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Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
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Hello World!
Welcome to WordPress! This is your first post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey.
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Short Story Month: ‘The Last Shaman’
In 1952, after the Chinese Revolution the leaders of the Oroquen agreed to give up their superstitions and religious practices. Over three nights in July a special ritual was held by the whole community to drive away the spirits from the land. Read more here.
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Review of ‘The Dressing-Up Box’ by David Constantine
David Constantine, The Dressing-Up Box, Comma Press, £14.99 In the third short story in this collection, Siding with the Weeds, Joe goes to visit his old friend Bert. Details of place are meticulously realised; Bert lives on a cul-de-sac on an estate of ‘Sunshine Houses, all with key-hole porches, around a green’. At the back […]
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Short Story Month: ‘Callow’
Keith’s mother had once told him it had taken four years of trying before he was born and then another eight for Tim to come along. At Christmas. He remembered being nonplussed, and a little outraged by the gift of a new baby brother, which he definitely hadn’t asked for. Read more here.
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Review of Nikolai Leskov stories
A new edition of the selected stories of Nikolai Leskov (1831-95)! Although less widely known than Tolstoy or Chekhov, he was admired by both. First published by Dostoevsky, Leskov is credited with creating the most comprehensive portrayals of Russian life in the 19th century. His novella, Lady Macbeth of Mtensk was made into an opera […]
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Review of ‘Orange World’ by Karen Russell
Loved these visionary stories! Read my full review here.
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What Manchester means to me
When I was a child I lived in a council flat on the seventh floor of a tower block in Ashton-under-Lyne. I spent a lot of time on the balcony, looking out towards Manchester. Manchester to me was a long line of bright lights on the horizon. It was also the city where my mum […]
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For Art’s Sake
Earlier this year I visited my son and his girlfriend in Switzerland and was taken to see the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne. Among many other pieces there, I found the work of Judith Scott – strange hanging sculptures, vaguely disturbing humanoid shapes, bound in strips of coloured cloth. They were graceful, unnerving, and […]
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Naughty Sophia
Well! I’ve just discovered that Naughty Sophia was written by Winifred Mary Letts, who was born on 10 February 1882 in Broughton, Salford, and died in 1972! A word to the wise – never put Naughty Sophia into a search engine without adding ‘children’s story’ first… But, several pages of Italian dominatrices later, I’ve found the book! […]