Guy Portman's Blog, page 44
February 28, 2014
The Brompton Cemetery
My second book, Necropolis (Release Date: April 24th), is a humorous plot driven work of dark fiction about a psychopath, who works for the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council. Due to the cemetery theme I am dedicating this blog post to the cemetery closest to my own heart, the Brompton Cemetery. I was born in a hospital adjoining the cemetery, spent countless hours of my childhood there – walking, skateboarding, feeding its many squirrels and inspecting its grave sites. To...
February 21, 2014
Transgressive Fiction II
My second book, Necropolis (Release Date: April 24th), is a humorous work of dark fiction about a psychopath, who works for the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council. Necropolis could be described as Transgressive fiction, and it is for this reason that I have dedicated two blog posts to the subject.
Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or il...
February 14, 2014
Transgressive Fiction
My second book, Necropolis (Release Date: April 24th), is a humorous work of dark fiction about a psychopath, who works for the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council. Necropolis could be described as Transgressive fiction, and it is for this reason that I am dedicating two blog posts to the subject.
Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or ill...
February 7, 2014
Bizarre Author Deaths VII
This is likely to be the final instalment of my Bizarre Author Deaths series. I have more or less exhausted this fascinating if morbid subject matter, and there will be no further additions until there is a fresh batch of deaths.
Sherwood Anderson
(September 13th 1876 – March 8th 1941)
Notable works: Winesburg, Ohio & Dark Laughter
The Ohio born Sherwood Anderson is today remembered more for his influence on the following generation of writers than for his own writing efforts. Ignoring the litera...
January 31, 2014
Tax Return Deadline Day
Friday 13:05 – The Supermarket Queue
I am clasping a basket containing some oranges, six eggs and a newspaper. Whilst I wait I contemplate what I will blog about this afternoon, prior to being collected by a friend at 15:45, destination the countryside. My weekly blog post goes out at 16:03 every Friday. I am stringent about this; it must be 16:03. Perhaps my blog will be the final instalment of my Bizarre Author Deaths series, or possibly my proposed Amazon KDP Select promotion for Charles Mi...
January 24, 2014
Bizarre Author Deaths VI
This week sees the penultimate instalment of the Bizarre Author Deaths series.
Sir Francis Bacon
(January 22nd 1561 – April 9th 1626)
Notable works: Novum Organum, De augmentis, Nova Atlantis
Sir Francis Bacon was an English philosopher, scientist, statesman, orator, essayist and author. A highly successful career saw the multi-talented Bacon serve as both Attorney General and Lord Chancellor. Today Bacon is remembered as an important figure in scientific methodology and natural philosophy. His a...
January 17, 2014
Twitter Reflections
December 27th 2011 – Feeling somewhat lethargic after what had been a fairly gluttonous Christmas period, I lay beached on the sofa, remote clasped in one hand, idly flicking through the TV channels. There were only two programmes that even vaguely stimulated my interest. I decided to Tweet this information to the world. The Tweet read:
‘Choices, choices – Kim Jong-il’s state funeral or George of the Jungle with Brendan Fraser?’ #Jong-il #BrendanFraser
It was a defining moment, as this was the...
January 10, 2014
Bizarre Author Deaths V
This week’s blog post is dedicated to two more bizarre author deaths. Initially I did not envisage that this author series would have so many instalments, but with the multitude of bizarre/mysterious author deaths that have occurred down the years, I anticipate that there will be at least a further two instalments at some point.
Edgar Allan Poe
(January 19th 1809 – October 7th 1849)
Notable works: The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, Tamerlan and Other Poems
Poe was an author, poet, editor and...
January 3, 2014
My Year In Books
Shortly before Christmas goodreads emailed me a report listing the 22 books that I had read during the calendar year.
(Click on the book links to read my reviews).
Transgressive Fiction/Black Humour
As my second book, Necropolis, due out this spring (date to confirmed soon) is a work of dark fiction, a significant proportion of the books (27%) that I read last year were of the Transgressive Fiction/Black Humour variety. They were:
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Haunted by Chuck Palahaniuk
Damned by...
December 27, 2013
Bizarre Author Deaths IV
My final blog post of 2013 sees the return of the popular Bizarre Author Deaths series.
Li Bai
(701 – 762)
Notable works: The Hard Road to Shu, Quiet Night Thought, Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day
Chinese poet Li Bai was one of the two most prominent poets in China during the mid-Tang dynasty. Acclaimed for his adherence to the poetic tradition and mastery of poetic rules, the poet was an integral part of a rich poetic heritage. Themes that Li Bai explored in his work included friendship,...
