Elizabeth Welsh
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Petite madeleine – An Encounter (James Joyce)
‘It was Joe Dillon who introduced the Wild West to us. He had a little library made up of old numbers of The Union Jack, Pluck and The Halfpenny Marvel. Every evening after school we met in his back garden and arranged Indian battles. He and his fat young brother Leo, the idler, held the loft of … Continue reading
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One of my literary travel ‘pilgrimages’ involves visiting the Newberry Library in Chicago at some point in my life (obviously, the desire is for sooner, rather than later). The list is long, but incredibly exciting, and keeps my travel schedules jam-packed! So far, the libraries that I have visited and that stand out are the … Continue reading
This week’s Tuesday Poem is devoted to expatriate Peruvian poet, Cesar Vallejo (1892-1938). Vallejo was deeply involved in politics, particularly during his time living (and virtually starving) in Paris and following his visits to the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. He published a mere three collections of poetry during his lifetime – Los … Continue reading
The Times Literary Supplement also engages in a ‘Poem of the Week’ column, much like our beloved Tuesday Poem that I contribute to. I only very recently discovered this, and I am quite taken by it – I do love having a poem to mull over once a week. A poem is posted each week, along … Continue reading
In a letter from Katherine Mansfield to Samuel Solomonovich (17th March 1915): ‘…There is a wharf not far from here where the sand barges unload. Do you know the smell of wet sand? Does it make you think of going down to the beach in the evening light after a rainy day and gathering the … Continue reading
As a die-hard fan of short fiction, I discovered and immediately drooled over The Guardian’s recently created new series of short story podcasts that feature authors reading their favourite short stories. Three podcasts in particular stand out for me – Margaret Drabble reading Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Doll’s House’, Tessa Hadley reading Elizabeth Bowen’s ‘The Jungle’ and Philip … Continue reading
I am very excited to have a piece of short fiction published in Issue 2 of What the Dickens? magazine, which has just been released today. My short fiction ‘Reunion’ can be found on page 43 – please do pop over to the magazine and have a read! I have been drawn to writing very … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, I was exploring one of my favourite secondhand bookstores here in windy, wintery London, and I came upon Simone de Beauvoir’s 1954 The Mandarins. While a devotee to Beauvoir’s existential philosophical works, I confess that I have never read The Mandarins. A creative writing tutor and one of my French … Continue reading
Things have kicked off to a good start writing-wise this year, with a new piece of short fiction published in Issue Eight of Corium Magazine. My piece of ‘very short fiction’ is ‘Hedgehog Signaling‘ – so do head on over to Corium and have a gander! I’d be delighted if you all did! Corium Magazine … Continue reading
- Page Blackie Gallery in Wellington is hosting 'An evening with Sam Hunt' on the 8th of February, with the lyrical, joyous Hunt reading poetry in situ against the backdrop of Dick Frizzell's new works. The exhibition itself is called 'Painting the Hunt' and runs from the 7th of February to the 4th of March - plenty of time to check it out! Personally, Frizzell's paintings that I would love to see Hunt reciting his words in front of, include My Father Today, Chord 26 and Yellow. I love collaborative artistic endeavours - it's so enabling to see communication, support and inspiration diving off one artist/poet and informing another's creative practice.
- A letter from William Maxwell to Eudora Welty: 'I go about reading aloud to people, and what I read aloud... is the passage about your being taken as a child to see Mammoth Cave. If I had to choose between it, and Plato's allegory, I would choose it, though I am fond indeed of the allegory. But this is the way all writing ought to be, a marvel, a joy, a joke, an experience in itself, something seen in an Easter egg, a treasure, I cannot tell you how you enriched me by writing it.'
- While Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes were on their honeymoon in Paris and Spain, Plath produced a series of pen and ink drawings. These are currently on show for a little while longer at London's Mayor Gallery, courtesy of Frieda Hughes. I adore the portrait sketch she made of Ted.
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