambition of mine to write a Doctor Who story, so if Steven Moffat is reading this, get in touch!
Where do you write?
What are you working on at the moment?
Until earlier this year, on my living room sofa! Now that I’ve bought a house I finally have a separate writing room, which feels like an incredible luxury.
The research and planning for the ninth Wilde/Chase novel. I’d thought about giving Nina and Eddie a holiday, but my publishers waved large sums of money at me, so ...
Who was the biggest influence on your writing life?
Who is your favourite cartoon character?
Isaac Asimov, Alistair MacLean and Craig Thomas.
Many of your books involve ancient mysteries – how long do you spend researching before you begin to write? A few months; generally I start researching the next book while I’m editing the previous one.
Which book should every child read? Finn Family Moomintroll. About Andy
Andy McDermott is the international bestselling author of the Nina Wilde/Eddie Chase series of adventure thrillers, the first of which, The Hunt for Atlantis, became a New York Times bestseller in September 2009. He is currently working on the ninth novel in the series. Born in Halifax, England, and a graduate of Keele University, Andy now lives in Bournemouth, where he works as a full-time writer. Previously, he was a journalist and editor of such magazines as DVD Review and the iconoclastic film publication Hotdog, where his lifelong love of movies (and vast knowledge of movie trivia) finally became a useful job skill. He has also worked as a cartoonist, graphic designer and videogame reviewer, and written for the award-winning British sci-fi comic 2000AD. When not writing, Andy enjoys watching movies (no surprise there) and Formula 1, and relaxing in the evenings with more glasses of wine than are probably good for him. http://www.andy-mcdermott.com
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Do you have a word or phrase that you most overuse? In my earlier books, so-and-so “rolled his/her eyes”. After someone pointed this out, I tried to stop using it!
Is there a book you were supposed to love but didn’t? I won’t name names, but the latest novel from a bigname US author in my genre cured my insomnia with its endless historical info-dumps, dull political arguments and unenthusiastic, perfunctory action ...
After eight Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase adventures, how do you keep your characters fresh? By finding new things for them to argue about!
Which book or writer deserves to be better known? The late Craig Thomas, creator of the technothriller genre. Tom Clan-who?
E-books – nemesis or genesis? I have to admit that I’ve never bought an ebook - I’d rather have the real thing. Ebooks feel rather ephemeral. But they’re here to stay, so despite usually being a gadget freak I guess I’m a bit of a Luddite in this respect.
The cast of Futurama.
Nick Taussig Which childhood book affected you most? Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I was unaware of the author’s call to faith, but was inspired by Jonathan the seagull who pursued his dreams with passion and vigour, in spite of the scepticism of those around him.
About Nick Nick Taussig is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Love and Mayhem, Don Don, and Gorilla Guerrilla. He has just completed his fourth, The Distinguished Assassin. Love and Mayhem was described by Alain de Botton as “full of insight and genuine innovation in form and content…capturing brilliantly all the nuances of passion.” Matt Munday of The Sunday Times referred to Don Don as “a great book.” While Gorilla Guerrilla, according to Natasha Harding of The Sun, is a “thoughtprovoking tale…beautifully told.” He also heads up Gunslinger, Revolver Entertainment’s production arm. His second novel, Don Don, is currently being adapted for the screen by the team behind Bronson (Grand Jury Prize Nomination Sundance 2009). Before his career in book and film, Nick studied literature and philosophy at Durham University, where he obtained a First, then went on to acquire a Master’s in Russian literature from the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies. He is also co-founder of The Mtaala Foundation, which creates and supports educational communities for vulnerable children and at-risk youth, including those affected by poverty, war, and HIV/AIDS.
http://nicktaussig.com/home
Your work tackles enormous themes as orphaned African primates, religious and secular changes wrought by finite lives, and the political horrors of being a Russian dissident. Where do these choices originate? A perpetual fascination with Russia, the dark imperium, and a growing conviction that we humans are no more than highly evolved bipedal apes, which incidentally is no bad thing. It frees us of much of the delusion that comes with being human, in particular our relentless selfaggrandisement.
British reading habits can be insular. Which books would you recommend for readers who want to look further afield? Anything Russian, particularly from the latter part of the 19th century. All deal with big themes, and make the majority of Jane Austen seem utterly trivial.
What are you writing at the moment? A re-write of The Distinguished Assassin. Modern publishing is such that what you write has to be one thing or another. It cannot be a bit of this and a bit of that. The genre has to be clear, otherwise publishers cannot sell it.
What’s the best use for a copy of the Daily Mail? Making paper airplanes with. There’s nothing quite like watching that drivel disappear over the horizon.
Who was the biggest influence on your writing life? Non fiction, the philosopher John N. Gray, and fiction, Philip Roth.
Don Don is soon to be adapted for the screen. Do you wholly release your work to another creative perspective, or maintain some artistic control? Release it. They are two wholly different forms. And hell, once I’ve written a work, I have little desire to revisit it.
Do you have a word or phrase that you most overuse? Hell…
Is there a book you were supposed to love but didn’t? The Bible.
How does being a film-maker inform your novel-writing? It encourages me to show not tell in my writing, but also makes me realise how precious novels are: they do not suffer from the time constraints of films.
Which book or writer deserves to be better known? The scientist James Lovelock.
E-books – nemesis or genesis? Genesis. We must keep people reading.
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Third Time’s a Charm Another visit to the Wigtown Book Festival with Danny Gillan Some traditions should have gone the way of Lib Dem credibility years ago. Who really likes Mulled Wine? It’s a hideous brew and should be allowed no part in Festive festivities. Enlightened, 21st Century humanity could probably live without setting off hundreds of barely controlled explosions for hours on end, every bloody night of November, too (dog owner). And don’t get me started on religion. Now and then, though, a new activity justly gains the status of ‘tradition’ and WWJ’s annual trip to The Wigtown Book Festival is one such deserving, if drunken, pursuit. Plus, given that this issue’s theme is World Literature, what better way to celebrate than a Scottish columnist writing about a literary festival in a Scottish town, at which mostly Scottish writers talked about their mainly Scotland-based writing? Scotland is in the world, after all. Okay, a couple of the writers we saw were English, but it was clear they really wished they were Caledonian (for our international readers, England is a small annex of Scotland, just to the south). As is traditional with traditions, we did everything the same as last year and the year before that and the … wait, no, this is only the third time we’ve been. Anyway, same hotel in
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nearby Newton Stewart (tiny telly, tastiest steak and chips anywhere, welcoming staff); same chippy lunch on day one (nothing like fat, salt, carbs and fat to get you ready for the day); same drunken midnight pizza on night two, from the wee shop across from the hotel staffed by the New Yorker who’s lived everywhere on the planet including, apparently, just round the corner from both the Ed and me at various times. (We made one deviation from the norm and got spicy chicken. This was a mistake.) Actually, at this point I’m going to give an entirely unsolicited extra shout-out to The Galloway Arms Hotel, Newton Stewart. Three years in a row we’ve been treated superbly by the staff and owners, fed to a standard that most posh restaurants could only dream of attaining (Best. Nachos. Ever.), and Craig, our more than genial host, looked on us forgivingly and not too patronisingly when the drink took command of our higher functions. He even pretended to remember us from last year. More importantly he sorted us out with a taxi, which is a big deal when you’re in the middle of fucking nowhere at 1am and it’s pissing down. Enough of this catering balderdash. It’s not as if I’d rather be a restaurant critic, or run a wee café or anything. That’s just daft talk. So, books and stuff. Robert Douglas, author of numerous books including Somewhere to Lay my Head; Whose Turn for the Stairs? and his latest, Staying on Past the Terminus, spoke warmly, eloquently and Scottishly about his life and work, and the fact he tried and failed to retire years ago. Luckily he’s lived in England for a fair chunk of his life so the Ed was able to understand him.
Douglas started out writing memoir, with Night song of the last tram: A Glasgow childhood, published in 2006. Previous to that he had a proper job as a prison warden. He spent time with many of the UK’s most notorious criminals, including Ian Brady and the Kray twins. He was one of the ‘deathwatch’ team who sat with Russell Pascoe, the last person to be hanged at HM Prison Bristol, in 1963, a few months before the death penalty was abolished in Britain. This experience prompted Douglas to write his first short story. After reading it, a friend encouraged Douglas to write professionally. A mere forty plus years later, he’s a bestselling author whose chronicles of Glasgow life in the forties, fifties and beyond, both autobiographical and fictional, have been lauded as some of the finest, most accurate and least cynical (and funniest) literature about the era. Glasgow, like most other cities, used to have a tram system. Douglas will give you a thousand reasons why such a service was a huge boon to ordinary, working class people and justly laments its demise in his latest novel, Staying on Past the Terminus. Ask him about the disaster that is the current Edinburgh Tram Project/Fiasco and he will, appropriately, get a bit Glaswegian on you. Full of chips and vigour/vinegar, it was time for the next ‘event’. Being a cynical fool, I didn’t have high hopes for Edwardian Tea with Geraldine McCaughrean. I had two questions: Who is Edward and, being a coffee drinker, why would I want his tea; and, who is Geraldine McCaughrean? Shows what I know. Cucumber sandwiches. I’d heard about them cos of cricket and stuff, but I didn’t really believe in their existence. Certainly never seen one (Scottish). The only thing I know about cucumber is that it uses up more energy to digest than it gives you when you eat it, so what’s the point? Sitting down at a table laden to breaking point with the things wasn’t the most auspicious start to an event. Thank Christ for that sausage supper I had earlier. And then … Yes, I did eat one, but that’s not the point. It’s not about catering! Okay, it was a bit tasty, but no one cares. It was the butter, not the green watery thing in the middle that mattered. Then I saw the cakes. Started thinking this Eddie guy, whoever the hell he was, knew something about culinary pleasure. He may be someone I’d get on with. I looked round the room trying to spot the kitchen, thinking I might have a chat with him, see if he was interested in supplying a small café that may or may not be opening in 2014 or so, depending on the state of the economy. I digress.
Turns out Geraldine McCaughrean is only the person who won the job of writing the official Peter Pan sequel, Peter Pan in Scarlet. She saved the lives of countless children, cos of the hospital thing, or something. Great Ormond Street, I believe. That aside, for it is meaningless, Geraldine spoke for a good twenty minutes as we munched. She was fricking fabulous. Funny, self-deprecating, charming, humble, all the good stuff. Charity can look after itself, I care not a jot. I’d buy Geraldine’s book(s), and support the tremendous work she does, and is done by Great Ormond Street, because she’s funny and it’s a bloody good book. Blaming poor weather, Elaine C Smith hurried in late to discuss her autobiography, Nothing Like A Dame. Ever the professional, she spent the next hour discussing almost
and chips was the perfect end to our first day. Really, it was the several beers after the steak, but you know what I mean. Day two started with us accidentally gatecrashing a live broadcast of Brian Taylor’s Big Debate, the Radio Scotland political panel show (it’s like Question Time but with Scottish people). We were a bit bewildered by it all to be honest – I honestly don’t care about devolution/independence or whatever, I just want to be paid more for doing less - but it turned out Elaine C Smith was on the panel so at least it was funny. We then eventually found, in a leaky tent in the garden of a book shop, a discussion about literary magazines. The Ed and I thought we’d be treated as star guests at that one, given how mega successful WWJ is, but it turned out they meant proper literary magazines like Gutter,
Cucumber sandwiches. I’d heard about them cos of cricket and stuff, but I didn’t really believe in their existence. Certainly never seen one (Scottish). The only thing I know about cucumber is that it uses up more energy to digest than it gives you when you eat it, so what’s the point? Sitting down at a table laden to breaking point with the things wasn’t the most auspicious start to an event. Thank Christ for that sausage supper I had earlier. And then … everything except her book. If you’re Scottish you know who Elaine is. If you’re not Scottish you may not, and you are much the poorer for that. A stalwart of Scottish comedy television and stage, she’s an actress, a comedienne, a singer and a writer who has been making us jocks (I feel it’s time we reclaimed that word) laugh our bahookies off for years in such classics as Naked Video, A Kick Up the Eighties and Rab C Nesbitt. She does panto as well but we won’t talk about that. More recently she starred in the stage version of Calendar Girls and is - hold the front page – being lined up to star in a big screen version of the life of Susan Boyle. I’m only vaguely aware of who Susan Boyle is and intend to keep it that way, but good luck to them anyway. More importantly, Elaine C Smith is hilarious in person. Full of energy and anecdotes, opinions and piss takes (‘Aye, wee Eck’s doing all right I suppose’ was her opinion of Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond). A perfect end to our first day at the festival. Actually the steak
with poetry and stuff, so we kept our heads down. There were seven people at this event, which says more than I care to know about the state of Scottish literature. Julie Myerson is no stranger to controversy. She has controversy round for afternoon tea at least three times a week. In between, they Skype. She got into all sorts of bother a couple of years ago after writing The Lost Child: a True Story, in which she detailed her son’s battle with drug addiction and the extreme (to some) steps she and her husband took to help him. What becomes clear after only a minimum of research (my favourite kind) is that most of the people lobbing pelters at her back then hadn’t even read the book, just jumped on the wagon with the loudest band. In person, Myerson comes across as articulate, self-aware and quietly defiant. Although obviously scarred by the whole furore she has few regrets, and those she does have are rooted in a fierce love of her children and their continued wellbeing and have nothing to do with her own ‘image’. I liked
that. She also writes some seriously mindfucking novels, which I like also. Her latest, Then, is mental, but in a good, if disquieting, way. Our time at the festival was almost at an end but we still found time for A Night in the Gutter, a celebration of music and poetry with free drinks. Guess which of those attracted us most. I am unequipped, both emotionally and linguistically, to comment much on proceedings beyond stating that we witnessed the drunkest poet on the planet give a reading. And yes, he was Scottish. Looking back, I have only two regrets about our time at the festival. The first is that Iain Banks wasn’t there this year, thus destroying what has hitherto been a lynchpin of the whole thing. Write quicker, Banks! How hard can it be to make sure your next book is out by September every year? Get it together, man! The second regret is that, once again, we missed Christopher Brookmyre by a day (pictured above). Every bloody time. It seems I am destined never to see that man in the flesh. Perhaps it’s for the best. Maybe he’s a dick and I wouldn’t like him. As ever, between events we toured the local book shops picking up bargains and marvelling at the shite some people try to sell for cash money. It was a sad indication of current events that two of the eleven shops were holding closing down sales. We pondered this for a while, got all existential, then had a spicy chicken pizza. The heartburn felt appropriate, somehow. Danny’s novels, Scratch and Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and his short story collection, A Selection of Meats and Cheeses, are available on Amazon Kindle and all other good ebook stores now. With Christmas approaching, he asked us to mention that his real name is Tiny Tim, he only has one leg and will most likely be eating a Pot Noodle for his Christmas dinner. We can state categorically that these are lies.
Photographs courtesy of Colin Tennant Photography and The Wigtown Book Festival organisers. Left: An event from the Children’s Festival. Above: Chris Brookmyre.
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The Abyss Procrastinating with Perry Iles
I
’ve been a bit miserable of late. I dunno why; maybe it’s showed. But now here we are, in the runup to the Festive Season with blow-your-brainsout November behind us, and it seems wrong for me to behave like a sad Decembrist when my child is looking at me all bright-eyed and demanding a Nintendo Wii edition of Super-Extreme Mega-Slorta for Christmas.
And the other thing that’s brightened my life is the sudden cessation of dumbing-down in Western Europe. Here in Britain and over in America, we’re all Cowelled up. We have Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent and X-Factor programmes in both countries and all we have on the other channel is Strictly Come Dancing for those of us who aren’t heterosexual. So, over in a parallel universe far far away, it’s good to hear that in the wake of a new EC directive, the European Arts Council has financed Simon Cowell’s company, Syco TV, to come up with Western Europe’s Got Philosophers, a talent show for Mastermind fans which is now showing on ITV at prime viewing hours on a Saturday night. We have some sneak previews from the programme, which has now reached the live “Final Sixteen” shows in the battle to steal the Christmas Number One spot. Here’s a transcript of last week’s contretemps between Cowell and Louis Walsh… Simon Cowell: Yes, Louis, it’s good to see that you’ve got the Existentialists this year, or as I prefer to call it, the Comedy Category. Louis Walsh: That’s all very well for you to say, Simon, but I like to think that my category has the fun factor, and the fun factor is something we all need. SC: Oh, come on, Louis, Kierkegaard’s barely house trained. You ask him to go down the shop for a pint of milk and he’ll come back from the field with a cow and tell you it’s the same thing. And what about the eschatologist you sent back to Poland last week because she came dressed up as Harry Houdini? LW: Well, Simon, I’d like to see Descartes buy a cow in a supermarket. Try telling him the ones in here are small and the ones out there are far away and he’ll blow a brain cell at the idea of bovine duality. And don’t forget I’ve got Jean-Paul Sartre in my category too. He tells me hell is other contestants, and he says that when he’s onstage it’s all being,
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and everything else is nothingness. I’m expecting a hundred and ten percent from the little French guy up on that stage in that final. SC: Sartre’s got no star quality about him. Will people buy his records? Will people listen to his existentialist ranting? You know what he said to me last week, Louis? He said that whenever he goes to sleep, you cease to exist. I said “I wish” and gave him some Mogadon. He doesn’t stand a chance against my René - he’s out there in the rehearsal room 24 – 7. He’s thinking all the time to make sure he is. I’ve never seen such a dedicated philosopher. Tulisa, what do you think? Tulisa Contostavlos: I reckon he’s a great finker, Simon, but I’ve got an ace in my pocket and a hole up my sleeve-card with Heidegger, so you boys had better watch out. ’E’s gonna be summarising Kafka’s Metamorfosees inna free-minute ballid… SC: …no he’s not, he’s just doing a slowed-down cover of La Cucaracha… TC: Maybe so, Simon, but it’s gonna sell like a bugger, innit? It’s got Number One written all over it. Don’t you reckon, Kell? Kelly Rowland: I sure hope it does, Too-lee-sa, I sure hope it does, because this programme just don’t got enough glamour in it. Where’s the girls? Come on Yurp, You gotta have more than Simone da Beaver out there. Shake that booty, ladies, get those brain cells all fired up. Stop thinkin’ ’bout shoes and start getting your heads round a agonal paradigm or two. I wanna see more glamour on that stage next year. Tell us about next week’s special show, Simon. SC: Thanks, Kelly. Next week’s Loungecore do-bedo-be-do existential determinist special has to play to Louis’ strengths. Jean Paul Sinatre sings show tunes. And it’s one for Spinoza, and one more for the road. Tulisa’s ontological empiricists really need to tighten up their act if they want to stay in this competition, eh, Louis? Because Heisenberg reckons that if there’s no such thing as true objectivity, empiricism is irrelevant, and do you know, I think he might have been right. LW: Well you can laugh all you like, Simon, but you’ll be laughing on the other side of your face when Jean-Paul takes this year’s title. But talking about competitions, here’s this show’s big chance for you out there to experience the world of Europe’s great thinkers. What’s the missing word in Freddie Neech’s saying here?
