Category: On Writing
The Magic in Magical Realism
So much has been said about magic realism that it’s difficult to add anything new to the conversation. However, I wondered if putting on my poet’s hat and parsing the two words might crack open another perspective. The term magic implies some slight of hand, an ability to make things appear and disappear at will. […]
Women Writers: Get Your Boast On!
Bee Rowlatt is a writer and journalist. Her current book, In Search of Mary is inspired by the life of Mary Wollstonecraft, and published by Alma Books. Telling people that you’re working on a book is a mixed blessing. It can be like announcing that you’re trying for a baby. They will expect results, and […]
Authenticity in Novels
At some point in the 1980s I came across Almonds and Raisins, a family saga by Maisie Mosco. Two things drew me to Maisie’s work: it described the Jewish immigrant experience in the first half of the 20th century, and it was set in my home town, Manchester. Maisie, who was born in Oldham in […]
In Search of Wilde’s Women
If you were asked to name a man you would not readily associate with women, Oscar Wilde might spring to mind. Due to the relentless focus on his sexuality and the magnitude of the injustice perpetrated against him, Wilde’s life is often examined in terms of his relationships with men. Yet, as I discovered when […]
A Tale from the Other Side
My heart is in my mouth. Nearly two years ago I went to an event where new authors read from their work in progress. One in particular stood out, and I set my heart on representing her. Her writing showed steel, and wit, and cool and I fell in love with it. Nervously I pressed […]
Beautiful Affliction: a Memoir
I never dreamed of writing a memoir. I just always had words in me. When I was seven years old I started to write poems, and the words somehow seemed stronger scribbled in my small notebook. In middle school my teacher constantly reminded me: “Speak up, Lene! We can’t hear what you’re saying when you […]
The Importance of Writing by Hand
Two weeks ago, disaster struck. I broke the little finger of my left hand. An inconvenience yes, but a disaster…? Seems a little overblown. But this is my writing hand and I’ve been cooped up in a tiny flat, impotent and frustrated ever since. Released from the hand cast I am at least now able […]
Writing About Lipedema
My body may limit me at times, but my mind travels at light speed. As I got pregnant with my first child, some annoying little pains and complaints I already had, became much worse. Two years later it got a name: lipedema. Lipedema – A poorly understood yet common condition that makes you swell with […]
Painful to remember, too important to forget
It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of Northern Ireland’s violent past. Victims are haunted by it. Politicians stalked by it. Peace initiatives stymied by it. Some observers argue that we should draw a line under it and move on. Given its sensitivity, I agonised over the ‘right’ thing to do when I unexpectedly […]
5 Stories about Publishing that are No Longer True (and maybe never were)
Maybe all professions like to scare young hopefuls — to weed the flock, so to speak — and the publishing industry, notorious for its gloom and doom predictions, is no exception. As a graduate student in a Creative Writing department, I heard all sorts of stories from teachers and other students that made it seem […]
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