(for an audio version of this piece, click here) There was sand in his mouth and someone was pulling his arm. He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to be stuck together. Then whoever was pulling his arm turned him on his back and water that had been in his mouth ran down … Continue reading an extract from City of Desolation : Chapter 19 – Virgil
Author: jfmward
Author, bicycle enthusiast
The Case of the Florentine Poet: Was Dante the father of Science Fiction?
It was only in researching this piece that I was struck by the uncanny physical resemblance between Dante Alighieri, the Florentine poet, and Mr Sherlock Holmes, of 221b Baker St, the World’s first Consulting Detective: ‘His eyes were sharp and piercing, ... and his thin, hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness … Continue reading The Case of the Florentine Poet: Was Dante the father of Science Fiction?
‘we are only doing philosophy’
Esse est percipi - to be is to be perceived. That is Berkeley’s great insight, that the world as we know it exists only for us and beings similarly equipped. It is an observation widely misunderstood because the truth of it is difficult to express, hence the famous exchange between my countryman Boswell (whom I … Continue reading ‘we are only doing philosophy’
Repentance, or, embracing Subjective Reality
The sun moon and planets are unwitting actors that we have cast in a drama of our own contriving. Wagner’s Lied an den Abendstern (‘O Star of Eve’ - here intriguingly rendered on the musical saw) is not addressed to the second planet from the sun, inhospitably wrapped in clouds of sulphuric acid, but the … Continue reading Repentance, or, embracing Subjective Reality
FRATER AVE ATQUE VALE
Brendan John Goulding Ward 24 November 1946 - 6 January 2013 (photographed by his niece Kate at his niece Veronica's wedding) + Requiescat in Pace In happy remembrance: Being a Pantoum for my brother on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday, commissioned at exceptional cost* and in several colours from the pen of Master Thomas … Continue reading FRATER AVE ATQUE VALE
Paxman and the Angels
‘Samson wis a mighty man he fought wi the cuddy’s jaws he fought ten thoosan battles in his crimson flannel drawers’ In the Bible, Samson is conceived by a woman previously thought barren and becomes a notable hero of Israel, smiting the Philistines before falling from grace through his infatuation with Delilah, which leaves him … Continue reading Paxman and the Angels
SET OUT YOUR STALL (first published in The Author, winter 2012)
The editorial in the autumn issue [of The Author] seemed to me as incoherent and confused in its argument as the image that concluded it: ‘writers must dig their heels in, stick to their knitting, and stick to their guns.’ What, all at once? The gist of what was said is this: times are changing, … Continue reading SET OUT YOUR STALL (first published in The Author, winter 2012)
‘Them was the beds I saw!’ (as th’oul’ gunnock said)
When young, my brother and I had a book called (I think) The Prophecies of the Brahan Seer (indeed I believe it was this one), which dealt with the life (and somewhat unpleasant death) of Kenneth Mackenzie, also known as Coinneach Odhar or the Brahan seer, who was celebrated for having what in the Highlands is called ‘the … Continue reading ‘Them was the beds I saw!’ (as th’oul’ gunnock said)
Not waving…
Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning. I first read Stevie Smith’s poem at school and could make neither head nor tail of it, yet this morning, lying in the dark, the lines above came to me and … Continue reading Not waving…
The Writer’s Task
Trawling through my chaotic file system, I came across this, which I wrote a while back - it has at least the merit of brevity ('Brevity is the soul of wit - if you can't be witty, at least be brief') : 'A character must do, not what I want him or need him to do … Continue reading The Writer’s Task
COMPLEAT TROWZER 