It’s now exactly a week since the news of David Bowie’s death reached the world, and with seven days to reflect on his life and his work, the event seems to have grown in spirit and grandeur. Artists of all descriptions and practices reach their audiences and fanbases through their work. Bowie seems to have reached […]
Zite News
News from Zitebooks—new books, events and general Zite info
The Ugly Duckling
The ugly duckling song came into my head this morning. For those who do not remember the old story, it is about a duck who is disliked because he is ugly – but he turns out, in the end, to be a beautiful swan, whereupon he is admired by all. And I thought – there […]
Belfast and Beyond ‘Writing’
I’ve always wanted to go to Northern Ireland. I find the accent sexy. Guys with a real Belfast accent – that clipped, fast, adenoidal and charmingly aggressive burr – gets my motor running. So it was no accident that I was taken to a city as aphrodisiac to rewrite and reproof Bastardography. The Editor and […]
Seven Ages of Man
I recently stayed in a holiday resort where there were a lot of retired fire fighters, many of them having been injured on the job, some permanently. I got talking to groups of them and some got up from the table where we had been eating and talking, stiffly, and with difficulty, clearly in pain. […]
Would You Ever Want to Read a Patchwork Book?
In the writing of a book, lots can change. My original idea for the book was that it would be a collage, a patchwork memoir, that didn’t follow a narrative line; luckily my publisher talked me out of it, because I think people would not have responded well to it. Although perhaps the idea could […]