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

So after the hand-wringing, the late-night panics, the scans and the shelved plans, she arrived. It was the night of the book launch, still a month before the due date, but something told me that it might happen, that the two creations might come into the world on the same date. The launch was marvellous … Read More

I remember my first headmaster – an oak of a man, habitually silent and brooding – spoke to us one spring morning. I was twelve. Sunlight slanted into the hall and fell in bars upon my feet. I remember it clearly because there was rare emotion in his voice. This was a man left taciturn … Read More