As free and lawless as a lamb’s bleat
First, the unusual simile, I never thought of a lamb's bleat as free or lawless. Then the idea that a...
A twig for a pen
Paper was forbidden, so this boy’s brother taught him to write with twigs on the sand, and later he managed...
A blank-book for thoughts
Having had several detailed discussions with my brother on what constitutes acceptable paper for note-books or letters, I felt sympathy...
The magic of great stories
Coming from a superb storyteller, this comment on the secret of the Great Stories is refreshing and insightful. It has long...
Of boats and books
Another example of Steinbeck's search for a perfect writing spot, in different houses, places, times of his life, as described...
Stories as generosity
An expansive view of stories from Turkestan, as if they embody the sweeping spaces of the steppe, and the freedom...
The secret of surprise
A pithy tip from one of the masters, succinctly conveyed in Clive James' translation. It's certainly given me food for...
The generous and beautiful word…
Adam Nicholson writes of a scroll Homer found rolled beneath the head of a female mummy: Hawara Homer, written on...
Shorter but longer
This pithy summary of the difference between prose and poetry is as much as Orlando gleans from the convoluted accounts...
A visit to the Brontes
When I read the journals of Dorothy Wordsworth I had a yearning to visit the Wordsworth homes in the Lake...
Pencil and paper
Steinbeck wrote with pencil on the ubiquitous American yellow pad. Computers and word-processing came too late for him, and so...
An awakened influence
Charlotte Bronte describes the spirit of writing when it flows. This happens to me occasionally, and I've noticed you can't...
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