All writers, whether they be poets, short fiction authors, or novelists, have had enormous influences on their writing. For me those influences range from Dostoyevsky to Fitzgerald, from Pablo Neruda to Bob Dylan. Sometimes a poet can have an influence on my fiction, and sometimes a novelist can have an influence on my short fiction. But for many years there has been something else, something extraordinary, something you don’t have to buy, something that is right there all of the time like a 24-hour a day classroom that is always at your disposal. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘kerouac’
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…)