“The shape of power … is a tree. Root to tip, central trunk branch and re-branching … the shape of power is the outline of a living thing straining outward, sending its fine tendrils a little further and a little further,” wrote Naomi Alderman in The Power. Have a think about Alderman’s description of what … Continue reading
We Lived Happily during the War And when they bombed other people’s houses, we protested but not enough, we opposed them but not enough. I was in my bed, around my bed America was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house— I took a chair outside and watched the sun. In the sixth … Continue reading
Sometimes you have to click through to the forth of fifth page of Google results to get past the content-farmed sites and unhelpful Quora pages, and it’s starting to get really annoying. What’s particularly concerning is that the average web user won’t go past the first five search results – meaning that corporate sponsored content … Continue reading
How many mind-blowing, thought-provoking and beautiful books or films can you think of that were created while trying to please others? Doesn’t the most impactful, memorable writing boldly challenge the status quo, play with aesthetics, and startle us instead? Here are some reasons why writers should steer clear of pleasing others: 1) When a writer … Continue reading
Art is never just art in this ripped up mess of a world. Today’s Aboriginal art is often an expression of cultural sovereignty and survival, in a country which oppresses Aboriginal people, but uses Aboriginal heritage and art as a commodity – as a highly profitable souvenir. This post aims to celebrate various Aboriginal artists … Continue reading
While there are a lot of free or affordable courses online for writing (and perhaps also in person in your local area), these tend to focus on the basics. The art of writing takes a whole life time to master. It’s an ongoing process of experimentation, discovery, and fine-tuning. One way to help your growth … Continue reading
Obligatory apathy: We live in a society that despises any sign of caring about just how bad things are for most people. The planet is corroding and smoldering, and time and resources are going into nuclear weapons and sending humanity into its own carefully prepared hell. The unequal global economy is efficiently stimulating the starvation … Continue reading
The following three poems are hard and liberating. Read them out loud and with one fist clenched. Laura Passin is a writer and scholar specialising in contemporary US poetry and gender studies. I am not old – by Samantha Reynolds I am not old, she said I am rare I am the standing ovation at … Continue reading
Clotty seas, fungal walls, insipid kindness, reckless jokes, a grotty smile – it can be fun to play with contrasts, the unexpected, and in this case – make nice things ugly. It’s easy to find all the right adjectives and stack them up in front of the horrid stuff of life. And it’s easy to … Continue reading
He asked me if I wanted to go out and get wine and look at the stars. I said, politely and honestly, no thanks – I was tired and it was really cold out. He came back with, “How about wine somewhere closer?” so I had to find a way to say no, again, politely. … Continue reading
