Paul Kavanagh’s recent blog about the use of the word existentialism got me thinking about this utterance and how, more than any other profession, a writer must be an existentialist in order to simply survive while he or she still claims to call one’s self a writer. (more…)
Writings
The Problem with Blurbs
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011Masterpiece. Tour-de-force. Genius. Visionary. Momentous. Gripping. Unique. Hilarious. Phenomenon. Luminous. Take ten random books from your shelf. Turn them over. Chances are, you’ll see a few of those words. (more…)
Pipe
Monday, May 9th, 2011I am perplexed by the word existential. I can’t fathom the word. I don’t know how to use it. When it appears in one of my sentences it glows neon and mocks me. (more…)
Thank You for Not Answering
Saturday, May 7th, 2011I know I don’t offer much – I’m no Tom Cruise or Tom Thumb, fame and fortune does not blow doors open for me. I need to actually prise them open, force them sometimes, dislodge them. I also realise that the issue here is this: I require something from you. It may be a review, a favour, distribution, a place on your shelves, something along those fevered lines. (more…)
Chair
Saturday, April 30th, 2011Where and how the writer sits or stands is maybe not as important as the final product but nevertheless it is important. A writer cannot escape the fact that he or she must have space to write. A chair is just as important as a pen or a typewriter or a computer, the chair maybe a conventional chair, four legs, a stable, raised surface, or it could be unconventional; Erasmus tells us that he composed The Praise of Folly while sat on a donkey. There is a great deal of humour in this fact as there is in the book. One wonders if a slight bump in the road caused a passage to be composed. It is a very funny book. A small book but very funny. It is not surprising that it is a small book. I do not think Gaddis could have written The Recognitions on the back of a donkey. (more…)
Honest Publishing Requests the Pleasure…
Thursday, April 28th, 2011Honest Publishing would like to cordially request the honour of your presence…
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Do you re-read?
Thursday, April 28th, 2011Honest Publishing Interviews Dan Fante
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011If you’re yet to discover Dan Fante, now is the time to change that. Like his legendary father John, Dan Fante writes about America’s underdogs in hard-hitting prose that is ballsy, truthful, and bullshit-free. He’s the author of four novels – Chump Change, Mooch, Spitting Off Tall Buildings, and 86’d – and two poetry collections, A Gin Pissing Raw Meat Dual Carburettor V8 Son of a Bitch From Los Angeles and Kissed by a Fat Waitress. We’re big Fante fans here at Honest, so we thought we’d ask the man himself some questions. (more…)
It’s Literally Literary Snobbery
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011Why do less people read now than, say, 50 years ago? Is the answer really just “Xbox”, or are there other reasons that the general public choose to avoid books? (more…)
How School Made Me Loathe Poetry
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011Do you remember being taught poetry at school? If I try, I can access fragments of memories. These include April afternoons reading Jabberwocky, reciting Ted Hughes aloud to the class as my stomach churned with nerves, and poring over Wilfred Owen. Mostly, however, my experience of poetry at school is a distant fuzz. (more…)
