Like everything with writing, creating powerful metaphors comes with lots of practice, and more hard work and crappy writing than most people are comfortable with. Metaphors are not spontaneous bursts of genius. Continue reading
Latest Entries
Tiny poem: Where I searched for beauty
The serious consequences of not paying for creative work or care work
When we’re talking about what sort of creativity and care work should be paid, the starting point has to be a better definition of work. Continue reading
Gallery: Syrian war art is more important than Hollywood
It is unacceptable that the Syrian war and its deep, shattering, complicated consequences, are largely boycotted by most mainstream and commercial media. But as a journalist and a novelist I can understand that there are aspects of this war that are better communicated through art than through the rough cold facts of news. Blindness, turning … Continue reading
We are sand
Exercises and tools to help you or your group be more creative in life
Following on from my post on the importance of creativity to everyday life and to struggle, here are some activities you, your workplace, family, organisation, or other types of groups can try. These tools can help you generate ideas when you are at a loss for how to solve a problem, or they can help … Continue reading
Article / Sexuality/Gender / Story / Writing
La ausencia del derecho al aborto está privando a Latinoamérica de su voluntad y de su derecho a vivir plenamente
No puedo mencionar su nombre porque es una niña. Tenía doce años en ese momento, era demasiado joven para trabajar legalmente, pero no demasiado joven para ser obligada a ser madre. Era mi alumna, y recuerdo que, hace unos años, jugaba al puente con ella. Se reía con deleite infinito mientras yo sostenía sus pies … Continue reading
11 ways creativity is important in life and struggle
We typically associate creativity with art, writing, and music. And while that is spot on, creativity is also a life skill. In essence, it is the ability to think beyond the obvious, outside the box, and to use one’s imagination to create new, good, ideas and things. So, practising creativity through the expressive arts can … Continue reading
Daisy Zamora poem translated
Daisy Zamora is a Nicaraguan poet who has written about women’s rights, politics, revolution, art, history, and more. She fought against the Somoza dictatorship in the 1970s, and joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1973. During the revolution she was program director for clandestine Radio Sandino, and after the FSLN came to power, … Continue reading
Efrain Ascencio Cedillo, a Mexican photographer who depicted the real Mexico
Too often, the general vision of poor countries and oppressed peoples is provided by the white male gaze and viewpoint. People – journalists, photographers and tourists – from the US come to Mexico for example, for two weeks. And it is their US-centric version of the world that makes its way into the English-language media … Continue reading
Using distance to increase creativity
When I was living in Venezuela, I struggled to write creatively about it. Instead, my first novel was set in my home country of Australia. The novel I’m working on now is set in nearby Mexico City rather than Puebla, where I live. It’s a great set up, because I visit Mexico City enough to … Continue reading
