Category: Literature

Grenade Rain Dance, by Calibna J. Kerr (Junk Talk Poet): #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Literature, Poetry, Reading, Review7 Comments

Poetry is such a varied medium that a reader approaches any work with cautious curiosity. What will this piece say, will it be formal, contemporary, or simply chopped prose? The very fact that Calibna prefers his Junk Talk Poet handle may well put off a number of potential readers due to the propensity to pre-judge. …

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The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Reading, Review4 Comments

I read this short story by the famous playwright in the hope it would prove a better read than his ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’. My hope was based on ‘The Sphinx Without a Secret’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this moral tale is similar to the ‘Infanta’, in …

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The Birthday of the Infanta, by Oscar Wilde: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Reading, Review9 Comments

Very definitely a story of its time. It’s intended for children, but I seriously doubt many modern kids would read this. There are moral lessons buried here, but they are largely lost in the unnecessarily detailed descriptions of the riches of the royal family featured. Some of these are effectively lists of luxury items and …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 31: The Little Red Writing Book

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Literature, Reading, Review, Word ChoiceLeave a comment

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 31: The Little Red Writing Book Paperback, 160 pages. Published in 2007 by Writer’s Digest Books. This is the edition I own and I can’t recall what I paid for it. You can buy it new …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Literature, Reading, Review, Word Choice2 Comments

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. subtitled Volume 1: Verbs with Prepositions and Particles: Hardback, 396 pages, including 2 indices. First published in 1975 by Oxford University Press. Mine is the 1984 sixth impression. I …

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Somebody Else’s Troubles, by J.A. English: #BookReview.

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389 Pages Literary Fiction. All serious works of fiction should carry at least one underlying message. Some manage this with such subtlety it barely makes a conscious impression on those not seeking it, others blare it out loudly, covering their story with a condescending layer of preaching. Many lie somewhere in between; a reasonable balance …

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Bridport Prize Anthology 2019, by: The Bridport Prize #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, PrizesLeave a comment

164 pages Literary/Contemporary Fiction/Poetry Anthologies This anthology contains the prize-winning entries into the 2019 contest run by this prestigious organisation. There are judge’s reports on the entries for Poetry, Short Story and Flash Fiction. The book showcases those pieces of work that won the major prizes or were highly commended. So, there are thirteen poems, …

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84K, by Claire North: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, politics, Reading, Review3 Comments

480 pages Political Fiction/Dystopian/Literary Fiction Not for the faint-hearted. And, definitely not for the perennially depressed. But this is a book that should be read by everyone (I’m conscious of the contradiction). Set in a future UK too close for comfort, it examines the inevitable consequences of unfettered capitalism. The writing style is clever, sometimes …

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The #Write #Words? Post 28

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Grammar, Literature, Poetry, Word ChoiceLeave a comment

Word cloud ceated through Wordart.com Examining Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions, click here for the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Xanadu, Xeric, X-ray. Onomatopoeia: Xanadu: Xanadu is a place of dreamlike magnificence and luxury as described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his well-known poem, Kubla …

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As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, Reading, Review6 Comments

400 pages Literary Classics When a book is as well-known as this classic, it’s difficult to know whether anything new can be said about it. But a review is a personal opinion and may help other readers yet to try the work, so here goes. The edition I bought (as part of a package bought …

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