misc.
SLOGANS FOR OUR TIME
It started at the airport. The woman ahead of me had a sport utility bag with the words LIVE LOVE LAUGH BELIEVE HOPE DREAM DANCE on it. And I thought All at once? And then, Don’t tell me what to do. Especially on a cheap sports bag. But it was too late. Suddenly, slogans are everywhere. [...]
Anger Management
I keep asking other people if they’ve noticed, and a lot of people have. Not just road rage (though god knows, there’s plenty of that), but sidewalk rage, like the thirty something well-dressed woman who — when I bumped into her by mistake — turned to me and hissed ‘BITCH.’ Bitch? Really? Or the dog [...]
How To Find A Voice
I staggered through my first “creative writing” teaching this weekend with the Guardian Masterclass series — staggered because I was less than well. Much less than well. To all my lovely students, apologies in advance if I managed to impart a horrible cold along with my bucket of wisdom. I was humbled by the quality [...]
You think writing’s bad? Try acting.
What follows is an email sent last week by my friend, the actor Kerry Shale. It’s too good not to share, and makes me grateful for the more gentle horrors of the blank page. “So, this play. Best script I’ve worked on ever and a part made for me. A smart, self-loathing Jew but not a [...]
Picture Me Gone.
My legs ache. So does my head. And my throat. It’s all my fault. Just the other day I was thinking how well things were going. The book is unstuck, I’m getting on top of my work, and best of all, I HAVEN’T BEEN ILL IN SOMETHING LIKE TWO YEARS. How amazing. Oh hell. Did [...]
KM Peyton
Throwing big parties is a very tiring business, so I think I’ll just reprint the Guardian article I wrote 10 days ago….yes, I know it’s journalistic recycling at it’s worst, but I am desperately trying to finish a draft of the new book before my editor goes into labour. Which, judging on the size of [...]
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