Writer / Woodcarver / Tree-whisperer
I recently had the opportunity to interview Mandy Haggith. Wikipedia says, ‘Mandy Haggith is an author, poet, and environmental activist.’ Mandy says, ‘I am a writer based in Assynt, in the north-west highlands of Scotland. My work includes poetry, fiction and non-fiction. My writing is mostly concerned with trees, bears and the sea, and I… Continue reading Interview With Mandy Haggith
Do We Need Escapist Fiction? You don’t have to be a Houdini-type to escape reality. In the 21st century, we are inundated with distractions and entertainment to divert us from and numb us to the harsher realities of global capitalism and its consequences. Most are inconsequential fripperies quickly forgotten once “consumed”. What about Escapist Fiction?
I don’t remember my parents reading me bedtime stories, although my mother once assured me she did. Neither of them read a great deal. My father had a poor education and restricted his reading to the newspaper and the occasional cowboy novella. My mother, when she had time and inclination, liked popular historical fiction like… Continue reading How I Became Hooked on Reading
The familiar adage ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ is often quoted to suggest that the written word is more effective than violence in achieving political or social progress. But what of the power of vocabulary? The choice of which individual words to use can change the implied meaning, emotional impact and influence people’s… Continue reading What’s in a Word?
Art: “The expression or application of creative skill and imagination [...] producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Oxford English Dictionary Creative people enrich our lives in so many ways, through their writing, music, paintings, sculptures, crafts, performance, fashion and films. Could you imagine life without them? Government funding notwithstanding,… Continue reading Do you want there to be art in the world?
“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” ― Philip Roth Often I have too many ideas about what to write and don’t know what to do with them. Scribbled thoughts abound in multiple notebooks, of which I have at least one per jacket or coat plus some spares to make sure there’s always one… Continue reading Works in Progress
In 1830, at the northeastern tip of the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands, on the shore of the picturesque village of Cromarty, Hugh Miller discovered imprints of life sandwiched between layers of rock 400 million years old. Last week, embraced by walls fashioned from the same sandstone, thirteen undergraduates gathered to marinate in time… Continue reading Creative in Crom-Arty
I’m generally quite a calm, thoughtful, reticent kind of guy, not given to emotional outbursts or ranting. To a certain extent, this is due to my upbringing by parents who were children during World War Two, the “mustn’t grumble” generation. They faced food shortages and other hardships that could not be overcome or lessened by… Continue reading Alter Egos
I am honoured and delighted that multi award-winning author, Joanne Harris, took time from her busy life and agreed to my request for an interview. Biography Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) was born of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years,… Continue reading Interview With Joanne Harris
Geoff King 