He who fights monsters should see to it that in the process, he does not become a monster. And when you look into the abyss, the … … also looks into you. A) Mirror B) Abyss C) Other contestants
The winner gets a chance to visit Moscow and Beijing in the winter to experience a MarxistLeninist dialectic on the perils of materialism. You’ll be given 10 kopeks spending money and a loaf of three-day-old bread. Calls cost £1 from BT landlines and may cost considerably more from mobile belief-centres run by the imperialist-capitalist running-dogs of westernism. Calls received after time’s relativist bufferzone has expired will not be counted but may still be charged for… That was an excerpt from next week’s Europe’s Got Philosophers semi-final special. Oddson favourite at this stage is all girl group Mrs Slocombe’s Pussy. They were going to be called Schrödinger’s Cat, but on a family show the existence or lack of it as far as Mrs Slocombe’s Pussy is concerned, as well as it’s nature and appearance, is not something that we’ll be allowed to determine, so they’ll be keeping the audience guessing right into the New Year! And throughout Western Europe, advertisers have taken this new format to their hearts. “Empiricists just do it in Nikes”. And McDonalds are playing to their customers’ natural conservatism by citing Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle to tell people to stay where you are and have some more fries with that! “McDonald’s – I’m engaged in an irrational and unrequited emotional fixation with it!” There’s a way to go, but TopShop’s anti-materialist dialectical t-shirt messages (Swallow Bitch Swallow above cartoons of two house-martins either side of a dog) are causing outrage in irony-free zones in the US as the world’s biggest market struggles to adapt to intelligence in advertising. But there’s even more to cheer the world up. Simon Cowell had also revealed a new gameshow for the New Year. Called Extreme Horse Panic, it’s a laugh-a-minute existential duality prime-time special hosted by Ant and Dec and featuring Jedward and a host of other stars… Extreme Horse Panic® - a philosophical gameshow for an unlimited number of humans and the possibility of a horse. How to play: the contestants shut themselves into a closed studio and place the horse onstage in front of a live audience. Then they worry out loud about what the horse is getting up to for a pre-determined period as the viewers at home get a chance to see what the horse is actually doing, in the company of Ant & Dec, helped along in their horseplay by Jedward! Now, within the terms and rules of existentialist philosophy, as long as the contestants remain in their studio out of the
horse’s sight, the horse is both alive and dead to them; there and not there, and its actions are both done and not-done until they win the chance to check by inventing the funniest and most imaginative horse-related scenarios! For the contestants, the horse is a piece of substantive dualism - a type of dualism most famously defended by Rene Descartes, who said that there are two fundamental kinds of substance: mental and material, which will be represented for the viewer by John and Edward! According to Cartesian Dualism, the mental does not have extension in space, and the material cannot think – so Ant and Dec will be perfect hosts! So, if the studio contestants think about their horse, it has no substance, and if it actually exists, it has no control over its mental processes. The horse’s actions are entirely random, so the beauty of this game is that the studio contestants can imagine the horse doing absolutely anything, while the home viewer can actually see what’s going on – that is, if there’s even a horse there at all! Maybe it’s just Ant and Dec and Jedward messing around! The winning contestant’s imaginative postulations will then be acted out by Jedward and special guests – but hey, remember it’s a family show, folks! The point is, of course, that Extreme Horse Panic® can actually be played without using a horse, so you can play along at home, too, even if you don’t have a horse of your own. The viewer at home can eliminate the middle-horse by citing philosophical precedent. In his Essay on Phenomenological Ontology (1943), Jean-Paul Sartre states that the expectation of the horse is enough, and the best laid-out philosophical arguments phoned in from home could win the viewer one of a number of exciting prizes including holidays and cars! On the laugh-a-minute first episode, Ant & Dec will be looking at the horse epiphenominologically, because Descartes has given us Jedward, a duality that needs exploring. The history of epiphenomenology goes back to the post-Cartesian attempt to
solve the riddle of Cartesian Dualism, of how the mental and the substantive might possibly interact, especially if they were Irish twins with really stupid sticky-up hair. The idea that even if the horse were substantive and conscious and there in front of you in the studio, nothing could be added to the production of its behaviour even by Ant & Dec, was first voiced by La Mettrie (1745), and then by Cabanis (1802), and was further explicated by Hodgson (1870) and Huxley(1874). So the shit the horse may or may not do on live television
Slight Bunny Worry®, for Children’s ITV, Vague Terrier Confusion®, for the over-70s on UK Gold and Mega Rhino Terror®, for those gung-ho twats on Discovery who enjoy bungee jumps and white-water rafting and being stung through the heart by fish. And the great thing is that you don’t have to stop with horses, bunnies, or small yappytype dogs. Those of you with imaginations can broaden the notion until it encompasses the whole glorious sweep of panic, guilt, delusion, cruelty and misery that defines the human condition. Suspicious about what the missus is doing when you’re out there working your arse off to keep her in Thornton’s Continental Assortment? Then why not play Increasing Cuckoldry Suspicion®, a postwatershed variation of the programme on Murdoch’s BabeChannel in which you lock your scantily-clad wife into a studio with all the neighbours then watch what they do along with the viewer on hidden cameras! Purists may argue against this, citing the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and the fact that playing the game from the horse’s perspective is like playing Russian Roulette and taking on the role of the bullet – but hey, that’s what modern television is all about. Who is the viewer and who is the viewed? Or as Juvenal once put it, who watches the watchers? Can the viewer tamper with the laws of causality, or will it have dangerous effects vis-à-vis their on-going state of existence?
Extreme Horse Panic® - a philosophical gameshow for an unlimited number of humans and the possibility of a horse. How to play: the contestants shut themselves into a closed studio and place the horse onstage in front of a live audience. Then they worry out loud about what the horse is getting up to for a pre-determined period as the viewers at home get a chance to see what the horse is actually doing, in the company of Ant & Dec, helped along in their horseplay by Jedward! would be both done and not-done until the existence of the horse had been verified, and therefore, while the game’s participants remain in seclusion in their studio philosophising away hilariously, the animal only needs to exist in the mind of the viewer! Which is why there’s no real need for an actual horse! You’re watching the box because you’ve put yourself there, because you want to be there, and the horse may or may not be out in the universe, as a kind of reversal of the whole Schrodinger’s Cat thing, combined with the Orwellian overtones of Winston Smith’s Telescreen. So, welcome to the fun world of Extreme Horse Panic®, a new prime-time gameshow for all the family. Simon Cowell already has plans for variations on the game including
Have a great Christmas, if you haven’t suddenly been squirted from the universe like a watermelon seed, never to be heard from again.
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For one night only This is the story of a play which – for over twenty years – saw just one performance. A play written and rehearsed in secret. An act of defiance against a totalitarian state that almost (but not quite) succeeded. The story of The Beggar’s Opera, by Václav Havel, sometime president of the Czech Republic.
In 1968, when the Soviet tanks rolled into Prague and the process of socalled ‘normalisation’ began, Havel was already a successful playwright. But as the Communist Party reestablished its position of absolute power, he along with thousands of others became a ‘non-person’. His books were removed from library shelves, his plays could no longer be performed and his name effectively vanished from public life. Havel wrote The Beggar’s Opera in 1968, but it was four years later that he and his friend Andrej Krob concocted a plan to stage it. No professional theatre dared touch it and any professional actor taking part would risk their career. So through a network of friends, they assembled an amateur company of teachers and students, white-collar workers and mechanics. Copies of the play were typed out on the tissue-thin paper used for samizdat publications and passed round in secret. Rehearsals took place in people’s homes – never in the same place twice to avoid arousing suspicion. They called themselves ‘The Theatre on the Move’. Rehearsing the play was one thing; putting it on in public was another matter. After two years of working in secret, they approached a ‘House of Culture’ in an obscure suburb of Prague and requested permission to put on a play. If the title, The Beggar’s Opera, sounds familiar, then that’s no coincidence. This is the same story of Macheath, Peachum and Lockett first written by John Gray in 18th Century England, then reimagined by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil as The Threepenny Opera – and now given another twist in post-’68 Czechoslovakia. By calling it The Beggar’s Opera, they were able to persuade the authorities that this was simply a translation of an English classic, adapted slightly to remove the musical numbers. So effective had the state’s erasure of Havel’s name been that the company didn’t even hide his involvement: the minor officials in this out of the way suburb had never heard of him. Permission was granted, provided the performance was not advertised and no charge was made for admission. Three hundred trusted friends, secretly invited to view the play, first had to find their way to the House of Culture in Horní Pŏcernice. Imagine a cross between a school auditorium and one of those characterless pubs plonked down in the middle of housing estates in the ‘70s. A place avoided by the locals because most of the entertainment provided was thinly disguised propaganda. An hour before the play began, half the audience were driving round in circles, not daring to ask for directions for fear of giving the game away to the authorities. Just as the play was due to start, it seemed as if their worst fears had been realised. A man came out onto the stage. He lit a cigarette and stood there, blowing smoke rings out over the audience, his eyes travelling over their faces as if memorising them. The audience held its collective breath, fear catching in their throats. But it was a coup de théâtre: the man was Andrej Krob, Havel’s friend and the director of the play, reminding everyone – audience and actors alike – that they were always being watched. But not that evening. No secret service men were in the audience or outside, taking note of car registrations. It seemed as if the whole venture had been a resounding success. The play had been put on, under the nose of the authorities, and they had got away with it. The set was disassembled and the troupe retired to the Little Bears pub in the centre of Prague to celebrate. A second performance was planned for a week later. But their downfall came, not from spies and traitors within Czechoslovakia, but from their allies in the West. An eyewitness account of the play’s performance was broadcast on Radio Free Europe out of Zurich, and then published in Der Spiegel. The authorities were furious, but to some extent their hands were tied. The Warsaw Pact countries had just signed the Helsinki Accord which, among other things, guaranteed a certain degree of respect for human rights. They could not be seen to respond too ruthlessly to the single performance of an obscure play. So reprisals against the members of the Theatre on the Move had to be discreet. No one was thrown in gaol or sent away to a camp. But passports and driving licences were revoked. Jobs, including Krob’s, were mysteriously ‘restructured’ out of existence. Children of participants failed to find places at university. Even people who were merely suspected of participation suffered. Havel’s play was not performed again in the Czech Republic until after the Velvet Revolution
Image copyright © Martin Kozák
in 1989. So what was it about this play that so threatened the Czech regime? After all, the story is familiar enough. Macheath the gallant highwayman, seducing the daughters of a fence and a gaoler, playing off the fathers against each other and dodging an ignominious fate at the end of a rope. But in Havel’s hands, it becomes an indictment of the conditions of living under a totalitarian state. Aynsley Moorhouse has compared the totalitarian state to Jeremy Bentham’s design of the Panopticon: the ideal prison where each prisoner is under constant observation from every angle. And this, Havel argued, creates a situation where the truth is constantly distorted, where every action is done for appearance only and nothing can be taken at face value. In his essay, ‘The Power of the Powerless’, Havel cites the example of the greengrocer who puts a sign in his window that reads ‘Workers of the World, Unite!’ He does it, not because he believes in international socialist revolution, but because he fears the consequences of not appearing to believe in it. And this constant need to dissemble, Havel believes, causes people to shrivel from within until they lose their humanity altogether. In Havel’s play, every character appears to be constantly and eloquently justifying their own actions – but nothing they say can be trusted or taken at face value. When, in a final twist unique to Havel’s version, the policeman Lockett is ‘revealed’ to be a criminal who has taken control, first of the police force and now of the whole criminal underworld, the audience is left to guess that he, too, may be the victim of a giant self-deception. The message of Havel’s writing, and what made him so dangerous, was not simply ‘stop believing what you are told’ (few people did) but ‘stop pretending to believe’. Act like human beings again. Take the sign out of your window and face the consequences of being honest. Maybe it’s a lesson we could all learn.
By Catriona Troth References: • Václav Havel, The Beggar’s Opera, (translated by Paul Wilson), Cornell Press, 2001 • Paul Steiner: Introduction the The Beggar’s Opera, Cornell Press, 2001 • Václav Havel, ‘The Power of the Powerless’, 1978 • Aynsley Moorhouse, ‘Reframing the Theatrical Event: Václav Havel’s The Beggar’s Opera’, Transverse Journal, 2010
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Writer’s Workshop - Zurich October 1st and 2nd, 2011 by Gillian Hamer
It was with a fair amount of trepidation that I sat down at 9am on the first morning session, unsure what to expect from the writing workshop - or any of my fellow attendees. This was a totally new experience for me. After writing in relative solitude for over a decade, this was the first time I’d sat down with a group of ‘real people’ rather than ‘online buddies’, to discuss and analyse the craft of writing. I’d heard about the workshop through one of the organisers at Nuance Words (also a member of my online writing site) and, after falling in love with Zurich a few months earlier, I decided to take the opportunity to revisit and hopefully develop my writing at the same time. 2011 hasn’t been a good year for me writing wise, and my output and desire had dried up. I’d tried all types of exercises to kick start it again, but nothing worked. A series of difficult rejections from publishers had further dented my confidence, and I hoped taking this new approach might steer me back onto the road towards my goal of publication. From the submissions I’d read beforehand, I knew there was an eclectic mix of talent, genres and ability in the room. But would we gel? How would the writers respond to feedback? Would constructive advice be well received? Oh … and how would I get over the inevitable language barrier? In the end, I needn’t have worried about
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any of these points. For a start, everyone in the room spoke at least two languages more than I did, and most had mastered English far better than me - even if it was their second language. Whilst it took a few hours for confidence to build and people to feel comfortable dissecting their own work, it was clear before the end of the first session that we were all slowly bonding, and that a real sense of trust and security in our little group was building. I knew Amanda Hodgkinson as a talented author, but I stand in awe of her skill as a fair-but-firm tutor. In the morning session we firstly discussed the craft of writing and were given a series of tough exercises: rewriting the opening paragraphs of our submissions from an alternative POV, discussing plot and theme, character motivations and structure. I felt my self-confidence wavering slightly as I was put to task about my protagonist’s motivations. My pitiful excuses withered under Amanda’s steely gaze. Come on! Why did she put her career before her family? Why was promotion so important? I gulped and blushed. Luckily, half a dozen eager voices came to my rescue! We also spent time dissecting some of Amanda’s favourite writers, and discussing their approach to characterisation, the all important first paragraphs, and different types of narrative. This exercise made me realise how there are so many layers skilfully wound into good writing, and that peeling away the outer skins reveal so many surprises. After lunch, we discussed our goals as writers and our favourite authors – and I came
away with a reading list as long as my arm of novels and names I’d never heard of before. And then we began what I’d personally been dreading – reviewing and critiquing each other’s submissions. I’d had worries that this part of the workshop might descend into a pit of hostility. No writer really wants to hear negative comments, and I’ve seen before how easily people can take offence. But Amanda handled it in such a way – setting strict ground rules about right of reply for one – that made it impossible for anyone to feel that any advice – good or bad – was offered with anything but the best intentions. Amanda had a way of balancing every negative with at least twice as many positives, and making sure that each writer in the room knew exactly where their strengths lay – before moving on to any possible suggestions for improvement. I had to wait until the following morning session to have my own submission reviewed, but in the end I had nothing to worry about. I received a good mixture of positive and encouraging comments, along with a mixed bag of queries, personal dislikes, suggestions for ironing out confusion – and a long discussion about the strength of the character’s motivations. These comments, along with Amanda’s detailed remarks sent later by email, have really made me question the opening chapter of my work in progress – and I’m already thinking of ways to pull it apart, improve on it, and rebuild it in a stronger format. Exactly what I’d hoped for.
The second day’s session included a detailed talk on the path to publication. Amanda shared insights about her own experiences, even reading aloud the query letter she’d sent to her own agent that had been called ‘pitch perfect’. The final question and answer session was bubbly and informative; everyone in the room felt totally relaxed now, both with tutor and their fellow writers. No one was scared to raise their hand and ask a question or to voice aloud a concern they’d previously thought may be ridiculed. Amanda was applauded and thanked several times over at the end of the workshop, and rightly so. Clearly, there wasn’t a single person in that room who’d not taken away something important for their development as a writer. And it was also clear with the chats over coffee later that connections had been made, new writing groups and collaborations were likely to be formed, and friendships developed over the course of the two days. The success of the weekend also must be attributed in no small way to the skills of the organisers, and the talents of both Amanda and the non-fiction tutor, Andrew Crofts. From Amanda’s wonderful book reading/ signing event at the English book shop in Zurich, Orell Fussli (www. books.ch) on the Friday evening (a perfect chance for everyone to meet and break the ice over a glass of wine before start of class) – to the delicious meal at Hiltl restaurant on the Saturday evening – there was never a moment we did not feel in safe hands. The extra little ‘goodie bag’ received
the following day via email was the absolute icing on the cake and a sign that these courses were run for writers – by writers. And that passion for writing came through from every single person involved. A selection of comments from fellow attendees say everything: I wanted to say a big thank you for giving me the creative shot you said I would receive - I found the workshop a lot of fun and I hope my comments can inspire the other attendees to bring about fantastic works. It was also useful to get some good feedback about whatever writing I might do - it is always hard relying on biased friends and family. I may not be in the same league as some of the others, but perhaps there is something I should explore more. Marc I appreciated your clear focus and input and how you gave the workshop structure. Also the quick and efficient communication per mail worked fantastically. Andrew was a pleasure, very encouraging on one side and on the other side giving a lot of good practical information. The group for me was very comfortable, no one who took up a lot of space. It was very helpful to me that the group was so diverse, this is perfect for brainstorming, ideas came up that I could never have thought of myself or with a group of people too similar to myself. All in all I found the workshop fantastic and am happy I got to know about it ... and will be very
happy to join again. Louann I was so excited, I rushed home, grabbed my computer and headed for my local coffee shop. Thanks guys! That was an inspiring, fun weekend. Amanda taught me about point of view...and I changed mine :-) Andrew - what an interesting person. Next time I’ll be there too. Rusty So … how about my own goals? Well, since I got home I’ve already started re-plotting my current WIP in my head, now realising how I can make the themes so much bigger. I’ve read all of the notes from other writers and already know I’ll be taking onboard a lot of the suggestions. I feel overwhelmed with the positive feedback I received; it’s been a real boost to my confidence. And in the past couple of days, I’ve been spending time with my characters again for the first time in months. The itch to write seems to be working its way through my psyche – and that’s exactly what I’d been hoping to achieve. I really want to give a huge thank you to Jill, Libby & Liz at Nuance Words – I sincerely hope this is the first of many such workshops, and that other writers get the same opportunity to improve their skills. I have no hesitation in recommending the course to any writer – whatever their stage of development or whatever genre they choose to write. And who knows, hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to get a place again myself one day.
‘Ghostwriter’ by Matt Shaw
Pack Your Bags - We’re Jumping on the Bandwagon By Derek Duggan
Young Adult fiction. YA. That’s where it’s at right now. In bookshops these days there seem to be a plethora of Young Adults and people who are not young adults queuing up to get their mitts on books that appear in this ever growing relatively new section of the market. Here’s the way it was when I was a kid – and I don’t mean when the world was in black and white like my kids think – first you were a child. You read children’s books like The Famous Five or The Hardy Boys or whatever. And then you were twelve and you moved up to regular books. There wasn’t a Young Adult section in the bookshop. You just went in and got on with it. My parents didn’t shit their pants that there might be some swearing or some sex or someone doing a bit of magic which would obviously lead me to worship the devil and wank myself into oblivion. Although, if Harry Potter had been out then and I hadn’t had enough religious indoctrination to bolster my ability to distinguish between what is real and what is not I’d definitely have been a serial killer. Nowadays, however, luckily for today’s youth, a marketing team has taken all that tedious mucking about with making decisions about books out of the equation and pre decided what it is they’ll want to read. So why not write a book for these marketing departments? But it’s not so straightforward – there are rules. One of the things you will be constantly told is that to stand any chance of getting an agent or getting your book published you will have to be original. It’s absolutely imperative. If your book is not stuffed to the gills with brand new ideas and written in a new and interesting way it has no chance at all of ever being published. You can’t just give a Lord of the Rings paintjob to Star Wars and get away with it. If you sent something like that to an agent they’d be liable to call around to your house personally to punch you in your copycat bollocks. Why? Because it’s already been
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done in Eragon by Christopher Paolini. And whatever you do, you’d better not just rewrite Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, even if you include elements from The Long Walk or The Running Man by Stephen King, because no one, other than the millions of people who bought The Hunger Games, would be remotely interested in reading something like that. Obviously those two authors came up with those ideas on their own, but they didn’t need to. There are some brilliantly original stories in this area – the Scott Pilgrim books spring to mind - but why go to the trouble of coming up with something brand new when there are so many tales lying around unused? Here’s the big ethical question – is there anything wrong with just rewriting an existing story and merely tarting it up a little? No. That’s the simple answer. Of course there isn’t. It’s been going on forever, and sometimes to great effect. Shakespeare did it all the time and more recently there are movies like Clueless which was a clever reworking of Jane Austen’s Emma. And remember this – if there’s one thing we’ve been shown by the heavy marketing led approach to the entertainment industry these days, it’s that the public can never get enough of a good thing – or, more often, the public can never get enough of a thing that has been branded and franchised to within a centimetre of its life, and often beyond. Next year sees the release of a re-boot of the Spiderman Franchise. It’s not continuing on from where it left off or anything, it’s going back to the beginning with a whole new cast. In fairness, it has been all of four years since the last one came out so if they didn’t do this there’s a good chance that we’d forget about this franchise altogether. They’re also redoing Superman the same way. And they’re doing the same with The Fantastic Four. And so on. But it’s no use just finding a story you want to rehash. For a start, even if the tale you’ve decided to ‘base’ your book on has a beginning, middle and end, that’s no good to anyone. You have to be prepared to tack on at least two sequels, no matter how bad the idea is because that’s what branding is all about. It’s not worth a marketing department’s time to go to work just to promote one book. What’s the point in
that? Even if fans of the original novel don’t like it, they’ll still buy it just so they can go on fan forums to say how shit it is. Either way you’ll be quids in. So, you’ve found the story. The next thing you need to do is make sure the title is short and snappy. This isn’t only to keep it in the attentionally challenged minds of modern kids; it’s also so you can fit a quote from Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer or Anthony Horowitz on the cover. And don’t worry – they won’t say – ‘Meh, it was OK. A bit of fun…’ – no, they’ll be unable to put it down. Seriously, they’re unable to put down a lot of books, which is fair enough and really nice of them to say so. It’s also really nice of them to remind readers that their own back catalogue is still available. The next thing you need for your YA novel to be a success is characters. In order for it to qualify you’re going to need to have teenagers as your protagonists. Now, you can’t use normal real teenagers – no one wants to read about a kid who spends a lot of time on the couch working out the cheats for Call Of Duty 17 – This time it’s shooting bigger aliens, and refusing to shower regularly, or continually complaining that life is unfair and that none of their friends have to take out the bins. What you need is a female protagonist who worries endlessly about what a boy/sparkly vampire/ werewolf thinks about them. And by endlessly I mean precisely that. In order for a modern YA book to succeed it is imperative that your female lead moans and whinges about at least two unspeakably handsome boys/sparkly vampires/werewolves for a minimum of two paragraphs per page. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of making your teenage lead actually have something to say or you could end up with A Clockwork Orange on your hands and we all know how inferior that is to Twilight. And that’s about it. You are now ready to make your millions. Glad I could help.
