Friday 26 April 2024
W is for Whisky
Thursday 25 April 2024
V is for Vigilante
Wednesday 24 April 2024
U is for Ukulele
Tuesday 23 April 2024
T is for Tattoo
Monday 22 April 2024
S is for Schadenfreude
Saturday 20 April 2024
R is for Robot
Friday 19 April 2024
Q is for Quid Pro Quo
Thursday 18 April 2024
P is for Pyjamas
Wednesday 17 April 2024
O is for Orangutan
Tuesday 16 April 2024
N is for Neanderthal
Monday 15 April 2024
M is for Mosquito
Sunday 14 April 2024
Ospreys at Lock Arkaig
Saturday 13 April 2024
L is for Latke
Friday 12 April 2024
K is for Kibitz
Thursday 11 April 2024
J is for Jubilee
Wednesday 10 April 2024
I is for Incommunicado
Tuesday 9 April 2024
H is for Hummus
Monday 8 April 2024
G is for Glitch
Saturday 6 April 2024
F is for Fiasco
Friday 5 April 2024
Lynne Reid Banks
I just read of the death of Lynne Reid Banks and memories rushed in on me of her novel The L-shaped Room that I read as a teenager and had a significant impact on me. There were two other follow up novels, extending the story of the same characters, which managed to not spoil the original relationships. There was a film made of the book that naturally she hated, I remember feeling annoyed by it too. It was just a nostalgic moment for me, there is nothing sad about the death of a 94 year old who has live a full and happy life. Thank you for the books Lynne.
E is for Embargo
Thursday 4 April 2024
Lost Words (not an A to Z post)
'Greek Lessons' by Han Kang was similarly on my radar because of 'The Vegetarian' (from 2019). A nameless young woman is losing her son, and all her words, not forgotten but somehow trapped inside, unable to be spoken. She joins an evening class to learn Greek, making language an abstract thing that does not need to be spoken. The Greek teacher is losing his sight. Their lives are both empty but neither seems aware of their loneliness. Neither will admit to their weakness or ask for anything until circumstances force them together.
D is for Doppelgänger
Wednesday 3 April 2024
C is for Coup and Cul
Tuesday 2 April 2024
B is for Balaclava
Monday 1 April 2024
A is for Angst
Thursday 21 March 2024
World Poetry Day
Its the season I often mistake
birds for leaves, and leaves for birds.
The tawny yellow mulberry leaves
are always goldfinches tumbling
across the lawn like extreme elation.
The last of the maroon crabapple
ovates are song sparrows that tremble
all at once. And today, just when I
could not stand myself any longer,
a group of field sparrows, which were
actually field sparrows, flew up into
the bare branches of the hackberry
and I almost collapsed: leaves
reattaching themselves to the tree
like a strong spell for reversal. What
else did I expect? What good
is accuracy amidst the perpetual
scattering that unspools the world.
Ada Limón
World Poetry Day is the perfect excuse to share a poem. I am a sucker for a poetry review that says "if you buy just one book this year, buy this one", which I think is how I came to purchase 'The Hurting Kind' by Ada Limón. It is one that has been sitting by the bed for months, just opened occasionally when I feel too tired to dive into a novel but I want to read for a few minutes before sleeping. Poetry is good for that. A book full of images of the natural world, but from an unusual perspective. If you want a gentle introduction to the world of poetry you can subscribe here to Poem-a-day, and a poem will arrive in your inbox every morning.
Stay safe. Be kind. Time for a spring clean.