I have recorded an abbreviated version of my talk at the International Society for the Study of Surrealism conference in Houston last November. It lacks all the digressions and asides that filled the 20 minute slot, and is probably the better for it. The focus is one of Leonora Carrington’s plays recently if belatedly published…
Tag: writing
Out Now in Paperback!: Always Different, Always the Same #TheFall
Always Different, Always the Same Critical Essays on The Fall EDITED BY EOIN DEVEREUX AND MARTIN J. POWER – FOREWORD BY GAVIN FRIDAY With many incarnations, The Fall (1976-2018) were one of the most influential bands to emerge in the British Post-Punk Scene. Their unique sound and distinct iconography have had a lasting impact on music fans and…
Deluxe Strange & Norrell FTW
I was delighted — in the mad, action-packed, over-filled days before my departure — that the much anticipated last-I-swear-splurge-before-imminent-unemployment arrived: the Folio Society edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Many of you know how much I delight in Susanna Clarke’s novel, but with the addition of illustrations and glorious endpapers by Charles Vess, is…
Ripley on the ‘flix
I had equal parts of anticipation and dread for this new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith‘s The Talented Mr Ripley especially as it was by schmaltzy Spielberg’s pal who wrote Schindler’s List and the film Hannibal. I take it all back: he read the book — or rather books as it became clear. Even better, he…
Elena Steier
It’s so hard to lose people and then to try to say something about that loss. Elena was my friend, sometimes my collaborator, always bringing the unexpected and what would she say? ‘Oh well. What can you do?’ and then she would do it: write a story, sketch out a comic, go to spin class….
Write 4 a Day: 14 Apr 2024
Join us for the next of our monthly one-day writing retreats in beautiful surroundings in Berne NY.
Charlotte Brontë: The Professor
An impulse at the Oxfam Book Shop — AKA my local kryptonite dealer (must weed some more to donate)! Undoubtedly it’s due in part to the end of my career as a tenured professor (though in this story it is ‘professor’ in the French sense of teacher). Anyway, I always enjoy spending some time with…
Live Gold
This slim volume is packed with insightful wisdom from the philosopher Ken McCraigzie. It’s like a conspiracy theory but for good! Hidden within the classic B-movie Latitude Zero, he has found wisdom that will allow anyone to learn how to live well and thrive in the hectic, dog-eat-dog world of today. Here’s the blurb: Live…
Around the Toon
Things have been so busy: they will not get less so. Making the most of sabbatical; making plans for the post-academic possibilities. Endings are beginnings: beginnings are also endings. We closed on the house: Bertie has made the last long journey for all the necessaries. Change is the only constant. Dundee is a lovely town…
K. A. Laity 