Literature - a wide and wonderful world
Or why Buzz Lightyear is one of the world’s greatest literary philisophers by Anne Storymont When our dear, esteemed editor let the team know that the theme for this issue was to be world literature, my immediate thought was, that’s fine, I’ll review a book written by an author from another country and that will do nicely. But then I got to thinking – as I occasionally do – and quickly realised that my first thought had been rather simplistic. What, I asked myself, makes a piece of writing ‘world literature’? It’s one of these expressions that you think you know the meaning of until you’re asked to explain it. It’s like world music. What is it that gives a piece of music that tag? Again I thought I knew. But no, actually, I don’t. Does it mean music of a particular tradition or culture? Or is it folk music from around the planet? Must it be played by indigenous musicians? Does it have to be of a specific ethnicity? Would music from Scotland, or any other part of the UK, qualify as world music as long as it met one or more of the aforementioned criteria? I suspect the world music tag can mean any and all of these things - and that it depends on who you ask. And the more I think about it, I also suspect it’s a similar situation when one is thinking about world literature. It could encompass a tale from a faraway (from the reader) land, be of and about a particular culture, and give a glimpse into an exclusive and self-contained situation. But equally, the definition could include stories which, although set somewhere ‘other’ and told by an author from that other place, are universal in theme and whose characters resonate with a gripping familiarity. The ‘world’ in world literature could also be extended to include writing about the intellectual world – rather than the physical – or an imagined world, a historical world, a magical world. It may be easier to say what it is not. It’s probably not for writing that is ‘kitchen sink’ that is ‘here and now’ and is, not necessarily safe - but is familiar. But then my familiar isn’t necessarily yours. My every day tale of a female
crofter eking out a living in the Hebrides could be world literature to a reader in New York – or even in London. One person’s exotic is another’s backyard. And what of all the marvellous travel writing that there is? Is that world literature? Does non-fiction such as that qualify? So, I can’t quite nail this nebulous jelly to the wall. Perhaps it comes from ‘out there’, perhaps it’s exotic and eccentric and deliciously foreign. But its boundaries are vague and perspective and perception can be difficult to fix. All I can offer is my take. What has constituted world literature in my own reading? What has taken me to otherness, strangeness, newness? My earliest memory of reading something ‘foreign’ was being given an Australian picture diary by my grandmother when I was in hospital, age seven. She really gave me it so I could write and draw in it to pass the time. But each right hand week-to-view page had a description of the photo on the facing page. I was captivated reading about the outback, the Gold Coast, Bondi and Sydney Harbour Bridge, koalas, wombats etc. I knew my grandma got blue airmail letters from her sisters who’d emigrated to this far away place, but we didn’t have a television (we didn’t even have a car and I didn’t fly in a plane until I was nineteen) and I’d never seen such pictures or read anything like this before. Not exactly what most would call world literature, but it certainly fired my curiosity and opened my mind to places and lives beyond 1960s Edinburgh – beyond my imagination. Later on in childhood, I read ‘Heidi’ – a children’s classic – set in Alpine Switzerland and written by a Swiss woman. The translated English was quirky, the place names were strange and the way of life of the characters was completely enchanting. The effects were similarly spellbinding when I read ‘Little Women’ and ‘What Katy Did’ both set in the USA and written by American authors. As a teenager I continued to feed my fascination with other places and ways of life by devouring all the African thrillers written by Wilbur Smith, Neville Shute’s Australian story ‘A Town Like Alice’, and two Russian epics -
Pasternak’s ‘Dr Zhivago and Dostoyevsky’s ‘Brothers Karamazov’. And on throughout my adult life, I’ve ‘visited’ MM Kaye’s India, the Africa of Ben Okri and Alexander McCall-Smith, Anne Tyler’s America and Carol Shields’ Canada. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being in Stieg Larsson’s Sweden whilst reading the ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ Millennium trilogy and then returning to the same country’s Arctic tip via Henning Mankell’s haunting writing. More recently my reading time has been spent in the Middle East reading Israeli writers Meir Shalev and Amos Oz, as well as David Grossman’s shocking, powerful and disturbing story of the Israel –Palestine conflict ‘To the End of the Land’. And, most recently, I’ve returned to Russia by reading Ursula Muskus’s incredible memoir of her time as a political prisoner in the Soviet gulags. I then steeped myself in a bit of Chinese history in the utterly entrancing novel ‘The Secret Mandarin’ by Sara Sheridan. As to books set in worlds of their own, my most recent foray to an imagined world was the captivating, magical-realism tale of ‘Archie and the North Wind’ by Angus Peter Campbell. To me, all of the above qualify in some way as world literature. That is if we must have such labels. I find the compulsion to label writing by genre, or as literary or commercial, or Scottish, or world - etc etc – a bit tiresome and restrictive. I know it helps bookshops and libraries with their shelving, but I would urge readers and writers not to be blinkered by this categorisation. A good book is a good book regardless of whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, of whether its world is real, magical or fantasy, and of whether it has mass appeal or only chimes with the educated few - AND regardless of its origins. So I’m with Buzz. I urge everyone to explore all the worlds, constellations and galaxies that the universe of writing contains – to infinity and beyond...
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Exploring the Channel with Richard Wagamese by Christy Jordan Fenton
With two books published in two years by my dream publisher, you might wonder why I would be eager to go on a writer’s retreat hosted by a man with a grade nine education. Let’s just say that Richard Wagamese is no ordinary man. He’s actually one of Canada’s foremost authors. By February of 2012 he will have eleven books with major publishers to his credit, in genres stretching from journalism, to poetry and fiction, and has been awarded numerous accolades for his various works. Did I mention the publication dates for the last four of those books fell within a year of each other? I figured he must know something they don’t teach in school. Being an Ojibway author, Richard Wagamese honours the traditional storytelling methods handed down to him by his people and attributes them to his success. Last year he taught a course based on them called From Oral Tradition to the Printed Page at the University of Victoria. I was very curious, but being a mother of three, flying off to Victoria to go back to university just wasn’t an option. My prayers were answered however, when he decided to host a series of one week workshops, for two students at a time, from his beautiful home on Paul Lake in the mountains of British Columbia’s scenic interior. I absolutely HAD to go. I didn’t know what to expect (besides meals I would not have to cook myself), never having been on any sort of writers’ retreat, but it didn’t take me long to realize this was not an average creative writing workshop. I was relieved when the first instruction we received was to forget all the rules. Phew, because I can’t understand them to save my life. As Richard explained, we all read and absorb the ways in which language is used in a natural way. If we get out of our own way these come through on their own, without thought. This made a lot of sense to me. I have no formal creative writing background myself. Absorbing art and nature, and taking in all that we can from the outside world is the only real training Richard recommends for a writer, apart from learning to calm one’s own mind. For the five days that followed there was not one discussion of the use of semicolons or reflexive pronouns or anything else that either intimidates me or I just plain don’t know the meaning of. Instead, there were long walks, campfire type games and time spent on strengthening spiritual connection. I know this all sounds fun, but not so productive, but it was without a doubt the most productive writing week I have ever experienced. By the time I left, I had several poems and stories that were near ready for submission after the first draft, and it wasn’t just because I was kid free for the week. It was the combination of all of this seemingly unproductive activity and how it paid out when it was time to work. Richard himself can boast selling everything he has ever submitted and off the first draft! So, how do long walks and campfire games equal productive, inspired and polished writing? There were four main teachings that I walked away with. First, that there is a channel (those of you who believe in the Muses, this is where they live) and that you can access that channel at any time, walk away and come back to it freely. It will be there
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waiting. And second, because that channel will wait for you, it is not only OK, but necessary to stop when you don’t feel in it. I like to force things and to marathon write, so learning to trust the channel was the most challenging, but rewarding aspect of the course, for me. Trusting the channel means not only trusting that the story will wait, but also that if you get out of your own way, the story will come through naturally, on its own. Basically, write as unconsciously as possible. Third, I learned that
opening yourself to stimuli, collecting from the environment with all the senses, is a necessary pre-step to writing. And finally, I learned that stilling yourself allows you a clearer connection to the channel. The channel is a spiritual place that doesn’t care if you are Buddhist or Christian or follow traditional Native American practices. But, acknowledging that stories are given to us through some spiritual energy is important if you are to be able to recognize the channel, let alone write in it. Traditional rituals such as smudging were a part of our daily routine, as was giving thanks and spending quiet time within ourselves. Doing these things helped to prepare us to receive the stories. After this time we were often given a word or a sentence to think about, before going on a long mountain walk or out on the lake. These excursions were not simply for leisure (though they certainly were a highlight), but were for gathering with the senses and connecting to the world around us, adding to our individual frame’s of reference through observation, contemplation and awareness. Sometimes, we did this mid exercise, as a way of learning to trust that we could access the channel when we returned to it. It was frustrating to leave something mid story, in fact mid sentence, but being able to return and find that contrary to my fears, the channel was waiting to receive me with open arms and renewed clarity was very reassuring. Staying connected in the channel...truly in it and connected... turned out to be much harder than I thought, and I’m a panster with a lot of practice winging it. I found it to require a great deal of discipline. That not thinking about the story is something we’ve all experienced at one point, when we can barely keep up to our thoughts as we write, but under Richard’s instruction, this is not merely a fleeting spark of inspiration passing through, this is the way to write all the time. Getting into that sort of zone isn’t easy for most of us, which is where
the campfire games came in. Ever play the game where you go around the circle with each person contributing only one word to the story at a time? How about telling a story until you find yourself saying “um” or grasping for the next thought and handing it over to another person, as soon as you catch yourself doing it? Or having fun with free association? These were all exercises we used to help us practice letting go and getting connected. And, I’m sure most of you remember doing word clouds in grade school? Well, we did those too...with crayons and construction paper and no rules...all the fun of kindergarten! Given only a word or an object, we just let loose a Crayola storm. We then went over each word, said it, circled it, tucked it in the back of our minds and unleashed compositions on our laptops, with no intent other than to put words down...any words. It was a lot like being a child again, and honestly my children tell better stories than I do. We as adults have learned to override our natural storytelling ability, and these exercises are just a few that can help you to find the discipline needed to hold yourself in that channel for longer and longer periods of time—that place children reach without thought. And, a beautiful thing happens as you get better at it; you learn to walk away when you find yourself struggling, to go put on some laundry, take a walk, or call a friend, which beats rewriting the same sentence over and over again, or staring at a blank screen. Writers’ block becomes a foreign concept, and because you know the channel will be waiting for you when you are ready, you can do this guilt free and with confidence. There is so much more I would love to say about what I learned from the retreat and how my time under Richard’s tutelage improved my ability to write and rediscover that inner storyteller I knew so well in my youth, but I believe it is something that has to be experienced to be believed, so I would strongly encourage you to get out the crayons and construction paper, or if you aren’t so brave, to go for a long walk and follow it by writing freely— with run-on sentences and disregard for punctuation if that’s how it comes, and stop when the adult tries to take over again. The story will wait for you. As for how I am doing with Richard’s teachings, in spite of the fact that I have had a heavy schedule of appearances and touring since my return from the retreat at the end of August, I have written more than thirty-five poems (that are ready for submission) a new children’s story and I am at least a quarter of the way through a new novel in a genre I never thought of exploring (which started as an exercise on the retreat). And no, my kids have yet to starve to death, or run out of clean clothes. If you’re interested in learning more about Richard Wagamese’s techniques based on traditional Ojibway storytelling methods, check out his website at: www.richardwagamese.com, like his author page on facebook, or pop by his insightful blog at: www.wagamesewriter. wordpress.com. Books by Richard Wagamese: Keeper’n Me, Doubleday 1994 - Alberta Writers Guild Best Novel Award A Quality of Light - Doubleday, 1997 The Terrible Summer - Warwick Press, 1997 For Joshua: An Ojibway Father Teaches His Son, Doubleday, 2002 Dream Wheels - Doubleday, 2006 - Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction Ragged Company - Doubleday, 2008 One Native Life - Douglas & McIntyre, 2008 - Globe and Mail 100 Best Books of the YearOne Story, One Song - Douglas & McIntyre 2011 Runaway Dreams, Ronsdale Press Sept 2011, The Next Sure Thing, Orca, October 2011 Indian Horse, Douglas & McIntyre, coming February 2012. Christy Jordan Fenton is the author of FATTY LEGS: A TRUE STORY (Annick Press 2010) and A STRANGER AT HOME (Annick Press 2011). Her work has appeared in Jones ave, Prairie Fire, and the anthology DiVerseCitiesII (Retro Relics 2011).
Poetry & Writing Courses In France
Chateau Ventenac is delighted to announce new writing courses & retreat weeks for 2011 Tutors include Sean O’Brien, Pascale Petit, Maurice Riordan, Penny Shuttle and novelist Patrick Gale.
Inspiring location, wonderful views, great food. We look after you whilst you relax and write. www.chateauventenac. com/courses email: julia@chateauventenac.com Call: +44(0)7773206344
Flash 500
Judge’s Report for the third quarter of the Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition 2011 from Lorraine Mace We had such a successful launch to this competition last quarter that I was slightly concerned about the entries for this quarter reaching the same high standard. I needn’t have worried! Once again deciding on the winning poems was both an enjoyable and difficult task. There were some extremely well written entries, which simply weren’t funny. We also had some very amusing entries which were poorly written. To get both aspects right requires quite a bit of work on the part of the poet. Fortunately we had a high proportion of entrants who had clearly worked long and hard on their poems. All the poems on the long list were good, those on the short list even better, but the final three won through in the end because they were amusing, cleverly written and each in its own way original. Sadly, yet again, we had a few disqualified entries due to exceeding the 30 line maximum and/or putting the author’s name on the poem. But let’s not dwell on the negatives! Here are the poems that I felt deserved first, second and third prizes.
1st: Night Life by Adrian Shaw For me this was the poem the others had to beat. It was a clear winner from first reading. Combining humour, great imagery, rhythm, rhyme and originality in the treatment of subject matter, it’s a poem that makes me chuckle every time I read it.
2nd: Can Anybody Tell Me What a Semicolon’s for? by Alison Godfrey So many poems come in covering aspects of writing and punctuation that it is hard for one to stand out. This poem does exactly that. Using the punctuation marks in dialogue and creating characters of them, each with their own unique personality works really well in this clever and witty poem.
3rd: The State Pathologist by Peter Goulding This nonsense rhyme made me laugh out loud in places. The explanation for each death is clearly over the top – but it is meant to be. As we near the end, we wonder where the poem is going and how it can be brought to a credible close, only to have the ending nicely tie up with both the title and opening line. A clever and truly original piece of work.
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Night Life By Adrian Shaw He found her after midnight, his princess of the night, a pretty damsel, smoking pot, beneath the dim street light. Her lips were red, her hair dyed blonde, a thickly buttered tart, but underneath the coarse veneer, perhaps a tender heart! Her calf-length coat fell open. Did she have the time? “Neither time nor patience, luv, unless you’ve got a dime.” He scrabbled in his pockets: a wad of dirty greens. “If that is not enough, my dear, then feel inside my jeans.” She stared at him in disbelief: ninety if a day. Fancy someone of his age, having it away. She rolled her eyes and giggled, as he opened up his flies. Who would think a bloke like him, could take her by surprise. She felt his breath upon her skin, a hesitant caress, his trembling hands inside her coat, and then beneath her dress. “Show me where you softly are, sweet creature of the night. Although you think I’m impotent, I’ll prove that I’m not quite.” * They found her in the morning, down by the riverside, counting lots of lovely loot, completely satisfied.
Results
Judge’s Report for the third quarter 2011 Flash 500 Competition from Simon Whaley I was delighted when Lorraine asked me to judge the latest Flash 500 competition. Having judged the first Flash 500 comp, back in the first quarter of 2010 (crikey, was it really that long ago?) I knew from experience that the standard of entries would be high … and I wasn’t disappointed. At first, 500 words may not seem sufficient space for a writer to do a story justice, however, it is surprising how much a writer can convey within this restriction. It is possible to tell a story, rather than an anecdote, and that’s what I decided to look for – a story. The judging process saw me whittle the shortlist down to a final eight pieces, which were: Chalk; Different Hemispheres; Her; Miss Scarlet in the Shed; One Last Call; Secret Love; The Last Train Home; Waterloo Interestingly, half of these were written from the first person point of view. This viewpoint is a useful technique when you want to draw your reader into the story quickly – something that is beneficial when you only have 500 words. Three of these stories also had a similar basic idea, although each was developed quite differently. I’d like to congratulate all those who were shortlisted, in particular my final eight, and ultimately, my top three, who were:
1st: Her by Amanda John For me, the twist here worked brilliantly. Writing a story within 500 words is difficult: writing one with a twist is even more challenging. A twist story needs to deflect the reader, and this succeeded. The test is to read the story again, looking for the subtle clues that the writer cleverly provides, yet the reader’s eyes fail to spot. The opening paragraph suggests the narrator is the wronged party, yet a second reading identifies the ambiguity. Her flawless symmetry would have caught your breath; her open beauty – her softness – would have stirred you. This was crafted writing, which is why I felt it deserved first place.
2nd: One Last Call by Ray Hoskins Another first person piece: this one conveying the challenges of trying to bring up an autistic child. It’s challenging for any couple and the sticker book is a simple piece of detail that conveys so much. When you’re restricted to 500 words, there’s no room to explain: all you can do is infer. The sticker book inferred so much of the journey these parents had endured to learn how to cope with their autistic son. The story ends with devastation in two ways – the devastation of now, and also the devastation about what the future holds for one particular parent.
3rd: The Last Train Home by Richard Holmes The different structure stood out here. This is a story told in 32 minutes, on a journey between five stations. Writers are supposed to be people watchers, and this story made me feel as though I was sharing that train, watching what was going on with the other passengers. Again, it’s the smallest details that can convey so much. “Have a chip,” may not seem an earth-shattering conclusion to a short story, but here it is the simplest way to show that the character has resolved their internal conflict.
