Libre Paley's Blog: Libre Paley - Thoughts on Literary Erotica, page 3

Between life’s pages

About eighteen months ago I wrote a post (Bookmarking our Lives) about the ‘found objects’ that we sometimes come across tucked inside second-hand books – or perhaps inside those books that we ourselves have owned for a while. I noted the ways these items, often used as book marks, are a sort of historical document … Continue reading Between life’s pages

Alive in everything

Spring is when life’s alive in everythingChristina Rossetti, Spring It’s that time again; at least, it is for half the planet. The seasons turned and it’s spring, time of new beginnings and fresh growth. Frankly, it doesn’t feel very spring-like here at 53 degrees north, 4oC and a flurry of snow. Then hail. Then sun. … Continue reading Alive in everything

Set your watch by it

The clocks went forward yesterday; lightly, we skipped an hour. In UK, we’re on ‘British Summer Time’. We’ve taken this decision to play with time, to control it, in order to award ourselves longer evening daylight. Twenty-four hours later, and a small adjustment is made. We’re already used to it. The imagery of a stopped … Continue reading Set your watch by it

The chaotic erotic

A recent article for InsideHook, an online ‘guide for culture, travel, menswear and more’, proposed that It’s Time for Men to Start Reading More Erotica. The premise is that most written erotica is aimed at the female market because a. it’s assumed men prefer to watch rather than read erotica, and  b… well, that men … Continue reading The chaotic erotic

Language of a pandemic

So ‘Covid’ and ‘Coronavirus’ are in the dictionary. In April and in July 2020, Oxford English Dictionary editors, for instance, released dedicated updates in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the English language. Notes on a webinar by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) discussed ‘what is interesting about the new terms about … Continue reading Language of a pandemic

Quietly in a room alone

French mathematician, physicist, philosopher, writer (and all-round 17th-century renaissance man) Blaise Pascal famously said that ‘All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.’ Covid-19 and the necessity (or imposition, whichever side you’re on) of lockdown has tested us on this. That is to say, some of us and … Continue reading Quietly in a room alone

“Prochronism” – and does it matter?

As a reader, are you disappointed by anything less than accurate historical detail, or are you content for the writer to use artistic licence?   There is a well-known old joke (it may be a Woody Allen line?) that runs: ‘Dear Diary, today the Hundred Years’ War started…’ Another humorous use of an archly inappropriate … Continue reading “Prochronism” – and does it matter?

Date the book

Quick game for Valentine’s Day: who would be your chosen fictional character to take out on a date? Or, as it’s still lockdown in a lot of places, to stay in with to enjoy dinner for two? Doesn’t matter whether you’re single, like me, or coupled up; it’s fiction. Would it be the arrogant Mr … Continue reading Date the book

One-sentence portraits

I am practising a new exercise: to sum up a character in a few, grammatically connected, words. Preferably with one single sentence. This may be their personality or appearance, or both, but in terms of the rules, directly applied adjectives will be avoided (large, friendly, pretty, intimidating, gloomy, etc.) Below are a few great examples … Continue reading One-sentence portraits

Good morning, brain

No, since I have been working from home in lockdown, I have not missed the alarm going off at 5.30 each weekday morning. On the other hand, I still like to be at my desk before 8 at the latest, and get antsy if I’m not. It’s commonly accepted that people are divided into ‘morning … Continue reading Good morning, brain