Posts Tagged ‘bt’

World Poetry Day – What Is Poetry?

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

It seems like a silly question – what is poetry? But in many ways I think it is crucial, so, for World Poetry Day, let’s spend a bit of time glaring at the roots.

What is a poet? A poet is someone who practices the art of writing poetry. Is someone adept at writing poetry.

The South Korean film, Poetry, tackles the poet/poetry issue in a very interesting manner. The protagonist, an elderly lady, decides to join a poetry class. She then struggles throughout the entire film to write a poem because she can’t get her head around how to be poetic, although her life, experience and troubles are perfect poetic fodder. She makes notes of what she sees and eventually these notes turn into a poem. (more…)

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Feeling Piano

Monday, February 6th, 2012

I’ve been feeling piano of late, dear friends. Light, natural light, sizzles across my face enlightening me. The miraculous entity we call light inspires me to write great works of Bart and in the middle of it, the crux, as it were, a tinkling of Hollywood piano spatters from the beyond, everything spurts from God. The piano melody speaks to the soul, harkens back to lullaby time with mother. (more…)

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Google Kindle: 5 Easy Steps to Make Money with Kindle eBooks

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

I recently listened in to a Kindle eBook marketing webinar, sick bucket handy. I managed to hold back my puke for well over an hour. And then I let fly. I webuked. For I had learnt the truth about Kindle marketing. Here I’ll attempt to break down the truth for you, in easily digestible e-chunks. (more…)

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phonehead

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

tip and tap and finger, swipe, feel, touch, swivel, cradle, stare – everybody HEAD DOWN avoid eyes, breasts, crotches, legs, toes, dirty heels, attach vision to battery-powered light, communicate, but not with us, with them, with there not here there your real friends, contacts, real dreams. this is temporary, definitely not permanent, a to c. (more…)

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Fante an Honest Review

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Like Hubert Selby Jr. before him, Dan Fante refuses to flinch. His writing is characterised by honest storytelling. He doesn’t try to sound like a writer or obstruct the flow of the story in any way. He has no apparent intention of his work being analysed, and seems to be unconcerned with literary worth, doesn’t fill space with unnecessary allusions or metaphors, he’s not the pretentious know-it-all smirking from behind a screen. Dan Fante’s work does not ape anybody, doesn’t try to evoke another era, doesn’t attempt to be surreal, contemporary, post-modern or book club material. While the Booker Prize scratches its PR chin and newspapers ponder the state of publishing, Dan Fante continues to write.

I had the pleasure of reading Fante: A Family’s Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving, Dan Fante’s latest book, while on my train travels. It felt like I was holding a close friend and listening to him speak his secrets into my ear alone, reminded of when I was a boy and was carrying a Jack London novel around with me like priceless treasure to soothe me and give me the support and friendship I needed. I held my copy of Fante tight, proud to be reading it while others around me stared into their laptops, drank their coffees. (more…)

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Occupy Publishing

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Inspired by Ryder Collins‘ tremendous article, and as a tangent to the ideas behind the Occupy Wall Street movement, I wanted to slam down my very own opinionated piece. It seems to me that business/writing/the business of writing is a continuous handshake, a wink and a slap on the bum.

(Sure I want to bring down federal banking just like the next man. I do believe that what is going on financially in the world is a massive swindle and most people are on the losing end. But what I also believe is that you and I also need to be held accountable. We’ve put our faith in these establishments, we’ve handed it all over, from our salaries to our mortgages. Not to mention the free-spending, the gluttony and lack of self-control which has meant we’ve lost our footing; in fact we’ve lost it, slipped up and fallen face down in our own putrid puke.) (more…)

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On National Book Week

Monday, September 5th, 2011

The little man doesn’t stand a chance. The little woman even. That’s what I keep reading. The news. Shops are closing down, small businesses getting flushed away. It’s inevitable, like death.

Or is it? (more…)

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A Private Confession

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Back in 1980s Romania it was a given that you were being listened in on. It was just one of those things, normal. Green meat. Normal. Bribing. Normal. Being extremely careful about what you say and who you share it with. Normal. Nothing unusual there at all. (more…)

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A Tale of Cupcakes, Books and Rain

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

A sweet beginning: (more…)

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Neighbours

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

My neighbours invoke a feeling of uselessness and terror in the gaping hole between food and bone. At around eight o’clock a haunting sound resonates/permeates through my ceiling. Quickly fills up the spaces of this vacant home. The sound of Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Beck. Coldplay even. What’s left of music hangs and filters through every orifice. The leftovers. Dog fart music. (more…)

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