Her byAmanda John It is easy to imagine how you would have felt towards her, meeting for the first time. I know you would have tried not to, would have battled your primitive instinct – that blatant maleness – and willed yourself to find her hideous. You would have thought of me, unremarkable, almost ugly in the wrong light, at the wrong angle. The comparison would have been momentous, too great to pass unnoticed. Her flawless symmetry would have caught your breath; her open beauty - her softness - would have stirred you, however reluctantly. I can’t blame you. Sex seems a greater power than us; hers certainly a stronger current than mine. Now, I have your suitcase open, spread guiltily on the bed; am edging and pushing belongings and memories into it, the climax of our demise. I wonder whether she has the potential to create such nostalgia, if she will keep a box of letters and champagne corks. Some souvenirs are difficult to pack. I wonder if I should leave them out, if they would want to leave the house. Without us they are lacking context; I’m not sure you would appreciate them, or keep them. A theatre ticket is just litter. A photograph is faceless, drab. You may be keen to discard these reminders of me, of plainness, of emerging disappointment, dissatisfaction. I am trying not to cry. I can remember – too vividly – your face that day. This bed, her on it; caught. You were staring; she was wild, exposed and adventurous, limbs stretched into positions that I could never maintain. You must have been drawing comparisons. I know I often fell short of physical expectations, unsaid requests falling away as our years together swelled and slowed. You caught my gaze and those years thudded to an abrupt halt. You hadn’t wanted it to happen this way, I know that. It just did. In one opening of the door, our bursting imperfections flooded to the tampering hands of that beautiful influencer. I am shutting your suitcase - too quickly - I have possibly packed too much, or too many useless items. You will find yourself lacking an essential as you rummage through the severed half of our relationship later in the evening. I can see her out of the window, waiting outside. She is so bold, brazen, I’m almost incredulous. She has tried to hide behind her car, but is too striking for any subtlety. I pull the suitcase down the stairs, floor boards bare, unfinished. You are waiting at the bottom. I step down to you, lean the case against the bottom stair. I think that there may be parting words, profound and enigmatic, but instead it is awkward and silent. You raise your hand slowly, a tiny wave curling through your thick fingers, and glance at the case, eyebrows raised. “Mine’s broken,” I offer. My voice breaks. I drag the case out of the door, to the waiting car. She takes my hand and I don’t look back.
Highly Commended – Different Hemispheres by Fiona Neame This was another slightly different structure, which stood out for me. I loved the concept behind it; that whilst we have one brain, it has two hemispheres. Therefore we have two different responses to every one situation our brain has to deal with. The ‘loose’ punctuation did jar with me at first, but this was simply my own left-hemisphere brain having a hissy fit for some logic and order!
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It’s that time again, our second annual Short Story Competition is now open for submissions, and this year we’ve bumped the first prize up to £500! What are we looking for: the best short story of up to 2,500 words. Stories can be any genre, but as we’re always on the lookout for the Best Short Story, we advise not sending bribes. They’re welcome, obviously, but we retain the right to keep them even if you don’t win.
Prizes 1st Prize - £500 2nd Prize - £100 3rd Prize - £50 Closing Date 27th January 2012
Judge: Douglas Jackson Doug Jackson is the writer of four successful historical novels and one mystery thriller. He was born in Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders and history has always been in his blood. He left school aged 15 and spent three months restoring a Roman camp in the Cheviots before joining the local paper because he enjoyed writing and had no idea what to do with his life. Reporter, sub-editor, chief sub and night editor, he eventually spent nine heady years as assistant editor of The Scotsman. In 2005 he began what he describes as ‘digging an escape tunnel on the train with my laptop’, which was actually The Emperor’s Elephant, a project that turned into the novels Caligula and Claudius. In July 2009 he gave up the day job when he received a contract to write a new trilogy. The series began with Hero of Rome and has now been followed by Defender of Rome. His first thriller, The Doomsday Testament, written under the name James Douglas, was published in August. http://www.douglas-jackson.net/
Results All three winning entries will be published in the April 2012 issue of Words with JAM.
To download an entry form and pay online, visit www.wordswithjam.co.uk/shortstorycompetition2011
Fish Publishing
Do you want to be published?
Short Story Memoir Prize €2,000 1st Prize Judge: David Shields, Author of Reality Hunger Best 10 published in 2012 Fish Anthology 4,000 word limit Entry €15 Closing 30th January 2012
Short Story Prize €3,000 1st Prize 2nd Prize, a week at Anam Cara Writers’ Retreat Judge: David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas, Ghostwritten & number9dream Best 10 published in 2012 Fish Anthology 5,000 word limit Entry €20 Closing 30th November 2011 Hon. Patrons: Roddy Doyle, Colum McCann, Dermot Healy Online Entry, info and writing courses www.fishpublishing.com
Fish Publishing Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland
•Annual Open Short Story Competition £400 First Prize Theme is open, we like unusual, but no stories for children, please; No connection needed to Scotland either by entrant or theme
Next closing date 31stJuly 2012
Full details on website
www.hissac.co.uk
•IMPROVE YOUR WRITING
Get detailed and attentive advice on your work by Award winning novelist & short story writer Clio Gray www.cliogray.com Bring your writing up to competition and publication standards. We know money is tight, so we have worked hard to keep costs low: £59 for 3 stories up to 10,000 words in total £99 for a full length MS up to 100,000 words
Full details on website
www.hissac.co.uk
Camerata Xara Young Women’s Choir On Sunday, October 30, Camerata Xara Young Women’s Choir presented Fatty Legs, a poignant Aboriginal children’s story depicted through choral soundscapes and contemporary dance. Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, Inuit authors of the book, narrated the text as part of this performance. Feisty Margaret Pokiak was the only girl made to wear bulky, illfitting red knee socks in the residential school that tried to erase her Aboriginal culture. Despite the relentless bullying of a nasty nun, this brave young girl gave her oppressors a lesson in human dignity and courage. Jenny Hastings James attended the event with her daughter, Aimee who is the same age as the girl in the story. This is her account: ‘A brief introduction was followed by the choir forming a perfect semi-circle in front of us leaving space for a dancer to ‘weave’ the story across the stage through a series of energetic and expressive movements. We were sitting in the front row and the choir formed a chilling soundscape with their perfect acoustic pitches and rhythmic chants filling the atrium. It was easy to get carried away into the sounds and patterns and shapes that the dancer was tracing on the floor in front of us. But the harshness of the narration brought us back to the reality of the story to share in pain and emotion of the eight year old Aboriginal girl and the times she endured in the school. It was a relief to learn that she finally broke free from the repressive regime of life at the school and the taunting of her fellow classmates, emerging a stronger character able to share her story some years later.’ When asked whether she thought others might enjoy the performance, Aimee said, ‘It will knock your stockings off ’.
Comp Corner Corralled by Danny Gillan
How cool was that last comp? What will forever now be known as Comp Cornerstones attracted a record number of entries for our humble little challenge and the shortlist of winners are, as we speak, chewing their fingernails (and toe nails if they’re bendy enough) as they await Helen Corner’s final decision on the overall winner of the full manuscript critique. All will be revealed next issue. Meanwhile, it’s back to normal round these parts, which will no doubt mean it’s also back to the couple of dozen entries we usually receive. Fear not though, we do have prizes this time, too. Perhaps not on the scale of last issue, but I’m sure anyone would be more than happy to have a brand spanking new hardback copy of Paulo Coelho’s Aleph and we have a couple to give away to you lucky, lucky people. All you have to do to win is impress us with your literary genius and wit. No bother. This time, we’re looking for blurbs. Not a synopsis, not a plot summary, an actual blurb that you would find on the back of a novel. It can, as ever, be from a book you’ve already written or simply made up for this competition. All that matters is that you haven’t thieved it off someone else. The whole point of a blurb is to hook us into wanting, no, needing, to read the book described. We don’t need to know the backstory, or the word count, or even the genre. Just give us something that demands that the book be read. Be funny, be creative, be gripping. Be as outlandish as you choose (you don’t have to actually go on to write the novel if you don’t want to). Most importantly, be all of these things in less than 100 words. Have at it! Send entries in the body of an email to danny@wordswithjam.co.uk before the 5th of January 2012. Entries sent as attachments or after the closing date will be ritually sacrificed to the gods of winter. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Our biggest FREE entry competition to date has now closed. Helen and Kathryn of Cornerstones Literary Consultancy are reading the first pages from our shortlist as we’re putting this issue together, and we will be announcing the winner of October’s Comp Corner where one lucky entrant will win a General Critique worth £500 in the next couple of weeks. For now, here’s the shortlist: David Hicklenton
Chris Barraclough
Lesley Ann Sharrock
Liz Ferretti
Melissa Rogerson
Rol Hirst
Anna Fonte
James Holland
Jane Hicks
Jasper Dorgan
Jenny Knight
Patrick Toland
Simon Van der Velde
Luke Block
Christine Campbell
Germaine Stafford
Jean Burnett
Katherine McKay
Carly Pluckrose
We’re giving you a second chance...
Not joined us on Facebook yet? Well you should have done, because last issue we gave away 2 Jasper Fforde books, which will be posted to ... wait for it ...
Amanda Huskisson and Jo Hudson
win one of three copies
Anyway, we’ve been given three copies of , funnily enough, Three Steps to Heaven by one of our avid readers, Pam Howes. It’s currently ranking #1 in the UK free Kindle chart for family sagas, and the first edition paperback copy has now sold out. To be in with a chance of winning one of the only remaining first edition paperbacks, ‘like us’ at: https://www. facebook.com/wordswithjam. Then post a photo of your writing desk on our wall. Everyone who posts a photo between now and the 10th January 2011 will be entered into the FREE prize draw. Three Steps to Heaven: It’s 1961 and Eddie Mellor and Jane Wilson are in love. Eddie’s group, The Raiders, is about to make it big. They have the world at their feet and an exciting future to look forward to. Then in walks Angie Turner... The first novel in a trilogy about The Raiders, spanning 40 years.
Competitions | 41
Monogamous
Monogamous by Hayley Sherman
The green vintage typewriter lay dead on the beige carpet, its ribbony intestines oozing painfully. Cat lay beside, her vast chest rising and falling dramatically with cheeks a-glow like two angry pomegranates. One hand had landed awkwardly on her opponent’s space bar, but she made no attempt at resuscitation; if they had done ten rounds together then she had just about won. All around the flat lay other dead, broken and battered things: books, the bookshelf, a glass and wine bottle, the innocent beanie bear her ex-boyfriend had bought her some time ago and in the centre of the lamp-lit, potpourri-flavoured, sixth-floor flat lay Cat: one hand furiously kneading the carpet, getting faster and faster and tighter and tighter, toes and buttocks clenched until they could contain her fury no longer and her body surged forward like a resurrected creature taking its first breath. ‘What is it?’ she roared and screwed her face into a papery ball. She closed her eyes tightly and when her eyelids had almost disappeared, they flicked open again like broken shutters and another furious yelp leapt out of her. She swiped the innocent Beanie Bear from the carpet and held it close with her bulbous orbs fixed in front of her, but seeing nothing of the mess created at her own hand. ‘Do you know?’ she asked, forcing the bear into her eye-line. ‘Do you?’ The bear was silent save for the crunching of its beans in Cat’s tightening grip. ‘Temper! Temper!’ her ex-boyfriend would often tease, but he always held her until she was calm then bought her chocolates or flowers or Beanie Bears afterwards. Cat could hear the words now and her body tensed painfully; every muscle ached with the weight of the tiny bear until it practically launched itself across the room and crashed against the floral wallpaper with a thud. Her hand leapt to her long blonde hair and clawed its way through the tangles then both hands crashed onto her wide thighs. ‘Monogamous,’ she mouthed with a sudden burst of energy and pulled herself onto her feet, feeling the exertion burn through her body. ‘Mon… oga… mous!’ She repeated the word over and over again until the separate syllables were as alien and disjointed as her manic legs pacing the room. ‘M… on! M… an! M… en!’ Faster still she paced, retching and cursing then very decisively she marched to the front door and curled her fingers around the handle as if suddenly remembering an important meeting. ‘A coat!’ she suddenly snapped and snatched her hand back. She then wrapped herself awkwardly in a long Mac and pulled a red hat onto her head, leaving a thin pillar box of vision. Again, her hand crept towards the handle, but instead of leaving, she charged back to the dead, green, vintage typewriter on the beige carpet and yanked the document she had been writing from its clutches. She forced the page into her pocket, finally opened the door and left the carnage of her outburst behind. She started slowly down the poorly lit hallway with a sharp focus fixed to her face, past the tight cluster of doors mirroring her own and hesitated beside flat number four. She glanced at her watch (it was slightly battered and twenty past midnight) then shuffled to doors five and six and eventually stopped outside number seven. She drew her
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fist to the door and held it there. Then it began to unfurl and eventually fell to her side. The missing screw in the wooden door knocker held her attention for some time and then she darted away as impulsively as she had left her flat and was running down the flights of stairs before thoughts of doing so had even entered her head. At the bottom, she bravely forced her head out of the door, holding off all of the creatures of the night then forced one foot through the crack as if testing boiling bath water. She could feel an intense wind on her leg, but she could also see the steps leading down to the pavement, the coffee shop across the road and the flats above, all deserted and completely altered by the darkness, but familiar landmarks of safely made journeys to art college, or into town, or just to the shops to buy a pint of milk. It was going to be ok. She would be ok. She took an uneasy look up and down the street, pulling the Mac tight around her body and advanced along the path, still looking left and right and mouthing the word ‘monogamous’ over and over again. The cold air, which had seemed such a toil now carried her along the road and her march became a trot, which soon became a run, with legs and arms flailing in all directions and eyes scanning the streets for solutions. The more momentum she gathered, the more breathless and awkward she became until her legs were knocked out from under her by a large black bag, and she crashed onto the cold pavement. An amazing grunt roared out from inside of her and echoed in all directions, disturbing no one but the tiny night animals scurrying in the dark. Her legs immediately launched an assault on the big black bag and the contents spilled onto the pavement. She kicked and groaned, as if the bag was the very nucleus of all of her misfortune, unable to stop, but the sight of a dark figure moving quickly towards the mess stunned her into a premature halt. ‘Get away from me,’ she warbled tearily and drew her legs close to her body. What emerged from a barely visible alley was a tall man wearing a long, leather jacket, black T-shirt and jeans. ‘God! Are you alright?’ he asked, holding out his hand. ‘Don’t come any closer,’ she tried to say, but it came out as if she had a mouthful of sand and he was now beside her, tucking his arm under hers to lever her off the ground. ‘Get off me,’ she demanded, finding her voice again and flapping her arms away from him. This time he did step back. ‘Feisty!’ he grinned. ‘I like that.’ Cat pulled the Mac close to her body again. ‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ he said in a softer tone then knelt down to pack the clutter she had disrupted. Cat followed his movements cautiously, but made no attempt to get up. ‘I’m sorry about the bag,’ he began again, throwing the leaflets, books and magazines back into it. ‘Don’t get many people running past at this time of night.’ As he spoke, he threw fleeting glances at Cat, some of which he took longer to withdraw than others. He looked tired and unshaven, but he had beautiful blue eyes and the kind of smile rarely seen outside of a Photoshop studio. ‘Are you alright?’ Cat tried to decide on an answer, but her silent indecision came across as fear and panic. ‘I think you killed my bag,’ he smiled. ‘I…’ she answered, blushing, and even more random words fell out of her as she pushed her hands onto the floor to help herself up. The pain of the fall was minimal, but she still moved as if in urgent need of oiling. ‘Are you alright?’ he asked again, still packing the debris. Cat nodded bravely and forced the weight onto her legs, sucking the air in through her teeth. Then she noticed a small fat book in his hand and all of her awkwardness was forgotten. ‘What’s that?’ she asked. ‘This?’ the man answered, holding the book in the air and examining it. ‘It’s my dictionary.’
Quite Small Stories ‘Can I look at it?’ she asked, hobbling closer. ‘Sure, but –’ Before he could finish the sentence, she grabbed the book and opened it as if it was the final volume of a tale she had followed her whole life, but when the pages parted the optimism faded. ‘Where are all the words?’ she asked, closing the book and reopening it again. ‘I had to cut them out. Makes a great brush case, don’t you think?’ Cat’s eyes widened as if he had committed one – if not all – of the deadly sins. ‘Not impressed?’ he asked. ‘I’ve got War and Peace in here if you fancy a spot of light reading.’ ‘Paintbrushes!’ she finally managed to say. ‘I’m an artist,’ he told her, then dropped a glance at his watch and
Cat spun on her pink slippers and sighed a visible gust of steam. ‘There was an article in a magazine. I’ve got it in my bag.’ He dropped to his knees again to mount a search and his belongings flew out onto the pavement again. Cat forced her hands into her pockets and shrugged her shoulders into her neck. A car raced past and as its lights disappeared into the distance she suddenly noticed how cold and dark it had become. ‘Here,’ he said, pointing at the word on the open page. ‘People who are monogamous live longer than those who are not.’ ‘Oh my God!’ she thundered, taking the page in her hand like an ancient flaking artefact. ‘I’m gonna live forever then,’ he smiled to himself. ‘For all the good it’s done me.’ ‘That’s it,’ she cackled, ignoring him. ‘M.O.N.O.G.A.M.O.U.S.’ She felt
Cat nodded bravely and forced the weight onto her legs, sucking the air in through her teeth. Then she noticed a small fat book in his hand and all of her awkwardness was forgotten. ‘What’s that?’ she asked. ‘This?’ the man answered, holding the book in the air and examining it. ‘It’s my dictionary.’ ducked over to a bucket and roll of posters leaning against the wall. ‘Which reminds me – if I don’t finish this by morning that’ll be it for me.’ He dragged a poster from the roll, advertising a 3 for 2 offer at Boots, pushed it against the wall and brushed goop from the bucket over the top of it, making the mediocre advertisement glisten into something quite special. ‘An artist?’ Cat answered suspiciously. ‘Yeah!’ he continued, distracted by the languid brush-strokes he was creating. ‘Mostly portraits and the occasional magazine work and I do this to pay the bills. It’s not bad. I get to meet all sorts of people. Bit like an actor waiting tables.’ He grinned and turned to Cat again, but his smile was stunted at the sight of her scanning the streets like a lost child. The brush dropped into the glue bucket and he unravelled the next poster. ‘Maybe I can help,’ he offered casually, watching her with genuine concern. ‘I doubt it,’ she sighed. ‘Try me.’ He completed the second glue painting and moved to her side. ‘I won’t bite.’ ‘I just…’ she began, stroking the back of her head. ‘Just blurt it out. Pretend I’m not here.’ ‘I just…’ she began again then closed her eyes tightly and blurted it out. ‘I need to know how to spell monogamous.’ One eye opened slowly to examine his expression. ‘Is that all?’ he asked, chuckling between words. ‘I’m writing the most important...’ she paused and stamped her foot. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ ‘No,’ he announced. ‘If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.’ ‘But you’ve just met me,’ Cat answered. ‘I know. It’s amazing what you can find lying on the pavement.’ His face scrunched seriously before he spoke again. ‘Is it M.A or M.O?’ ‘See!’ she snapped loudly. ‘I’m wasting my time.’ Without listening to his varied attempts at spelling the word, she turned her back and made a slow advance in the opposite direction. ‘Wait a minute,’ the man called out.
in her pocket for the type-written page, moving with an awkward speed as if the word might grow legs and run away if she didn’t write it down. ‘Pen?’ The man offered. ‘See! It’s never as bad as you think.’ ‘Thank you,’ she sighed, sounding genuinely calm for the first time, and joyfully wrote the word on her page. ‘Not a problem,’ he answered proudly and slung his bag over his shoulder. His cheeks had taken on a pinkish shade and his eyes had fixed themselves to the pavement. ‘I’ll be alright now,’ Cat told him, feeling the page throb in her hand. ‘You just take care of yourself,’ he advised and moved back to his bucket. ‘I work here most nights, by the way. So if you’re ever…’ Cat listened blankly, feeding the paper through her fingers, then said, ‘Good luck with the art,’ and watched him disappear into the dark night. When he was completely out of sight, she unfolded the paper with the excitement of a child attacking a birthday present. Her eyes widened and followed the few words of print on the page: Happy-go-lucky female (26) seeks tall, dark, handsome man for relationship and more. Must be easy-going, artistic, supportive, kind, optimistic and above all... monogamous. She smiled heartily at the last word. ‘Perfect. It’s got to work this time,’ she beamed and slowly walked home. About Hayley Hayley Sherman is a name to look out for in the future. She has spent the last five years supporting other authors as an editor and creative writing consultant and is now pushing forward with her own stories and two novels (which are currently riding the never-ending agent-publisher carousel, awaiting a suitable home). She likes cake, dislikes celery and her web address is www.whoosh-editing.com.
