by beatriceotto | Mar 22, 2019 | places & spaces, writing & writers
Another description by Steinbeck’s widow of yet another of his writing spaces, which comprised mostly rooms but some other curious places. Here a ‘room of one’s own’ is complemented by pervasive love. ‘Now I am married to Elaine and in...
by beatriceotto | Mar 15, 2019 | paper shaper, places & spaces, writing & writers
Steinbeck wrote with pencil on the ubiquitous American yellow pad. Computers and word-processing came too late for him, and so I was curious about his wife’s assumption that while he would have liked and mastered them, he’d probably have stuck with...
by beatriceotto | Mar 8, 2019 | places & spaces, writing & writers
Recently I read an old penny-paperback of The Grapes of Wrath. I was about three-quarters of the way through when I left it on a plane – I hope someone picked it up and read it. So I bought another copy of the same edition as it had a foreword by...
by beatriceotto | Feb 8, 2019 | poetry mojo, writing & writers
How do you learn to write? My belief is that if fine writing comes from you, mostly it is due to fine reading, even if (or particularly when?) you forget the detail of what you have read but keep the imprint.Here Dante acknowledges Virgil not only as his travel and...
by beatriceotto | Feb 1, 2019 | writing & writers
A pithy tip from one of the masters, succinctly conveyed in Clive James’ translation. It’s certainly given me food for thought: how to use the recognisable to make something new more convincing or acceptable. ‘The secret of surpriseLies in a...
by beatriceotto | Jan 17, 2019 | writing & writers
Of course, it’s just a number, but a nice round one that adds another digit to the days since WritingRedux was launched. A chance to thank readers and subscribers who continue to visit in steadily growing numbers. Please feel free to send any comments or ideas,...
by beatriceotto | Nov 16, 2018 | writing & writers
An incisive summary of the effect of Irish writers on English literature; I liked the English-rose-pruning metaphor and the ‘frank impiety’ of their robust influence. See Borges also on the illusion of definitive texts. ‘(Irish writers) … made deep...
by beatriceotto | Nov 16, 2018 | writing & writers
I liked this sharp reminder that literature is always work-in-progress, particularly in translation. While I have used the term ‘definitive’ for some translations, it inevitably implies the caveat ‘so far’. ‘The concept of a definitive text...
by beatriceotto | Nov 9, 2018 | poetry mojo, writing & writers
Yes, you can find a thousand things more urgent than writing, or at least more insistent. Writing for this and other websites takes precedence over a series of children’s stories I have begun. Blogs have a rhythm or schedule, books are open-ended. I find time...
