Author: Alex

I received a small book for Christmas. Hardback, its cover reminded me of the elegant wallpaper of some Bloomsbury salon: dark green leaves and what might be sloe berries against an ecru background. The book tells the story of a girl called Sally Waite, the precocious daughter of a well-off Southern couple, whom we first meet … Read More

When I was asked to do the Shoreditch House Literary Salon, I thought I had a pretty good idea of the vibe. There’d be snide, perennially 39-year old television execs leaning against the bar and talking in loud, nasal voices as I read; horsey girls called Bella touching their nostrils and braying about shoes; no … Read More

I was writing an essay on Beckett’s prose and the minimalist composers recently, and something kept nagging at the edge of my consciousness. The thesis of the piece I was working on was that Beckett, like Philip Glass or Steve Reich, uses the interaction of repetition and snatched moments of extraordinary lyricism to convey life … Read More

I came across this photograph when surfing idly on the Net the other day. Sometimes I allow myself to zone out whilst trawling the Web. I let my subconscious take over, guide me down subliminal paths, use Google to search my own mind. So the picture appeared on my screen as a surprise. I instantly … Read More