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The Agent’s View
with Andrew Lownie, Shelley Power, Chris Dittus and Svetlana Pironko
Andrew answers YOUR questions ... Having just returned from a six-year stint in St Helena in the South Atlantic, I’d like to know if there’s a market for travel books about little known places such as this. It’s a fictionalised, romanticised account of my own experiences mixed with historical, cultural and environmental facts. I like to call it a travi-comedy. Andrew Lownie was born in 1961 and was educated in Britain and America. He read history at Magdalene College, Cambridge where he was President of the Union. He went on to gain an MSc at Edinburgh University and spend a year at the College of Law in London. After a period as a bookseller and journalist, he began his publishing career as the graduate trainee at Hodder & Stoughton. In 1985 became an agent at John Farquharson, now part of Curtis Brown, and the following year became the then youngest director in British publishing when he was appointed a director. Since 1984 he has written and reviewed for a range of newspapers and magazines, including The Times, Spectator and Guardian, which has given him good journalistic contacts. As an author himself, most notably of a biography of John Buchan and a literary companion to Edinburgh, he has an understanding of the issues and problems affecting writers. He is a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents and Society of Authors and was until recently the literary agent to the international writers’ organisation PEN. In 1998 he founded The Biographers Club, a monthly dining society for biographers and those involved in promoting biography, and The Biographers’ Club Prize which supports first-time biographers.
Sue, somewhere in Germany There should be “a market for travel books about little known places “ and I like the idea of a ‘travi-comedy’ but I wonder if “a fictionalised, romanticised account of my own experiences mixed with historical, cultural and environmental facts” is the way to go commercially. Think who is going to buy your book, why and how. If you’re Jan Morris or Gerald Durrell and a brilliant writer then maybe you can pull this off but otherwise I’d stick with the facts and simply giving both visitors and armchair readers a sense of the island based on the facts.
From what I gleaned from editors’ rejections, my books sit right in the middle of literary and commercial fiction, hence, hard to sell. So, I’m thinking, what should I do? Change my style to very obviously commercial, or very obviously literary? It seems my middle-of-the-fence attempts aren’t marketable. Liza Perrat, Lyon Positioning can be important but more in terms of genre than simply literary and commercial. After all there are plenty of very successful literary writers. I’d need to see the rejections but it may be the subject matter rather than the style which is the problem. You have to be true to yourself but also, if you want to be a commercially successful writer, need to study the market. It would be worth securing reports from manuscript evaluation companies such as Cornerstones, The Literary Consultancy and Writers Workshop and securing an agent to guide you.
A book packaging company has approached me, asking if I would contribute to a series of books. These would be ‘ghosted’ under a pseudonym and I would receive a one-off payment on completion, plus ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ royalties. Before signing any contracts, I’m keen to know if this is reasonable and what the ‘going rate’ for such work is. Is there an industry standard for freelance ghostwriting work generally? Allen Collins, High Wycombe There isn’t really a going rate and it all depends on production costs, anticipated sales, the deals done by packaging company etc, but worth joining the Society of Authors and asking their advice.
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My agent submitted my book to a series of publishers and I ended up with a handful of rejections. So far, so typical. But several of those editors asked to see future material. When I’d completed my second book, my agent didn’t think it worthwhile submitting. We parted company shortly afterwards, so I contacted the editors concerned directly. Almost all were enthusiastic and asked to see more. I appreciate agents need to make money from their clients, but in the current climate, are agents being too cagey? Niamh Brogan, Kinsale It would be worth asking your former agent why, given the interest, the second book wasn’t submitted. Perhaps they didn’t feel it was strong enough and best to keep your powder dry for something editors would take. After all both your and agent’s reputation is on the line. What you don’t say is whether the new enthusiasm led to a book contract and if you are venturing down the agent route again.
Just to say I really appreciate hearing an insider’s honest take on current trends in the book world. Cheers. I have a question, which may seem rather naive, but I’m new to this game. Can you tell me what actually happens at an industry book fair, such as London or Frankfurt? Is it worth an unagented author attending, just to look around, network and soak up the atmosphere? And if I can just sneak in another quickie – what’s your opinion on the new Literature Prize mooted by Kidd and co.? Stewart Harries, East London (member of Mr Write and Authonomy) I hope I present a realistic perspective. Publishing is a tough business – operative word business – and authors need to be totally professional in their approach. I go to book fairs partly to sell rights but also to pick up catalogues, see what is being published, learn about new developments in publishing, hear writers etc. You may pick up useful contacts but it’s worth going just as an intelligence gathering operation and fun day out. Prizes do help sell and promote books so the more the merrier. The new prize seems well financed and I’m sure will find its niche.
I’m a US citizen with an international thriller ready to pitch. Should I stick to American agents or give the Brits a shot? Kimberly Scott, Seattle WA We’re always worth a shot. I receive submissions from over 130 countries each month, many supplying local postage for return of the submission, and about 10% of my authors live in US. Publishers don’t care where a book comes from as long as it’s a good book especially if it has international appeal and is from an agent they are in regular contact with either by e mail or in person .
Shelley Power – Shelley Power Literary Agency (Paris) “I founded my own agency 35 years ago, I had some family contacts. I have always worked on my own. I work from Paris with frequent trips to London. The office and I live in a bijou apartment in a lively, originally working-class neighbourhood.” Why did you choose to base yourself in Paris? My move to France was a personal choice of a preferred lifestyle. Initially I lived in the country and that was a bad decision for several reasons: the lack of intellectual stimulation; it took almost a full day’s journey to get to London; and I was poorly placed to acquire new clients. I moved up to Paris 11 years ago and have never regretted it. I love the lifestyle and it takes very little over 2 hours by Eurostar to get to London - less than it takes to get from somewhere like Edinburgh to London. What are the advantages of being outside London? The advantage of being outside London, as far as I am concerned, is a more relaxed lifestyle with a public transport system that works, in “la ville de mon coeur”.
Christian Dittus - Paul and Peter Fritz Literary Agency (Zürich) The Fritz Agency offers agents and publishers from English speaking countries representation in the German language territory, for the licensing of German language translation rights. Christian Dittus has been an agent with Fritz for almost twenty years. How did you become an agent? I made the “classic” agenting career: I started in the mail room (part time, as a student), stayed on after graduating and became first an assistant, then a junior agent, and eventually an executive agent. I learned the ropes “von der Pike auf”, as we say in German.
What are the advantages of being based in Zürich? It’s a beautiful city... The German language book publishing market does not have a “capital” like Paris for French-speaking Europe, or London for the UK. There are major publishers in Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin, not to mention Zurich. To be based here is as good or as bad as in any of these cities - you’d never get all the major players in one place. Why are you moving from foreign-language rights to full service author representation?
I think the author-agent relationship has to be somewhat intimate. My authors are also my friends, I like them!
The Fritz Agency has always represented German language authors world-wide, though the representation of English language authors in Germany has always been our main trade. And we have always advised our authors for non-book right agreements (film, theatre, etc.), co-agenting with specialised partners from Germany to New York to Hollywood. And we want to expand the representation of German language authors because the market is changing and developing in that direction.
The agent is the one consistent person in the life and career of an author when editors move on and change houses.
Which German-language authors deserve to be better known?
How do you discover your clients? I have seldom approached clients. Some come to me by word-of-mouth recommendation and there are others I find through submissions. I take on very few new clients, so I have to love the book and will then give it 100% attention. My client list is small, so that I am able to give every author full attention. How would you describe the author-agent relationship?
I fulfil several roles: editor, business adviser, friend, agony aunt (occasionally) and increasingly, I find myself involved in marketing and publicity.
All Fritz authors. And some others, but I won’t name names here.
One of my authors has led me to the world of ancient Greek historical reenactment..........!
The world of books is changing fast - what elements depress you and which make you optimistic?
This photograph was taken at Marathon in September, an event to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon.
Editorial savvy and instinct are increasingly being replaced by marketing considerations; it’s become rare that an editor acquires a book because he or she thinks that it’s a great book, or an important book, or both. And the imbalance between production (publishing) and distribution (bookselling) continues in the digital marketplace, where publishers - the providers of “content” - seem to be on the same fateful road as they were in the bricks-andmortar trade, by giving e-booksellers (internet platforms; formerly: bookstore chains) ever more power, and an ever bigger piece of the revenue pie in the form of disproportionate discounts. With this practice they give away the very ground they stand on, they make it hard if not impossible for smaller publishers to compete, and they leave next to nothing to the authors.
The world of books is changing fast - what elements get you down and which make you optimistic? I have always been depressed by the adulation of mediocrity, for instance that a “celebrity” can put their name to a book they may not even have read, ghostwritten by someone else, which sells for a great deal of money, while real writers with talent fall by the wayside. I am depressed by the dumbing-down of certain non-fiction categories of books, for instance history and politics. What makes me optimistic? I am by nature an optimist so I hope that the e-book will turn out to be a “good thing” and that people will continue to read and buy books. Intelligent books!!
On the other hand, new impulses and fresh ideas often come from small, independent houses, and fortunately there seems to be no end of start-up publishers with a vision; true, they often have more idealism than money, but that’s where innovation comes from. And every day a great book is being written or published, and every day hungry readers are out to discover great writing.
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Svetlana Pironko Authors’ Rights Agency (Dublin) An experienced international agent, formerly an associate of Lora Fountain & Associates Literary Agency in Paris, with a deep knowledge of selling rights all over the world, with personal contacts with the English-speaking publishing world. She has direct experience of working with creative writers, publishers, editors, agents and scouts in many international markets and languages. She speaks fluent English, French, her native Russian and has working knowledge of Italian. She studied literature in Russia achieving first class university honours. For ten years, she was an interpreter and translator working in Paris for major international organisations and businesses. Her life-long love of books laid the foundation for her entry into the world of publishing where she effectively uses her knowledge of literature as well as her skills and experience in international business and translation. Why did you choose to base yourself in Dublin? My choice wasn’t motivated by professional reasons but moving from Paris, where I was a partner in a literary agency representing American, British, Canadian and Irish clients for translation rights, allowed me to start my own business as a primary agent representing English-speaking authors for world rights. What are the advantages of being outside London? There aren’t any, I’m afraid. How do you discover your clients? Through my existing authors and also through direct submissions from writers. How would you describe the author-agent relationship? In my case, it’s pretty much “mother-and-child”. This is a small agency, I represent fiction only (or, at least about 99%) and I have to be very selective.
But when I “adopt” an author, particularly a first-time author, I would try and try to find a publisher for his or novel until I succeed, even if sometimes it takes years. I did fail a few times, however, but at least I can say that I did my best because I really believed in the quality of the material. I work with authors very closely on their manuscripts, which, of course, requires mutual trust and cooperation. I wouldn’t be able to represent a writer if we aren’t on the same wavelength. I keep constantly in touch during the submissions process and sometimes try to “shelter” them from harsh rejections. Behind its glamorous façade, publishing is a tough and pitiless business. In a probably very old-fashioned way, I believe that the agent’s role is to protect the writer. We are simply “merchants”, even when we participate in the writing/editing process. They are creators. Real talent is rare and we have to make sure that their creativity wouldn’t be stifled by the ever-changing market requirements. It’s becoming increasingly difficult, as authors are now expected to be businessmen as well as artists. This is where a good agent can make a difference and be of real help. The world of books is changing fast - what elements get you down and which make you optimistic? What gets me down is the general depreciation of the intellectual property. We blame Internet for the fact that people got used to getting everything for free (information, music, etc.). But I think that publishers and booksellers, particularly in the English-speaking countries, are largely responsible for the fact that readers expect not to pay for books or to pay very little. When books are sold “2 for the price of 1” or “3 for the price of 2”, when there are whole bookstore chains specialising in selling books recently published at high discount, when e-books are sold for half-nothing, how can we blame readers for forgetting that writing and publishing a book requires talent and represents a huge amount of work, often years of it? I am all in favour of e-books, and it would be stupid to try to go against the tide anyway. But I hope that both publishers and readers will keep in mind that content is much more important than the support and will pay for it, pay writers for their work. What makes me optimistic? There will always be writers and there will always be readers. At least, I hope so. Isn’t it part of what makes us human?
The Most Exciting Place in Publishing by Dan Holloway
S
pend time reading the cultural pages and you’d be forgiven for thinking publishing was entering its very own House of Usher, interred under the weight of its past sins. You probably don’t have to do much more reading to realise that this is only part of the truth. And despite the so-called three percent problem (or maybe even because of it, as people finally twig that just maybe the book-loving public can cope with more than three percent of their reading in translation), the publishing shoots are greenest in the sphere of world literature. It’s too early to say what is happening in terms of numbers. Nonetheless, I don’t want to put too much of a health warning on this article, because I’ll be looking at two presses who are (whisper it) innovating, doing exciting things that even the so-called highly dynamic, ultra-indie parts of publishing and self-publishing haven’t yet mastered, and which everyone from the very biggest presses
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downwards could learn from. But first it’s worth mentioning that these innovations are not random salvos being fired into a vacuum. The internet is full of great places and great resources for the lover of literature in translation. There are the “literature challenges” to be found on blogs like Dolce Bellezza, essentially enormous, internetbased reading groups in which like-minded readers set out to discover and share new works together, originally written in particular languages. The book blogging world is full of amazing places to find wonderful world literature you may never have come across on the intranslation tables of Waterstone’s. If you want your eyes opened and your reading experience broadened, you could do worse than spend a month or so with two of the best of these, Tony’s Reading List and Winston’s Dad. I met (via the internet, of course. Tony is
based in Australia) Tony Malone when I was looking for Haruki Murakami fans to whom I could give away my first novel, Songs from the Other Side of the Wall, and his blog has been a regular source of essential reading in the two and a half years since. There is a distinct lean towards Japanese literature, but there is also a wide sweep of the rest of the world. Tony’s reviews, which are amongst the most informative and insightful anywhere on the web, do what the very best book bloggers do. They make you feel like you’re discovering things with a friend, and they instil a sense of trust. If you share Tony’s taste, you can be pretty sure you should check out his recommendations. I met Stu Allen, who runs the Winston’s Dad (Winston is the most gorgeous dog) blog, on twitter (http://twitter.com/stujallen), where he is at the heart of all the conversations about world literature. If you only follow one person
on twitter to expand your reading horizons, make it Stu. The Winston’s Dad blog is a veritable cornucopia, added to with a regularity that demonstrates a voracity and passion for world literature I can only begin to boggle at. Most of us could spend a lifetime luxuriating in Stu’s choices. And it would be daft not to mention in passing a few recent “event” books in translation. No one can be unaware of the popularity of Scandinavian crime fiction, but even in literary fiction, translated works are centre stage. First of these is Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, which remains the only undisputed 24 carat literary masterpiece of the 21st Century. The book’s dazzling structure, endlessly layered metaphysics, and unflinching subject matter captured the imagination of readers everywhere and achieved that literary alchemy of getting groups debating. There was even a long-lived #2666 hashtag on twitter as the blogosphere’s cultural pundit-in-chief Maria Bustillos led a global discussion. 2666 also coincided with the bursting onto the global scene of Latin American cinema, where directors like Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu have, alongside Bolaño, whetted the world’s appetite on a level one could argue even Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Maria Vargas Llosa haven’t achieved. And then in October this year came the publication of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, the publishing event of the year. There were midnight store openings more usual for Harry Potter than literary fiction in translation, and I took part in a fabulous event at Blackwell’s in Oxford that saw not only readings but free cocktails and jazz in honour of the cult author. So the appetite is there, and it’s growing. And it’s being filled with some of the most exciting publishing ventures currently at work. I want to look at two of them. From the pictures, you will see, in an instant, one thing both And Other Stories and Peirene (named after a Greek nymph and pronounced Pie-reknee) Press have in common. They understand branding. Each of them has created a look that unifies all their books. The message is simple. It’s the same as that of a good book blog – “this is one of our titles. If you liked any of the others then trust us and try it.” Simple, obvious, but rarely done as well. They even give each book a number (And Other Stories’ titles have the number on the spine, making it even more impossible not to buy every title once you’ve bought one). And, in an act of perfect synchronicity for a December publication, they go one step further. You can buy, for yourself or a loved one, a subscription, and receive each new title as it arrives over the coming year. And Other Stories is the brainchild of Stefan Tobler. The press, which released its first four titles this year, got its big break very recently when its first title, Juan Pablo Villalobos’ Down the Rabbit Hole, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. It’s a wonderful book, the story of a child caught up in drugs wars who wants a pygmy hippo.
But the secret of And Other Stories’ success lies in its unique structure, established well over a year before its first titles came out. In a set-up that will sound familiar to anyone who’s a member of one of the popular writing websites, And Other Stories marries Stefan’s impeccable curatorial nose for something special and a collective approach. Reading groups, each devoted to a particular language, discuss books written in that language, throw suggestions at each other, read together and, when a book generates sufficient buzz, bring it to the attention of Stefan’s and his team. This isn’t a guarantee of publication – at four titles a year that wouldn’t be possible. But the editorial team will read it, and if they fall in love with it, they’ll begin negotiating translation rights. And because it’s driven by passionate readers with books they want to champion and not authors with products they want to push, the model seems to work exceptionally well. The most recent addition, Deborah Levy’s Swimming Home, is every bit as wonderful as Down the Rabbit Hole. And Other Stories also put on some fabulous events, often bringing translators and authors together. And it’s this sense of an identity that goes beyond the books themselves into a larger community of which readers want to be a part that Peirene has also built its growing reputation on. Peirene Press publish three books a year. Each is a novella, the perfect two hour read, an alternative to the cinema. They have taken some of the very best European literary fiction, thought-provoking and challenging titles like Véronique Olmi’s Beside the Sea, the tale of a mother who takes her children on a tragic last holiday to the seaside before she kills them in a desperate attempt to save them from a world she can only comprehend as frightening and hostile; and Friedrich Christian Delius’ Portrait of the Mother as a Young Woman, written as a single sentence. Meike Ziervogel, the force of nature behind Peirene, has taken the press’ world way beyond their books. She runs a regular literary salon at the Press’ headquarters that has quickly established itself as a diary essential. These salons bring together authors, translators, critics, and readers for discussion, debate, food and wine. Peirene is at the heart of a movement getting people excited, thinking, and talking about world literature. What does this mean for the wider publishing world? Many of us writers would love to see a thriving independent scene, and the old rules about novellas and challenging subject matter being torn down. It would be wonderful to see the growth in world literature, and world culture in general, leading the charge. We need to be a little wary. I wrote last year, for example, about the contrasting reactions in the media to Olmi’s Beside the Sea, which had rave reviews but never broke beyond the culture pages, and the similarlythemed We Need to Talk About Kevin, which sparked debate throughout the press as well
as in book clubs internationally. It may be that the press still can’t quite get their head around aspects of in-translation books other than the fact they are in-translation. And when we talked about the future of the novella, Stefan Tobler was sanguine in his weighing up of the situation, believing Julian Barnes’ Booker victory with The Sense of an Ending is much more likely to affect mainstream publishers’ approach to the novella than the success of the likes of Down the Rabbit Hole. But balance and sanguinity aside, as a reader but also as a writer it is hard not to be excited by the way world literature is entering the UK’s cultural consciousness. Here are not only books bringing different world views, but different styles, different feel for literary format. And here are publishers embracing not only the allegedly unfashionable, but placing books at the heart of reading communities, and adopting new, experimental ways of doing business. As readers and as writers, we are surely all rooting for their success. The best blogs for discovering and discussing world literature
Winston’s Dad http://winstonsdad.wordpress.com/ Tony’s Reading List http://tonysreadinglist.blogspot. com/ Dolce Bellezza http://www.dolcebellezza.net Farmlane Books http://www.farmlanebooks.oc.uk Three Percent http://www.rochester.edu/College/ translation/threepercent/
The best publishers Peirene Press http://www.peirenepress.com Dalkey Archive http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/ Pushkin Press http://www.pushkinpress.com And Other Stories http://andotherstories.org CB Editions http://cbeditions.com/
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Cornerstones Mini Masterclass exploring the opening page with Helen Corner and Kathryn Price
We sent the first page of GEORGINA KAMSIKA’S novel to Cornerstones. Here, we show you the the first page and their verdict ...
