So, I haven’t posted for a while. Mainly because I’ve been scuttling around the country and haven’t had much time online to assemble my thoughts into any kind of coherent order. I went to York and Leeds and crunched through the snow with frozen toes. There was a vat of mulled wine, strawberry daiquiris and Sainsburys basics-range brandy. And a lot of dancing, at the awful club we used to go to on at least a weekly basis whilst at university. It’s still the same; sticky-floored, drab and selling fizzy vimto and gin for only £1.50. And for once I managed to keep my heels on until almost two. And I realised I really am lucky to have such passionate and creative friends.
All of my friends living in Yorkshire at the moment are older than me. And I haven’t finished a fanzine since I was sixteen years old. But the idea that my friends still make fanzines, and are still crazily passionate and sincere about music, writing, art and each other is so romantic and idealistic that it makes me dizzy. So I’m glad that the tenuous threads connecting us all haven’t unravelled yet. Sometimes maintaining those relationships seems unrewarding. But the nattering away about nothing in the middle of the night this weekend made it all worthwhile. Even if it was fucking freezing wrapped in sleeping bags with the heating not working.
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In other news and reviews, the latest instalments to my BitchBuzz series Literary Heroines to Love are Anna Kavan and Emma Forrest. Emma was kind enough to field my interrogative questioning with eloquence and grace, so it’s the least you can do to head over there and read all about it.
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A plethora of exciting new ideas are bubbling under the surface of everything I’m scribbling at the moment. To the extent that it’s hard to order my words in a logical fashion. So if I’m not making much sense at the moment, I’m sorry. Bear with me, and all will be revealed. I just need to sit on these eggs for a little while longer. But when they hatch, well. You’d better just watch out.
My latest post is about a topic that isn’t exactly new. In fact, it’s more than a year old. So sincere apologies, news-seekers, I’m afraid you might be disappointed. My only excuse is that I didn’t have this blog back then, and I’m attempting to transform this one into an easy reference source for bits like this, so I’m not scattered thinly here, there, and everywhere all over the world wide web.
August 2007 was the month of Liverpool’s 800th birthday. To celebrate, journalist Deborah Mulhearn compiled a massive collection of writing about the city, from new authors as well as considerably more established sources, such as Charles Dickens, Paul McCartney and Will Self. This collection was arranged into a series of four collectable themed anthologies, which were released at intervals throughout the year.
The third Mersey Mini, Longing, consisted entirely of new writing. It was released last August, and to announce its launch thousands of copies were given away across the city. I was lucky enough to have a short story included in this anthology, a page before Roger McGough’s contribution, and alongside such names as Yoko Ono and Frank Cottrell Boyce.
I was born in Liverpool, so I have a substantial amount of affection for the city. I don’t have the accent, unless you get me riled, in which case it does come out on occasion. When I was younger I loved the Beatles, but I’m not such a fan now. Most of all what I love seeing when I go back is the evolution of Liverpool. I know that all major cities constantly fluctuate and change, but maybe because I don’t go back that often Liverpool always looks so different every time I visit. My teenage hell-raiser of a sister still lives there, so I should go back more.
The full box set of Mersey Minis can be bought via their website, or through Love Liverpool books. I think the concept is so romantic, and I love the idea of contrasting memories and anecdotes sitting side by side in these books. And I’m off to Liverpool in a few weeks time for my aforementioned sister’s 18th birthday celebrations, so there might even be more Scouse-themed ramblings then.
Whilst trawling the web this afternoon I realised that the wonderful women at Mslexia have completely revamped their already-ever-so-useful website. The old version of the site had a range of resources for writers that was indispensable, and one of the reasons the print version of the magazine is such a continual point of reference for me. The new site has retained all that information and made it easier to navigate, plus added other features such as online versions of the printed articles; interviews with authors, book reviews, new writing and workshop exercises to revitalise any stagnating first drafts that you’re considering crumpling, binning or deleting.
The current quarterly issue covers July to September, so the next couple of weeks are your last chance to grab one and read a review by me for Mslexia’s regular ‘One I Love’ column. I wrote about Patti Smith’s volume of Early Work: 1970-1979. She’s my absolute heroine and as a combination of collected lyrics, poetry and prose, the book is such a treat to delve into. Definitely recommended, but Amazon only have two copies in stock so snap one up whilst you can…
