Presque vu XXIX

Hari Kunzru and others join the debate over Monica Ali’s Brick Road:

Art isn’t about promoting social cohesion, or cementing community relations. It’s about telling the truth as you see it, even if it annoys or offends some people. That’s called freedom of expression, and last time I checked we all thought it was quite a good idea.

*

Right now my hole punch is propping the window open. I have a little paper cutout of a boy wearing a school uniform and holding a ladybug the size of a rabbit hanging from the lock on my window. I bought him in Berlin this summer. Depending on whether the window is open or closed, he has his toes in the treetops, he floats inside someone else’s window or he flutters against the sky as the clouds move past him. Behind him I can also see the corner of our pink fire escape and the curve of the building next to ours (we live on a circle, though it is officially called a square).

An Interview with Matthea Harvey at Bookslut

*

The Bookaholics’ Guide to Book Blogs is reviewed over at Girl Friday.

If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed




Leave a Comment




About Writing:

It is as reasonable to represent one kind of imprisonment by another, as it is to represent anything that really exists by that which exists not. Daniel Defoe, in the preface to the third volume of Robinson Crusoe

Save a Blogger from Begging: Buy Books:


chinese jacket

Signed first editions
at special prices.

819 feed subscribers

My Website

Visit my website for news of readings and appearances, reviews of and extracts from my novels, interviews, quotations on writing, revolution, lies, time and dance, art, serial killers, and humour. Read short stories, view author images and much more.

Submit your news

Please continue to let me know about literary-related news. I can't promise to publish everything, but if it grabs my interest . . .

Text Size

If you find the text of this blog too small or too large for easy reading, you can alter the size of the font in your browser's View menu. Alternatively, press the CTRL key and roll the mouse wheel forward or back.

Donations

Via Paypal, using johnbakeronline[at]operamail[dot]com