1. Rachel Ford By rights, Rachel should have been caught the first time she fell, sprawling to her knees in the derelict hospital. Except somehow she’d managed to clamber to her feet and start running again before her pursuers closed the gap. Slamming through the hospital doors into the winter sunlight, she crossed the ruined car park as they trailed her. She dodged the rusted car skeletons scattered along the road, where tall weeds had broken the surface into little chunks. Her pursuers were close, the crunch of ruined tarmac a mere twenty seconds behind. Panting hard, lungs straining, the copper flavour was so strong Rachel could hardly taste the centuries old dust layering her mouth. The rifle strapped across her back thumped into her shoulder blade against an already yellowing bruise with every step. “Still pursuing target on foot,” one of the men shouted into his radio. “Heading towards Barnsley sector. Suspect is armed.” “Do you require backup?” The radio crackled a reply. “For one girl?” Rachel heard him snort. “Almost run her into the ground. Be back in ten.” Rachel skirted around the edge of the hospital grounds, drawing closer to the crumbling buildings sprawled like a labyrinth at the bottom of the hill. ‘This better work, or I’m gonna be half dead for nothing.’ Every step forced her oxygen deprived muscles to push that bit more. Her left knee popped when she hit an ice patch, falling forward on all fours. Her palms stinging from the cement chips scattered throughout the rubble, while a yoke of dead weeds hid her commlink as it skittered out of her pocket. “Bollocks!” She struggled to pull herself upright using some rusty spikes that dug metal into her grazed hands. Her left knee stuck to her jeans as she stood up, and the joint made a grating sound. She had been running for a long time, and there wasn’t much left in the tank. The men’s footsteps sounded closer, both men moving with seemingly boundless energy. Rachel dug in the weeds to find her commlink, its screen was still blank, mocking her fatigue. Putting it back in her pocket, she checked for the important item ñ the one that had got her into this mess. ‘Still there. So get your arse going, no one else is going to save you.’ Dodging around the spikes to keep the men away from her, Rachel hobbled down the hill, her legs aching from fatigue. She darted into a maze of crumbing terraced houses, listening as her pursuers missed the turn. She grinned to herself, exactly how she’d planned it. Their greater mass and momentum was clearly making them less agile than her, even with her dodgy knee. ‘Left, left, straight, right at the crack... ah... ‘ She navigated the maze of ruined walls from memory, having used this route to run on more than one occasion. Peering out of the brick doorway, she could see her goal in sight - a narrow alleyway that was a back route to the next sector. No gates, no guards, she should be able to disappear easily. Heading into the weak sunlight, she allowed her stride to lengthen. Less than sixty seconds later, there was a shout, then the sound of their shoes thudding after her resumed. ‘Focus, it’s time to lose them.’ Checking the streets in front of her, she veered towards the brick pillars lining the edge of the road. Another left, then only about six hundred yards along before... “No, no, no!” A half-collapsed building blocked the route she’d planned, piles of shattered bricks and concrete instead of an alley.
This is an intriguing opening with some tantalising hints as to setting, market and genre. Initially we think Rachel’s on the run after some sort of straightforward heist (is she a spy; a thief; a freedom fighter; good guy or bad?) but with the references to her commlink and the ‘next sector’ there’s a suggestion of SF - is she a participant in some sort of game, perhaps? This feels like a Young Adult novel but it could equally be adult/ crossover; the character’s age and the subject matter of the story, as it unfolds, would define this. Certainly there’s plenty to hook in a reader and get them asking questions, which is exactly what you want from your first pages. Might there be a way to look at the sequencing in the first paragraph so that rather than starting with a flashback (‘she should have been caught the first time she fell’) we begin right in-scene? Since what we’re witnessing in the immediate moment is already gripping, there’s probably no need to shift us backwards to an earlier incident that’s no more dramatic than this one; and sticking with the now of the story may make it easier to draw the reader in. This is written, on the whole, with the kind of stripped-back language that’s just right for an action scene. The first paragraph has deft touches of description that set the scene without bogging us down in too much detail. This could perhaps be taken even further, aiming to cut out any extraneous words or anything that feels like authorial commentary. For instance, in the first paragraph ‘a mere twenty seconds behind’ seems too specific and precise for Rachel to notice at this point. The author might substitute something like ‘a few steps behind’ or even ‘close enough to hear their breathing’. Something immediate and pacy, fitting the moment. Likewise in the second paragraph, with ‘Panting hard ... the copper flavour was so strong ... centuries old dust layering her mouth.’ These are great physical sensations, exactly what a reader needs to root them in the scene, but could they be a bit more concise, feel a bit more as though they’re Rachel’s immediate observations rather than the author’s considered description? For instance: ‘Her breath rasped; her mouth tasted of dust and copper.’ In all writing, but particularly in action scenes, simplicity and directness is usually the ideal to aim for, and this is often a case of finding the perfect word - particularly when it comes to verb choices to encapsulate what you’re trying to say, at the same time as aiming to express it (even though it might be 3rd person) in a way which reflects the viewpoint character’s experience of the scene, as with ‘rasped’ above. The same applies to the men ‘moving with seemingly boundless energy’ further on. Is there a stronger verb to describe this action? Something like ‘loped’ might work well as it conveys the sense of them as predator and her as prey, at the same time as being succinct and cutting out the adverb. There’s a good sense of pacing here - what information to give away and when, and what to hold back on where we’re only given vital, tantalising bits of detail to show us the protagonist’s predicament. This is a wise choice for an opening, but - whilst you don’t want to give too much away - a bit more internal thought and conflict would allow Rachel’s voice to come through and sharpen up this scene even more. For example, as a reader I’m intrigued to know what she has in her pocket, but this question risks distracting us from what’s really important (I find myself thinking, if Rachel knows what’s in her pocket, surely we should too, which then makes me wonder if we’re really inside her head as much as we could be), so in some ways it may be better not to deliberately withhold this information, instead allowing the reader to focus in on what Rachel’s experiencing in the moment. There’s potentially bags of tension here which could be cranked up. In a chase scene, the source of tension is elegantly simple: will our main character avoid her pursuers, and do we care about her enough to hope she escapes? With this in mind, getting inside Rachel’s head a little more should itself really help to boost tension; at the same time, look for ways to keep us on the edge of our seats as to whether Rachel will get away. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, creating a really exciting action scene is often about slowing things right down, allowing the reader to inhabit the character and feeding as much of what the character’s experiencing into the reader’s senses as possible so that they really feel as
though they’re there. I winced at the knee popping when she falls ñ and this sort of gritty sensory detail brings a scene to life. Authors sometimes think that for action scenes they need to use pithy, short sentencing and rapid action to heighten pace but the effect can be that the reader is left breathless and removed from what the character is experiencing. In film, action scenes are often in slow-motion and the same is true for writing. For example, in the paragraph beginning ‘Dodging around the spikes ...’ there’s a great opportunity to build tension by slowing the pace and rooting us in Rachel’s experience. With the sentence ‘listening as her pursuers missed the turn ... exactly how she’d planned it’ a potentially gripping moment is skimmed over so quickly that the reader might miss it. Instead, could we see Rachel waiting, back pressed against the wall, trying to breathe silently even though she’s gasping for air, hoping that they’ve missed the turning, listening out for every noise ...? The above techniques are all tied-in to the concept of Show not Tell, and another element of this concept that’s particularly relevant here is the necessity of getting inside your main character’s head as much as possible. In a scene like this you wouldn’t want lots of reflection, but we do need to know how it feels to be Rachel at this spine-tingling moment. For instance, the ‘already yellowing bruise’ is a good description but it feels quite external - how does the rifle thumping into her shoulder blade feel? Does the pain knock the breath from her? Or, when she hears the man saying that he’s ‘almost run her into the ground, be back in ten minutes’, what is her reaction? This would tell us a lot about her: is she ballsy and confident in her ability to escape (No he bloody hadn’t, she might think) or starting to panic and doubt herself (Ten minutes. Was that really all she had left?) With direct thoughts, it can help to weave them into the narrative as with the examples above. First person present tense thoughts can jar in a third person past tense narrative but adding them free indirect style like this closes the gap between narrator and character and allows you to integrate the thoughts seamlessly. So, the thoughts included in this extract might be rephrased as ‘This’d better work, or she was going to be half dead for nothing’ and ‘It was still there. She had to get her arse in gear; no-one else was going to save her’. The most important point relating to presentation is that the industry expects to see a manuscript laid out in double-spacing and this was single-spaced (we’ve double-spaced it for the purpose of this critique), though as this submission was on-screen the formatting may have been thrown off kilter. With each new chapter the first paragraph should be left justified, and each subsequent paragraph indented (no hard returns or space-bar spacing) and each new piece of dialogue indented and on a separate line, as it is here. The font should be Times New Roman or Arial, 12 pt, with each page numbered, and a header/footer showing the author’s name and title. There was also a typo (‘maze of crumbing’) and while the trade will overlook the odd error like this one, too many can give the impression of careless proofreading, even if thatís not the case. All in all a great start, Georgina; you kick the plot off with a bang, and with a few tweaks to verb choices, pacing, and show not tell particularly your main character’s point-of- view (POV) - this could be a really cracking, edge-of-the-seat scene. Very best of luck with taking it to the next stage.
Critique done by Kathryn Price and Helen Corner of Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, on behalf of Words with JAM ezine. Cornerstones provide editorial feedback on writing, scout for agents, and run mini masterclasses on how to self-edit and submit to agents. Their teaching techniques are explored in more depth in Write a Blockbuster and Get it Published, Hodder, by Lee Weatherly and Helen Corner. All writers are welcome to contact Cornerstones Helen@cornerstones.co.uk or 0207 792 5551.
If you would like to participate in the Cornerstones Opening Page Mini Masterclass, send your opening page to submissions@wordswithjam.co.uk with the subject ‘Cornerstones Masterclass’.
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Writing From a Different Place by Dan Holloway
OK, before I start I’m going to take a short break whilst you go and borrow or buy Jay Rubin’s Murakami and the Music of Words. I won’t refer to it again, don’t worry. Just read it. Good. You’re back. Many of my favourite reads are works in translation, from Japanese authors like Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami to Eastern and Central European writers like Milan Kundera, Elfriede Jelinek and Dubravka Ugresic. But when it comes to my writing, discussing these favourites feels strange. I am reading a translation. How is it possible to talk of the influence of a writer on my style, the way I don’t just choose my subject matter but form my sentences, when I am reading them in mediated form? I’ve been wondering a lot about this as I prepare for this article (that’s my excuse for pushing the deadline, anyway!). I have a feeling I will keep coming back to it, but for now I will just accept that it would be impossible to deny the impact each of these writers has had on my own work. More, without question, than any English language writers with the possible exception of Brett Easton Ellis and Allen Ginsberg. What I want to do here is look very briefly at how one author influenced my writing in such a way as, I hope, to encourage writers to read outside of their regular sphere and see what they can bring back to their own words form the journey. I’m not going to make generalisations about “Japanese emphasis on fragility and nostalgia” or such tropes. You can find or not find those for yourselves. For me, such generalisations do nothing to improve writing – that happens by engaging with the quirks and tics of individual writers. So this isn’t really a plea to read “world literature” so much as to read “something different.” Haruki Murakami has captured the imagination of millions of readers, and the publication of 1Q84 seems destined to win him swathes more fans. I love reading Murakami, but it was as a writer that he changed my life. Two things in particular made me rethink how I’d done things until that point. First, Murakami’s writing is episodic. Many of his books – The Wind-up Bird Chronicle being the most striking example – contain little or nothing in the way of connective tissue. They present us with self-contained scenes which, when taken together build into a story. There’s an anecdote that may well be Murakami’s playful sense of hindsight in which he explains this is largely down to his job when he first started writing, running a jazz bar. He would have to write in the snatches of time his job permitted, so he tended to set about things in small, self-contained chunks. Recently I’ve encountered this phenomenon again in
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so-called cellphone novels, a Japanese-led phenomenon in which writers upload tiny chapters of little over 100 words at a time (dating back to the days when texting on phones had a limited capacity). Writing like this, you can’t link your sections. There just isn’t time. I’m writing my current work in progress, What There Is Instead of Rainbows, as a cellphone novel because this episodic style both scares and fascinates me. What it’s taught me is just how unnecessary all those linking passages, the “and then I went inside” ones that give us such block, are. Leaving them out does something wonderful to your text. It makes the reader create their own links, it engages them, draws them in, makes them part of the creative endeavour of the story. More than anything, Murakami is the master of metaphor. His writing contains long passages in which the laws of nature just don’t apply. But these are rarely out and out fantasy. What they are is glorious, nonsensical metaphors. It is their nonsense that gives them their power, and it was the first time I read this in action in Murakami that I suddenly clicked what metaphor is about. In Sputnik Sweetheart there is an extended passage in which a character finds herself trapped at night in a carriage at the top of a ferris wheel. At one point she realises she can see through her bedroom window, where she sees herself, engaging in a sexual act that she in the ferris wheel finds repulsive but she in the bedroom is totally into. When I read that, I realised at once. The point of a metaphor is to be so overtly absurd but in such a naturalistic way that, simultaneously, you cannot imagine that you are being told “facts” but you remain utterly within the metaphor’s internal logic. This balancing act enables a scene of complete absurdity to convey an absolute truth, a truth that goes under the skin of the facts to the heart of what it is to be human. Ever since I have stopped trying to create “original” or “striking” or “realistic” metaphors. I have found a scene that expresses the truth and described it as I see it, with no hint of irony or explanation. The message is simple. Read something written in a style you’re utterly unfamiliar with, by someone not constrained by all the cultural symbols you’ve grown up as a writer thinking of as norms (and yes, before you say, I know Murakami is heavily indebted to Western pop culture). Don’t think about what rules they’re following. Just go on a journey with them, and bring back a souvenir to your own writing when you return.
Scripts: World Cinema by Ola Zaltin
Now. I don’t mind a good dose of political incorrectness now and then. In fact, I often welcome it. One tries to be as good as the next man. These are new times after all; a brand new millennium, lots of lofty ideals and high-flying goals to live up to. Ecological foodstuffs, sustainable energy, bikram yoga, vegan food and literally selling your own wind to Co2 trading houses. But seriously, in these trying days of no-smoking, no more than 3 units a day and a general sense of the oomph having escaped the balloon that was once bawdy fun, hilarity and up yours - I’m still going to admit to a nagging feeling of political correctness rearing its ugly head inside of me while writing this. The theme of this month’s WWJ is World Literature. Which gets me thinking: what’s the difference between plain old vanilla Literature and World Literature? By definition, shouldn’t it just be Literature, whether it’s from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil or Slough, England? (Okay, not Slough, England, but everywhere else.) In fact, doesn’t the ‘World’ prefix rather imply that we - us in the western hemisphere, we of the same blood and Anglo background - rather like to differentiate between Us and Them? As in Literature (Us) and World Literature (Them)? For me at least, World Literature then gets the designated job of meaning Africa, Asia, South America and all those other odd spots that we’ve never been to but pissed down on for centuries and whose writers usually win the Nobel (“Heeeey, sorry, yeah, no, aaah - really, we’re a bit,...shit happens, you know? Colonialism and robbing you blind and such, haha! Here you go mate; one million Swedish dubloons. Now smile for the world press if you may, Sir!”). Okay. Rant of the day done. Moving on. I thought it would be an easy feat to just change the subject from World Literature to World Cinema. Which was a lot of malarky, as I don’t know a dog’s bollocks about World Cinema. So I’ll stick with the old feud across the Atlantic: European Art vs. Hollywood Drivel. Basically, the classic view of the transatlantic cinematic divide is expressed as Entertainment vs Education, or, Money vs Art. An argument that has some merit to it, but which on closer inspection reveal rather interesting cracks in the cemented perceptions of popular imagination. Cinema evolved more or less simultaneously both sides of the Atlantic. The Lumiere brothers in France and Mr. Edison in America both developed - and sneaked peeks at each other’s inventions - and went back to the drawing board and perfected them. But whereas stateside, film quickly developed into carny entertainments, Movies; in the old world people like Fritz Lang et. al. immediately seized upon the chance to develop a new art form. In the beginning much influenced by the expressionist movement of the early 1900’s. Black and white, shadows and light, dust and mirrors...for short: Cinema. Europe had a long history to cater to. USA had very little
of that. No surprise then that one of the most innovative and amazing films of the time was dubbed ”Birth of a Nation”, D.W. Griffith’s masterpiece. It was the old world against the new. Europe would forever be looking over its shoulder, and the USA would look to the future. A distinct difference arose between European and American cinema. In Samuel Goldwyn’s famous words: “Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union.” In Europe cinema became a way to explore complex situations without clear-cut endings. Everything ends by a negotiated compromise, with all the parties involved knowing full well that nothing is solved in the end, and that we will only hobble along to face another day of the same perpetual questions. In Hollywood - the dream factory - the larger than life drama developed. The movies had the biggest guns, the craziest bad guys, the bravest heroes facing the most impossible odds and the sweetest dames. Needless to say, here the happy ending reigned. To summarize: Hollywood tells tales of adventures, escapist blockbusters. Europe bases its stories in reality. So then what is ’World Cinema’? I’m no surer than at the beginning of this article. But I’ll give you my own personal definition. World cinema to me is a film that takes me to places I have never been (and probably will never go) and tells tales that are not necessarily divided into three act-structures or even has a clear-cut main character, nor a happy ending. But at the end, I feel like I’ve been in the company of some amazing people, seem some real drama, and visited lands foreign and intriguing to me. This can be an Indian film (“The servant’s shirt”), South American (”Cite de Soleil”) but just as well a British film (“Life is sweet”). Yeah, I know: I’m blurring the lines here. Because by my above argument, literally everything that’s not Hollywood is world cinema: since in my head also world cinema sets out to examine a specific dilemma of the human condition. What has been glibly called Indie films in USA attempt the exact same thing. Today we have South African films that go for hard-core Sci-Fi with all the trademark elements of a Hollywood block-buster, including a three-act structure and a set-up for the sequel (“District Nine”) as well as Icelandic directors making dark and beautiful - and European - films on Manhattan (“The Good Heart”). Confusing, albeit equally inspiring. And truth to be told, this cross-pollination across the Atlantic (and many other oceans) has been going on since over a century. Just ask Fritz Lang, D.W. Griffith, Mauritz Stiller, Jean-Luc Godard, Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Quentin Tarantino and all the other boys and girls. They all inspired each other, and legions of other young and old film-makers. And in that sense, there is no Cinema nor Movies - just stories wanting to be told.
