Ian Gouge's Blog, page 8

New book this month!

Published on the 31st October: My new book is based on decades of experience writing, running workshops, mentoring and conversations with other writers. Perhaps you don’t know if what you’re trying to write is the thing you should be writing; perhaps you’re feeling disheartened by years of competition and Agent rejections. Or maybe you’re simply struggling to … Continue reading New book this month! →

Highlights from September’s posts…

“when you see anything of mine that you don’t like remember that I’m sincere in doing it and that I’m working toward something.” – Ernest Hemingway  Here are a selection of recent posts from my Substack site.

“Town & Country – New Irish Short Stories”

Given all the authors in Town & Country are Irish there should be no surprise at various common themes running through many of the poems: the city, the countryside etc. And, given this is collection contains twenty stories by twenty different authors, it is not something I would normally comment on in any detail (or … Continue reading “Town & Country – New Irish Short Stories” →

“Statements”

Statements is an absolutely stunning collection of three plays by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. Written in the early 1970s, the plays lay bare the horror of what it was like to live in the racist South Africa of the time. I can only image how powerful and electrifying it must have been … Continue reading “Statements” →

“Lapwing” & “Sky Mall”

I couple Hannah Copley’s Lapwing and Eric Kocher’s Sky Mall together in this review because they share two traits: the first is a significant degree of repetition in both subject matter and phraseology, and the second is a degree of the prosaic in the writing. Unsure what to make of Lapwing, I put it aside … Continue reading “Lapwing” & “Sky Mall” →

“Real Time”

Without possessing an understanding of the cultural nuances relating to Indian life, I am sure I’m missing a lot of the subtleties in Amit Chaudhuri’s collection of short stories, Real Time. Having said that, two things about the collection bother me. The first is how so many of the stories seem to ‘fizzle out’, lacking … Continue reading “Real Time” →

“Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams”

Knowing what became of her it is difficult not to read Sylvia Plath through a ready-made filter. Having said that, there is enough darkness and foreboding in Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams to at least hint at what was to later transpire. Perhaps more than anyone else, the legend of her life is … Continue reading “Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams” →

A selection from August…

“when you see anything of mine that you don’t like remember that I’m sincere in doing it and that I’m working toward something.” – Ernest Hemingway  Here are a selection of recent posts from my Substack site. The post on gimmickry in poetry has been particularly well received; plus news on a nomination for a … Continue reading A selection from August… →

“Joy in Service on Rue Tagore”

Well, I’m sorry, but I’ve given up on Paul Muldoon’s new collection Joy in Service on the Rue Tagore. And the reason? Partly because I’ve no idea in terms of what’s going on in most of the poems, but largely because they read as if the poet has sat down with a copy of a … Continue reading “Joy in Service on Rue Tagore” →

“Prophet Song”

[It will be impossible to write this without spoilers of some kind…] Paul Lunch’s Prophet Song is a difficult read. Not in the way it is written (though some people will struggle with how he handles dialogue) but because of its unrelenting agony, a depression that builds unremittingly, such that – even half-way through – … Continue reading “Prophet Song” →