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Strutting and Fretting Upon the Stage Description and Scene Setting with Sarah Bower
You walk into the theatre, find your seat, climb over your fellow playgoers to get to it, settle in, open your naughty little bag of truffles, check your interval drinks order. The house lights go down; your heart begins to beat a little faster, the curtain rises and the stage is illuminated. You watch, initially in hope but with increasing disinterest, as stagehands manipulate sets and carry on props. Minutes drag by and there’s not an actor in sight. No-one speaks any lines, no music plays, though perhaps the lights are adjusted occasionally as the technicians test them for the forthcoming show. The show you’ve paid to see, but where is it? You’re already half way through your truffles and nothing has happened. At this rate, you’ll have fallen asleep under the influence of your interval gin long before it does. You tell yourself you’ll finish the truffles and then, unless something changes, you’ll leave. The moral of this story? Whatever you do, avoid beginning your novel with a long passage of description. To extend the theatrical metaphor perhaps a little further than I should, of course the scene must be set for the actors to perform, but the mechanics of this will be done largely in advance of the audience arriving and adjustments will be made discreetly, so as not to distract attention from the action of the play. The novelist should take the same approach. A novel is about character, conflict and resolution. Its stuff is that of emotional exposition and dramatic confrontation. Like plays, novels at their best offer catharsis. When all this is working, audiences scarcely notice the backdrop. Of course, they would notice immediately if there was no backdrop at all, or if the scenery somehow failed to match the action being played out within it. The descriptive element of the novel is, therefore, as important as all its other components, but it must be managed with subtlety and discretion, so that readers only notice it when it has a contribution to make to the development of character, plot or theme. If, for example, your protagonist is a mountaineer or an interior decorator, their surroundings will be integral to their characterisation and, very possibly, to the development
of your plot. If you are writing a murder mystery, detailed descriptions of the crime scene will be necessary to help both the police and the reader work out whodunit. As a general rule, however, scene-setting should be unobtrusive. Just as, in life, our brains tend to notice and process only what they need in order for us to walk across a road without getting run over, or recognise a work colleague in a crowded canteen, or decide whether or not a particular outfit suits us, so, in fiction, you should be selective in what you describe. This will be conditioned by what will come to the notice of characters in given situations. If your heroine walks into a bar, for example, and stumbles across her husband snogging his secretary, she is unlikely to notice the bar’s decor, or the girl in the corner fixing her lipstick. She might, out of the corner of her eye, register the man in a lumberjack shirt whose gigantic paw is curled around a cocktail with an umbrella in it, because that is outside the range of conventional expectation. Mostly, however, she will be focused on the erring husband and secretary, and on the interior landscape this opens up inside her. What do I mean by description? Obviously, it refers to what we see. We live, now, in an intensely visual culture. Images come at us from every angle, from advertising hoardings and the backs of cereal packets, from TV, video games, the cinema. Even flagship radio programmes are supported by visual imagery broadcast on websites. In the UK we are, apparently, the most photographed people in the world because of the amount of CCTV coverage of our public spaces. The world over, we use the cameras in our phones to record images of everything from baby’s first steps to the last breath of anti-government protestors in Syria or the victims of natural disasters in Haiti or Japan. We are so overwhelmed by visual imagery that it is easy to forget that descriptive writing must include all the senses – hearing, smell, taste and touch as well as sight. Different senses take priority in different kinds of scenes, and may be used in counterpoint to one another to suggest the complexity of the sensual world. If, for example, you give a visual description of a rural idyll – a meadow full of wild flowers, cattle drinking at a stream, blue sky, birdsong – but then add the pungent aroma of a rotting sheep carcass, you immediately qualify the overall effect. You undermine your readers’ initial expectations and remind them that every paradise has its cost. If you are using a busy cityscape as a setting, you can achieve a powerfully surreal effect by leaving out sound altogether, loud noise being, possibly, the most prevalent sensual experience of this environment. When you describe your settings, even in realist fiction, you manipulate your characters’ surroundings in order to achieve certain effects. This is perhaps best illustrated with reference to genre fiction. An exercise I often use with students
is to ask them to write a brief scene – a couple’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere – in the language of different genres. Scene-setting is one of the best and easiest ways of flagging up the different genres. Clearly, descriptions will differ greatly between a romance and a gothic horror, a police procedural and a western. Even though the setting may be identical, the demands of the genre call different aspects of it to prominence. In a romance, you might make use of senses of smell and touch as much as sight. In a horror, perhaps the sounds of hooting owls or creaking floorboards may be prioritised. While it is important to remember that all the senses are available to you – and you may even invent new ones if you’re writing scifi or fantasy – do not try to use every one in every scene. The power of the opening of A La Recherche du Temps Perdu is its focus on a single detail – the smell of baking madeleines - which triggers the memories of which the rest of the work is composed. It is also vital that your descriptive writing is truthful. Its terms cannot exceed what is available to you in your fictional world. If that world is contiguous with Planet Earth as we know it, the sea cannot be made of fresh water and human skin will always taste, at least partly, of salt. Mammals are warm and fish cold. There is but one moon and it isn’t purple. Truthfulness, however, extends deeper than this. Excellent descriptive writing reveals the essence of its subject, and does so in ways which make the reader experience it afresh, however mundane it may be. In her novel, Music and Silence, when describing the quality of darkness in King Christian’s wine cellar, Rose Tremain calls it ‘darkness by design’, thus suggesting the element of control, the way in which the king’s authority extends even this far underground. Yet, in this scene, the king is hunting for a treasure which may or may not exist. The darkness is also designed to perpetrate a myth. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the autistic child narrator’s unique voice is achieved partly by his unusual observations of the world around him. A policeman is described ‘as if he had two mice up his nose’. Traffic sounds ‘like surf on a beach.’ The imagery is vivid, its originality arresting, yet we know exactly what Christopher Boone means. His angle of vision is unusual, but remains recognisably human, of the human world. This requires as much hard work as characterisation, plot or any of the other ‘big’ components of the novel. Choose the wrong simile or metaphor, or allow your description to escape the confines of the possible, and it will grate on readers and undermine their confidence in your storytelling. Writing description is not easy. It requires discipline, in both the creation and the deployment. It must be truthful, and it must serve your characters and their plot with iron obedience.
Question Corner Co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist, Lorraine Mace, answers your questions ...
Peter Richardson sent in a question on a topic that I am fairly sure most writers agonise over: My difficulty is the synopsis. I find it harder to write a one page summary than an entire book. Any tips? Before giving tips on the nuts and bolts of writing a synopsis, it’s worth spending a few moments questioning who the synopsis is for and what they actually require. Many agents and publishers ask for a synopsis of no more than a single page, others are more generous and will allow between two and five pages, and then there are those who don’t want a synopsis as such, but require the author to supply the type of blurb found on the back and/or inside jacket of a novel. So, before you begin, your first port of call should be the submission guidelines. If the guidelines allow several pages, why make your task harder by keeping it to one page? Okay, so we now assume you know how long the synopsis has to be and we need to move on to the actual writing. The thought of sitting down and condensing an entire novel is always daunting, but it needn’t be. Break the task down and approach it step by step. One of the best methods is to sit down with your ms and a notepad. Note down what happens in each chapter, so that you have the entire book in summary. Look out for the various themes and make a note of them – this knowledge will be invaluable when you get down to the synopsis itself. Right, now you have a chapter by chapter outline of the book and from that you can pick out the important aspects to go in the synopsis. While doing this, don’t forget that you need to entice the synopsis reader, so make sure you include plenty of conflict and show how the story and characters are driven as a result. Something I saw on a website many years ago struck me as clever. Imagine you have met a friend at a party and you want to describe a film you saw the night before. You’d only give the bare bones of the story, but you would include all the exciting and/or moving aspects of the film leaving your friend wishing that they hadn’t missed out on the experience. This is what you are aiming for in a synopsis. The bare bones, but told in such a way that the person reading the synopsis can’t wait to get hold of the book. If you bear the above paragraph in mind, you’ll realise you do not have to mention every character in the book, but you must include all the important ones. Similarly, you do not need to detail every twist and turn of the plot, but you must show clearly what the book is about, the highs and lows of the story, what is at stake for the main characters, and how the heroes deal with the plot shifts.
Do make sure the storyline follows a logical sequence and comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Always give the ending of the novel. Apart from anything else, this shows the agent you have worked through the plotline and ironed out any hitches. The synopsis should be written using the present tense and third person point of view, even if the actual novel is in first person. Write in the same style you’ve used to write the book, always bearing in mind that this could be the first and only chance you get to show off your own unique voice. If the novel is humorous, use humour. If the book is a rollercoaster thriller, then so should the synopsis be. If the setting is unusual or in some way affects the plot, include a few lines to show this. Open with a hook which will grab the reader’s attention and show the main characters’ emotions and motivations, including any information that is absolutely necessary (don’t try to tell the reader everything). Make the conclusion seem even more exciting by using shorter sentences. Synopsis still too long? Go through it again and again taking out all the unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. Put it away for a week at least between pruning sessions. You need to come at it with fresh eyes each time. When it comes to formatting, you do not need a title page for the synopsis, your contact details go in the covering letter, and the novel’s details go on the same page as the synopsis. Start by putting the following information in the top left-hand corner of the page. Name: Title: Word Length: Genre: Or, if writing for children, put: Genre and age group: Use single line spacing. Block the first paragraph to the left and indent all subsequent paragraphs. Write only in the present tense, using the third person. Each time you introduce a new character, put their name in capitals, but revert to lower case thereafter. Finally, why not look at some back copies of Words with JAM and see how our very own synopsis doctor helps bring various synopses to life? Lorraine and co-author of The Writer’s ABC Checklist (Accent Press), Maureen Vincent-Northam, will be running a Writer’s ABC Checklist Workshop in the UK in May. For more information, visit the website: http://writersabcworkshops. lorrainemace.com
There is advice on every possible question you might ask. --Writing Magazine Regardless of the writer's level or ability, there is something extremely daunting about putting together a submission. It doesn't matter if it is for an article for a magazine, or short story for a competition, a humorous anecdote, a play or TV script, a novel or non-fiction book, "The Writer's ABC Checklist" will provide answers to questions you didn't even know you should ask. With its A-Z format, references can be found quickly and effortlessly. Unfamiliar terms are explained and bullet points at the end of most sections provide a quick reminder of the main items covered. This unique book is packed with writing tips and is something no aspiring writer can afford to be without. Available from Amazon
Do you have layout issues, problematic characters, or struggle to get to grips with your grammar? Email lorraine@wordswithjam.co.uk Pencilbox | 53
What we think of some books Floccinaucinihilipilification: the estimation of something as valueless Tacenda: things better left unsaid 5’9”: The average height of a British adult male Deipnosophist: someone skilled in making dinner-table conversation Logodaedalus: one who is cunning in the use of words
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami Review by Dan Holloway Rating: Logodaedalus I was almost nervous to start reading 1Q84. I have this Murakami thing, you see. I first came across him when a writer friend suggested I might like his sensibility, at which point I popped into Borders (remember those days!), browsed the titles, plucked out Sputnik Sweetheart and fell in love at first sentence. Since then it’s become a full-blown fanboy thing. Murakami does that. If he ever does a reading there will be crowds of screaming teenagers. Not what you’d expect for an author of quirky literary fiction. But the thing about Murakami is that his fiction, like the events of the infamous episode of Boris the Manskinner in Wind-up Bird Chronicle, somehow manages to peel away your outer layer and deliver deep human emotions, and truths, right to the bloodstream. His off-kilter worlds mainline themselves in magical ways. And the thing with that is you’re always afraid the magic will break. So I didn’t actually start reading 1Q84 until I had to. Literally had to. Another Oxford author, M G Harris, and I had cyber-bullied Blackwell’s into holding a night of Murakami celebrations to mark the launch of 1Q84. And one of my jobs was to read the opening chapter aloud. It took about two sentences to know that the magic wouldn’t be broken. There are two stories in 1Q84, told in alternating chapters that iterate slowly towards each other. We open with Aomame, whose life, in a typical Murakami quirk, she believes, has taken the course it has because of her peculiar name (which means “green peas”). In a scene reminiscent on the one hand of Falling Down and on the other of the Jim Jarmusch classic Night on Earth (it’s no surprise that one thinks of films before books with Murakami), Aomame is in the back of a taxi, caught in traffic. And she has to be somewhere. Not just somewhere. She has to be at a hotel room for an appointment with a client (for Aomame a “client” is a wrongdoer she has been sent to assassinate). There is only one way out. Down a fire riser off the
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freeway. When she emerges into the daylight, all she is aware of at first is that things feel slightly different. They are. She has entered a different universe. In a different story, Tengo has a proposition put to him by a famous editor. There’s this story the editor has received, submitted for a prize by a schoolgirl calling herself Fuka-Eri. The story is brilliant, but the writing is just awful. And Tengo is an aspiring novelist whose writing is brilliant but who is utterly bereft of ideas. He and Fuka-Eri are brought together to bring the book, Air Chrysalis, to life. Only it soon transpires that this strange science fiction text may not be as fictional as it seems. The two stories dance around each other quite delightfully, taking us through Murakami’s customary weirdscapes, touching as ever on fundamental questions (after Banana Yoshimoto’s The Lake this is the second major Japanese work to appear in translation this year that harks back to the infamous subway gas attacks and the Aum Shinrikyo cult). 1Q84 has a sweep that some of Murakami’s books lack, and there is the occasional danger of falling into the grips of agoraphobia (Murakami novels often inhabit jazz bars and cafes, love hotels and small apartments), but every time this becomes a danger a new quirk or twist intervenes to rescue us and deliver us firmly back into the heart of a master on top form.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Reviewed by JD Smith Rating: deipnosophist This being a writers’ magazine and with the theme being World Literature, it seemed only fitting to review Spanish novelist, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. If as a writer or booklover you haven’t already read Zafón, then here’s why you should: A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story. He will never forget the sweet poison of vanity in his blood and the belief that, if he succeeds in not letting anyone discover his lack of talent, the dream of literature will provide him with a roof over his head, a hot meal at the end of the day, and what he covets the most: his name printed on a miserable piece of paper that surely will outlive him. A writer is condemned to remember that moment, because from then on he is doomed and his soul has a price. [Angel’s Game, 2009] The Shadow of the Wind bears the same hallmarks, with a feast of literary charm to satisfy the most dedicated book enthusiast. It begins with the Cemetery of Lost Books (tantalising enough?) a haven for out of print novels, hidden in the heart of post-war Barcelona. Here our young narrator Daniel Sempere discovers the last copy of The Shadow of the Wind by the mysterious author Julián Carax. Daniel soon becomes transfixed with both the book and the author, investigating the origins
of the work, and uncovering secrets and old vendettas. As Daniel’s desire to piece together the author’s life increases, so the years pass and we see Daniel experience life and love, mirroring the works for which he has found such passion. And it is here the ensemble of characters that so richly texture this book become an effortlessly enjoyable cast: Fermín Romero de Torres is adopted by Daniel and his father, working in their bookshop, teaching and leading Daniel through his own past and experiences, as Daniel and his father create a stability Fermín can barely believe possible; Laín Coubert, both a mysterious stranger intent on eradicating the entire works of Carax, but also the name of a character in The Shadow of the Wind; not one, but two girls that find a place in Daniel’s heart; and a police officer by the name of Coubert, who connects more than the little known Carax with the world Daniel currently occupies. Lucia Graves (daughter of Robert Graves) translated this work, and although I have not read the original, the translation holds such originality and beautiful imagery of a world and its characters that there’s little doubt of a sympathetic if not magical translation into the English language. At times the pace can become slow and the thrilling story lacing the pages drawn out. Yet the story is told so beautifully that it captures and draws you along at an easy pace. It’s been said that The Shadow of the Wind is a simplistic story well told, but it’s much more than that. There’s nothing simplistic about life, and Zafón is accomplished in recreating a world that captures so many of its facets.
Florence and Giles by John Harding Review by Sheila Bulger Rating: Logodaedalus How frustrating is it when you find a brilliant novel that no one else seems to have heard of? Florence and Giles is that sort of book. A gothic thriller inspired by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, this a novel you want to press into the hands of everyone you know. A novel you can’t put down while you’re reading it, and can’t stop thinking about when you’ve finished it. It is, without doubt, the most original, moving and gripping novel I have read this year. Set in a crumbling mansion in late nineteenthcentury New England, the story is narrated by twelve year-old Florence who stands proud amongst the greatest of fictional narrators. She is, quite simply, unforgettable. Florence and her younger brother Giles live in Blithe House. Yes, if you’ve read The Turn of the Screw, you’ll see the similarities (Florence for Flora, Miles for Giles, etc) but this is so much more than an imitation. Cut off from the world at the instruction of their distant uncle, the orphaned siblings live a strangely isolated life, with only the house servants for company. Following her uncle’s instructions, the servants refuse to allow Florence to read or write.
Reviews As with every other obstacle she encounters, Florence rapidly finds a way around this one. Using the books in the house’s huge, neglected library, she teaches herself to read, absorbing the works of Shakespeare and Poe, amongst others. Through the books, Florence’s own language matures, in its own unique way – mixing up verbs and nouns in a most entertaining way: ‘I have hidden my eloquence, under-bushelled it, and kept any but the simplest form of expression bridewelled within my brain.’ ‘I would wasp her picnic.’ Blithe is ‘a house uncomfortabled and shabbied by prudence, a neglect of a place, tightly pursed…’ When Giles is sent to boarding school, Florence’s world shrinks further and she relies even more on the alternative world she finds in the library. Then Giles is sent home – boarding school hasn’t worked out for him – and Florence is complete again. Until her uncle intervenes and decides Giles needs a governess. From this moment on, Florence’s life is turned upside down as she is forced to fight for the one person she really loves – Giles. This is a fastpaced, gripping and utterly chilling thriller with as many
My small world of World Literature with Anne Stormont
In terms of choice of subject matter for both readers and writers, the world is one’s bi-valve crustacean. As I say elsewhere in this issue, the wide world of literature includes the genre of ‘world literature’. But defining what constitutes world literature is problematic. I doubt there is a definitive set of parameters. However, we can probably agree that there are certain novels that we would categorise as being world literature from a personal perspective. For me, I guess world literature is writing that takes me to a different, unfamiliar geographical place, or to another time or way of life, or to another dimension. Below are some brief reviews of books that have recently fulfilled some of the above criteria for me.
plot twists and turns as a conventional crime novel. And even though we know that things aren’t quite as Florence tells us, we desperately want her story to end well. So will you. Because, from the opening page, you will be utterly enchanted by this most unreliable of narrators.
Diary of a Small Fish by Pete Morin Reviewed by Jill Marsh Rating: Logodaedalus What exactly IS this book? Yes, it’s a political mystery. It’s also a love story. It explores corruption, honour and integrity. And it’s funny. But how to define it? Paul Forte is the small fish; general counsel for the Boston Transport System, unhappily divorced, recently bereaved and possessor of a smart mouth. Oh, and he loves golf. A true sportsman, he respects the code of conduct. It’s how he was raised. Paul’s skills on the green have made him some powerful friends, a fact about to bite him in the ass. As a governmental employee, accepting gifts such as a round of golf, followed by a fine meal, can amount to a federal crime. If you want to be petty about it. And Bernard Kilroy, FBI prosecutor, takes petty to new lows. He wants to run for Attorney General and has a score to settle. And worst of all, Paul calls him Bernie.
‘The End of the Land’ by David Grossman (published by Vintage) David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He’s one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers. This is an epic - set in Israel and told in a mixture of magical realism and real realism. It’s a tale of family life, of love, crisis and the cost of war. The message is very much anti-war. Ora, middle-aged and estranged from her husband, undertakes a long trek through the Galilee. She had been eagerly anticipating the ending of her son’s military service but when he is sent into one, last, major battle she senses he won’t survive. She goes on the trip in order to avoid being around when the army come to tell her the worst. She coerces her old friend Avram to go on the trek with her. Avram has been a recluse since the 1973 Yom Kippur war when he was a POW and suffered terrible torture. During their long walk, cut off from the world, they sleep out, cross over rivers and valleys and Ora tells Avram the story of Ofer, her son, of her life as a mother and in this way keeps her son alive. For Avram, as he listens, there is a thaw, a reconnection with humanity.
There is an upside to being subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury, however. A dark-haired juror with a wicked smile called Shannon. The book follows Paul’s attempts to understand the net closing around him and who’s pulling the strings, while trying to start a relationship with the most elusive woman in Massachusetts. Despite having no real interest in legal machinations, and even less in golf, this book hooked me from the start. The fast-paced twists and turns, the huge cast of vivid characters, the intriguing world of politics and corruption, the rich detail of the Boston setting and the whipsmart dialogue all collude to reel you in. I found myself thinking about this world and these characters for days after I finished the novel. So far, so good. Morin’s background in law and government provide an expert’s safe hands and his storytelling abilities make the novel fly. Yet in my view, where Diary of a Small Fish reaches another level is in its emotional honesty. The character of Paul Forte shows a touching openness to people and a vulnerability to grief which had me in hiccupping sobs by chapter 25. And by the time I’d finished the epilogue, I was grinning with satisfaction and wishing I could start all over again. So how to define it? As a bloody good read.
The cover notes say that the book has a ‘war and peace’ rhythm – and that is true. There is on the one hand the ghastliness of war and on the other the exquisite pain and pleasure of motherhood. And through it all runs the current of Israel’s, seemingly, intractable and impossible situation – of the awful realities of risk and war that wait for each successive generation. This beautifully told, anti-war novel is all the more poignant when you discover that Grossman’s own son was killed in 2006 while serving in the Israeli army. It is a heart-wrenching and unforgettable read.
‘The Secret Mandarin’ by Sara Sheridan (published by Avon) This novel took me to both another place and another time. The story begins in nineteenth century London and soon moves to China. It’s China just after the Opium
Reviews | 55
What we think of some books
‘Archie and the North Wind’ by Angus Peter Campbell (published by Luath Press) This book is a rare thing – a book in English by Gaelic writer Angus Peter Campbell. And it’s sure to be a real treat, for those who cannot read Gaelic, to have access to the world of this wonderful storyteller. This is a work of magical realism, stuffed with traditional tales and laden with symbolism. It’s part (adult) fairytale and part parable. The hero of the book – Archie – a bodach
Guess the Book
In this new regular feature see if you can guess which well-known books are being mauled below. All of the following descriptions are taken from one star reviews on Amazon and other popular book related sites. 1. Dull, dull, dull, badly written fantasy stories. It doesn’t even work as a novel, let
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(old man) before his time - and worn down by an unhappy home life, leaves his selfish wife and oblivious son behind at his home in the Western Isles, and goes on a quest to find the source of the North Wind. The book is all about the journey – the places and the amazing characters Archie meets along the way. Archie forges (yes, he’s a blacksmith) wonderful friendships and is enchanted by the sights he sees. The reader too is enchanted – by the beautiful prose – ‘He spread the curtains and looked out to the heavens. A large, white bear stood yards away, looking at him. An Arctic hare sat in the snow a little distance behind the bear. All the stars that ever existed blinked above. He thought he saw a row of penguins marching past till he remembered that was at the other end, to the south, at the different Arctic called the Antarctic. Just as they call South Uist one island and North Uist another.’ When Archie returns from his travels it’s as if he’s never been away - as far as his wife and son are concerned – and maybe he hasn’t travelled far in physical terms. But in Archie’s reality he has gone an infinite distance. He has been to Skye, to mainland Scotland, to London, he has sailed around the world and trekked to the North Pole. And his memories of his adventures and of the people he met sustain him in his old age. People like Olga, the Polish horsewoman who arrived on the day of ‘An Siababh Mor’ (the great shaking – a fiercely strong wind) and the splendidly named Gobhlachan (literally
alone a guide to leading a good life. Don’t bother is my advice, try something by Tolkien instead 2. The first paragraph of this book sets the tone, you know what will happen and you know it will take a hell of a long time for it to actually come to pass. Boys meet girls. Boys are rich, girls fancy boys, but boys shouldn’t consort with plebs, so all seems lost, but secretly boys fancy a bit of rough. fast forward sixty-odd chapters. Boys marry girls. not exactly “Thus spoke Zarathustra” is it? A book for drippy, doe-eyed, fourteen yearold girls. 3. It is a fairy tale. Plants don’t turn into fish and no scientists, The T-Rex didn’t turn
meaning ‘crotch-ridden’), and John the Goblin, Brawn the sailor, Yukon Joe and Ted Hah. This is a story very much of the 21st century but it’s also timeless. For Archie, the old traditional, oral tales prove to be true. For the reader – even in the sophisticated, scientifically dominated modern world – these tales, and Archie’s journey, hold more than a grain of truth and a world of infinite possibilities. Read this book whilst curled up in an armchair by the fire and a dram in your hand, with curtains drawn and the north wind howling outside - and be transported.
The Long Bridge by Ursula Muskus (published by Sandstone Press) Forced marches, prisoner transport on interminable train journeys, terrible privations, mortal danger – all are described in the author’s memoir of her sixteen years as a political prisoner in the Soviet gulags. The world she describes is alien, brutal and horribly fascinating. Muskus tells her story without a trace of selfpity. The ache of love for, and separation from, her children, her will to survive and her compassion for her fellow prisoners -all shine out from the pages. This uplifting book presents a terrible world - but it is one faced with humility, humanity and hope. If it was possible for me to define world literature, I’m fairly sure this last book would definitely qualify.
into a chicken and no, a Whale can’t turn into a hippopotamus. 4. This book is mad boring!!! how can they even publish this??? i have to read this book for school and that is why i flunk my test. even the movie is boring!! if you want to buy this book, you can use it for a bedtime story. if it is not for your bedtime story, it is no use. so listen to me and don’t buy this book!! 5. First of the title is hidious (sic) and vulgar and this should not be displayed for public viewing. This should have never been allowed to be published and is very offending. That vulgar language and the word child should NEVER be put in the same sentence much less a child’s book!
Answers: 1. The Bible, 2. Pride and Prejudice, 3. The origin of Species, 4. Treasure Island, 5. Go the F**k to Sleep
wars – a closed and secretive place. The book is partly based on fact. The main characters are Robert Fortune, who was a real-life botanist and plant collector and his (fictitious) sister-in-law Mary Penney. Fortune journeys to China in search of tea plants. He hopes to cultivate them in India and to make a lot of money. Through a series of events, and, at first, against her will, Mary accompanies him on this perilous smuggling expedition. They have to travel in disguise as a mandarin and his male secretary. This is a big novel. It’s more than just historical fiction. It’s an adventure story, a thriller and a romance. It has got love, intrigue, suspense – even pirates. The pace is slow but it never drags – it perfectly matches the long trek through China’s interior. The author has obviously done masses of meticulous research. The detail - historical, geographical, cultural and botanical is incredible. The style is sort of Jane Austen with balls and without walls. It’s an absorbing and transporting read.
Crossword created by Crwban and Murmeltier
Across 7
Which novella, inspired by Bach’s The Well Tempered Clavier, consists of 24 sentences? (3,10)
9
Dickens’s Cities, Tolkein’s Towers, no. of Coetzee’s Booker prizes, Words with JAM’s birthday? (3)
11 First children’s book to win the Whitbread Book of the Year, 2001? (3,5,8) 13 Ghosh’s Circle, Sartre’s Age and Horkheimer’s Eclipse? (2,6) 16 Who links The White Goddess and The Angel’s Game? 17 What connects Levy’s Shadow, Zusak’s Book and Cornwell’s Gallows? (5) 19 Huston’s Joe Pitt is a ? (7) 20 Which Herbert wrote about sand? (5) 23 In whose book does Maria the donkey give birth to four big cats? (5,2,9) 24 Ali, marked nun, confused The Joke. (5,7)
Down 1
Drago Dormiens Mumquam Titillandus. The motto of which school? (8)
2
Where does Michael Ondaatje seat Mynah, Ramadhin and Cassius? (3,4,5)
3
In which book does a stranger arrive, carrying a notebook and eleven gold bars? (3,5,3,4,4)
4
In Peter Hoeg’s novel, who runs away with an ape called Erasmus? (8)
5
Which of Pratchett’s oldies likes hedgehogs? (5,3)
6
William, Douglas, Henry and Ginger - aka? (3,7)
8
Malcolm X told his autobiography to which rooted writer? (4, 5)
10 David Bellos’s book on translation takes its title from which feature of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? (5,4) 12 In whose book does Viktor befriend two Mishas, one of whom is a penguin? (6,6) 14 Roger Zelazny’s favourite colour? (5) 15 This lady couldn’t wash off the blood. (4,7) 18 Which creature is in Oz’s Basement? (7) 21 Where was Dylan Thomas young and easy under the apple boughs? (4,4) 22 What did Polonius hide behind? (2,5)
If you would like to download and print a copy of the Crossword, visit www.wordswithjam.co.uk/crossword
October 2011 Answers
Dear Ed Letters of the satirical variety
Dear Words With Jam, Why oh why oh why oh why have they changed all the people in the X Factor? IMHO it’s absolutely shit without Wolverine. Yours sincerely, B Rains Dear WWJ. I was recently insulted when I saw a program advertised on one of the BBC channels where someone was going to be ‘Remembering Amy Winehouse’. This is hardly much of a feat. I mean, she only died a couple of months ago. Even goldfish haven’t forgotten her. If this isn’t dumbing down then I don’t know what is. Harrumph, Ian Sensed Dear Editor, A cautionary tale for your readers. Recently while on a trip to Covent Garden in London I encountered a busker who was singing the old favourite My Old Man’s A Dustman. I was charmed and when he’d finished I went up to deposit my twenty pence and I engaged the gentleman in a brief conversation. It turns out that not only was his father not employed in the removal of domestic waste, but he had actually also been a busker. When will the government crack down on con men like these? Needless to say I retrieved my twenty pence from the lying fucker’s guitar case. Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. Yours sincerely, E. Gellaye Thanks for that – has anyone else been hoodwinked recently? Ed Dear Words with Jam, I recently read a letter you printed on your pages (this issue) about the lies some so called street entertainers tell in order to con us real workers out of our hard earned coins. I never have the wool pulled over my eyes, mainly because due to a wool allergy I can only wear cotton. Yours truly, Al Ergee Dear Ed, It was with great interest that I read the letter from E Gellaye, printed this issue, regarding the dishonest behaviour of a busker in London. I have a story that might restore some of the trust lost in Mr Gellaye’s encounter. Two weeks ago while on a business trip to Glasgow, a gentleman
who I took to be a tramp approached me in the street and asked me if I had any money to spare. I took in his dishevelled appearance and asked him what he wanted the money for. He said he wouldn’t lie to me and that he wanted the money for drink. I admired his honesty and so gave him two of my shiny English pounds. As he walked away I called out – Make sure you don’t spend that money on food! How I laughed all the way back to my five star hotel room. Do I get a prize? Sincerely, Mr Stu Cupp Dear Authors of Biographies, Please do us all a favour and stop bringing out your books just before Christmas. I, along with tons of other people, get given these as presents every year and frankly I’ve had enough. For example, although I enjoy Formula 1, I couldn’t give a shit what Murray Walker does in his spare time. You are just encouraging lazy thoughtless present buying. If you want to find out who’s really interested in reading these books I suggest you bring them out in February. Yours etc etc, Mr A Dadd Thanks for that Mr Dadd – has anyone else received a present they didn’t want? Ed Dear Words with Jam, I was delighted to read the letter you printed recently on this page about biography writers bringing out their wares for the lazy Christmas Present buying market. I’d like to also add that I, for one, do not want a fucking goat or an orange tree given in my name to someone else. I want actual presents. Yours sincerely, Fred Upp Dear Editor, I was shocked and greatly offended to read the letters from Fred Upp and A Dadd. Christmas is a time when we have to remember those less fortunate than ourselves. It is a time for selfless giving. It is a well known fact that without the enormous charity of the public at Christmas shoddy biography writers could actually become extinct. I wouldn’t like to live in a world without books about the life of Susan Boyle or Katy Price, although in fairness I don’t want a goat either. Yours truly, Mrs Charity Frall
The Rumour Mill
sorting the bags of truth from the bags of shite
Heard a rumour but you’re not sure if it’s a bag of truth or just a big bag of shite? Send it to us and we’ll get our top investigative journalist Kris Dangle to look into it for you. I overheard some people talking in a massively overpriced café the other day and they said the reason The X factor is so shit this year is that all the talented people in the country have already been found. Is this true? We’ve done some research and apparently the last talented person found on a British TV talent show was Bonnie Langford when she was on Opportunity Knocks in 1970. According to the Central Statistics Office there are no undiscovered talented singers left in Britain. However, this statistic is hotly contested. A friend of mine who works at The Immigration Office told me that Steve Jobs came from Germany and that his name was originally Han. Surely this must be false. It is completely unfounded. He was born in San Francisco in the USA. There is also no truth in the rumour that his sister’s name is Blow. Is it true that Twitter was created just to demonstrate the difference between what sounds funny in someone’s head and what is, in fact, offensive, thus negating the need to go to the pub and risk a punch in the face? There are many rumours surrounding what Twitter is actually for, but so far none of them can be confirmed or denied. A man who works with my aunt said that people who say ‘It’s the thought that counts,’ while handing out gifts at Christmas are really just cheap. He’s a well known grumpy old bollocks, but could there be a grain of truth in what he’s saying? Yes. Yes it is true. The smaller the gift, the less they think of you. Fact. They’re is a rumour going around my school that I don’t know the difference between There, there, and there. Their clearly wrong, aren’t they, and your the one to put them right. I await you’re response. Yes, they are. You are one hundred per cent in the right. Carry on. Someone down the pub said that Steve Jobs died of eye cancer. This can’t be true, can it? It’s not true. He did in fact die of pancreatic cancer just like Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze.
If in Doubt, Invent Your Own
Horoscopes by Shameless Charlatan Druid Keith Christmas is here and it’s a time for spending with loved ones and finding out just what they think of you by the presents they hand out. It can be a stressful time trying to work out what to get for people so I’ve matched up the personality traits of each individual star sign with presents they will definitely like. It’s in the stars so it’s guaranteed. LEO: Leonianists are broadminded and expansive so why not give them a Sex Manual for Christmas. Their creative and enthusiastic approach to life means that you’ll at least be in with half a chance of getting to do it up the bum. VIRGO: Modest and shy Virgonians are also practical and diligent meaning they would appreciate a pair of massive bland pants from Marks and Sparks. It’s not a lot of fun for anyone else, but at least their kidneys will be warm throughout the long winter months and they’ll have you to thank for it. LIBRA: Libraianists are the most easy going and sociable of all the signs. They are also the most gullible and easily influenced so basically you can get them anything you want and they’ll be happy with it. Why not wait and see if you receive anything you don’t want yourself and then palm it off on them. SCORPIO: If you have a Scorpioianist in your life you’ll know that they are exciting and magnetic people. With this in mind why not get them some paperclips that they can have endless fun sticking to their faces – not just a gift for them, but entertainment for the rest of your Christmas guests! Also, for added Christmas fun, if you have two of them in the same room, why not try and position them so their magnetic fields will overlap and see if it interferes with granddad’s pacemaker. SAGGITARIUS: Although all Saggitarianists are jovial and good humoured (which is why they tend to be fat) they are also extremely tactless, irresponsible, careless and superficial. So, anything by Jeremy Clarkson should suffice. CAPRICORN: Choosing a gift for the Capricornianists in your life can be tricky. They are by nature ambitious, disciplined and humorous people and this might lead you to think that a grand gesture is called for. But wait! You have to balance this up with the fact that they are all born miserly too, and so the chances are you’ll be getting something shit out of the pound shop from them. With this in mind, get them a 10,000 piece jigsaw out of the local charity shop. It will suit their ambitious nature and give
them something to do while they sit in their cold house every night not spending money. AQUARIUS: Those of you with an Aquarianist partner will know that they are friendly, original and inventive. Couple this with their tendency to be perverse and this makes them another dead cert for a Sex Manual, some KY and a shoe horn. They’ll definitely be up for it. PISCES: Piscesianists are all born bursting with compassion and kindness. They are also easily led and weak willed so if you can come up with a sob story you won’t have to buy them anything. Simply tell them you gave the money you were going to spend on their present to a tramp and that should keep them happy. ARIES: As an Arienist myself I can confidently let you know that when it comes to this child of the zodiac it is very important to spend real money. If you can’t think of a specific item to get then just hand over some cash in an envelope, but make sure the minimum denomination of any note enclosed is a fifty. TAURUS: As we all know, Tauranianists are patient, persistent and security loving. An ideal gift would be a bicycle lock with a combination. But don’t tell them what the combination is! They’ll be able to put their patience and persistence to good use figuring out the code and once they’ve worked it out they’ll have a security device and you’ll be a god to them. This should keep them busy for all of Christmas day so the rest of your guests won’t have to suffer their other star given traits of jealousy and resentfulness, so you’ll be a god to everyone else there too. GEMINI: Geminianists are both adaptable and lively, so a game of Twister would be absolutely ideal. However, a word of caution if you decide to play along with them – they are also nervous and tense and this coupled with the traditional Christmas fare of sprouts can lead to you believing that they have actually shit their pants, and quite often you’d be right, so just think about how hard you want to try to put your left hand on yellow. CANCER: Cancerianists are not just emotional, they are over emotional. This means they love the movie Dirty Dancing. However, as they love it so much it’s certain they’ll already have the DVD. Another of their distinctive traits is that they are clingy and unable to let go, so a perfect gift would be a framed photo of dead Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze.
- a new initiative from the makers of Words with Jam
How many words do we have at our disposal? The OED lists over 500,000, not including scientific terms and most teenage expressions. In comparison, German has a vocabulary of less than 200,000 and the French only half that, even when you include words they stole from us, like le weekend, le snacque-barre and le hit-parade. So, yeah, we like totally rule. But the thing with words is that there are never enough of the bloody things, and we continually find ourselves using hand-gestures, sulking and mindless violence to get our points across instead. So, are you fed up with being grunted at by husbands, continually hearing “fine” and “nothing” from your wives and nursing your swollen and bleeding knuckles after yet another alcohol-related pub-disagreement? Fret not, WWJ is here to help. We’re inventing new words that sum up those feelings of frustration you get when you can’t find the right way to express yourself, and ways to describe those day-to-day situations which are familiar but for which words just don’t exist. Here are some examples: Bileptic (adj): relating to the ability to hold two widely differing mindsets at once, and to switch between them depending on the company you’re in. Nick Clegg is a famous sufferer of Bilepsy. Dooky-noo (n): A medieval Barbie-type doll game for girls, based on the witch/ducking stool test. How to play: your daughter’s dooky-noo was thrown into the village pond by the local witchfinder-sergeant. If it floated, your daughter was burned alive. If it sank, your daughter was thrown into the pond after it. See also Kenny-noo for boys. Lutheran or heretic? Same principles apply, each sold separately. Zonambric (adj): A technical term describing the hypocritical suspension of political correctness in certain circumstances. In last week’s episode of Gok Wan’s Fat Birds Catwalk Special, Gok Wan was heard to shriek “Ooooh get a load of those bangers, love. You go girlie!” In an obviously zonambric reaction, his comment was met with laughter and applause, but when football commentator Andy Gray made a similar comment to a Sky News weathergirl a few months ago, it resulted in his immediate suspension and later sacking. So, over to you. Define meanings for the following words, please. The best entries will be printed in WWJ and a select few will win prizes including trips to see Jedward live, holidays in Albania and a free printed copy of this magazine! Your words will be judged by misanthrope and potty-mouth Perry Iles, whose bi-monthly WWJ columns are known to literally dozens, so please don’t hold back – expressions that encompass the wide swathe of vileness and cruelty that define the human spirit will receive an especially warm welcome: Zongue Overcramb Shargle Flictuise Gabbulate
Felp Chemlish Glemp Womph Flenstery
And finally, we need your help in this verbal initiative. Please send us your words, and our resident expert will provide you with definitions of them. In this way, we will do our bit to improve the state of humanity as a whole, and the degree of literacy that exists within it. Your cultural future needs you!
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Copyright Š 2011 Quinn Publications The contributors assert the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work. All Rights reserved. All opinions expressed in Words with JAM are the sole opinion of the contributor and not that of Quinn Publications or Words with JAM as a whole. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the individual contributor and/or Quinn Publications, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Distributed from the UK. Not to be resold. Editor: JD Smith editor@quinnpublications.co.uk Deputy Editors: Lorraine Mace lorraine@quinnpublications.co.uk Danny Gillan danny@quinnpublications.co.uk