tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46106664014267128672012-02-10T21:42:00.891Zzehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.comBlogger2811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-13613829793124717072012-02-10T21:20:00.000Z2012-02-10T21:20:46.374Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-76258874789948445252012-02-10T20:17:00.002Z2012-02-10T20:17:57.394Z

I was so excited when Johanna Harness (@johannahaness) asked me to write a post for the #amwriting community, if you missed it, you can read it here! I hope you enjoy.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19557913094821072422012-02-09T21:58:00.001Z2012-02-09T22:59:44.969Z

Literature |Ladi-da-lala Then Again: a Memoir by Diane Keaton   Does this picture not just make you smile? It certainly does for me, as it is Keaton’s role as Annie in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall which made me truly fall in love with the actress. It was the adventurous, fun, ditsy easy

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-4596486881732122482012-02-06T10:55:00.002Z2012-02-06T10:55:17.053Z

Published by Hodder & Stoughton 

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-50914797373893731482012-01-30T11:50:00.002Z2012-01-30T11:50:32.102Z

Mr C was incredibly shocked yesterday that I- a Virginia Woolf fan hadn't read all her novels. I explained that I did this on purpose, that I was dragging her writing out as I knew that it would all end too soon. Does anybody else read so deliberately? It would be interesting to know.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-535449222233866652012-01-27T07:36:00.000Z2012-01-27T07:36:19.196Z

Literature | If I say jump…ask how high A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch A Fairly Honourable Defeat, published in 1970 was Murdoch’s 13th novel. Murdoch, philosophical in nature once more delves into a litany of philosophical enquiry and whilst doing so; she draws upon the classical plot device of a Shakespearean tragicomedy or

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-65243848249842094622012-01-25T10:37:00.001Z2012-01-25T10:38:14.719Z

Adeline Virginia Woolf 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-35351522135182777222012-01-23T10:44:00.003Z2012-01-23T10:44:38.655Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-76711570132591612822012-01-15T10:28:00.002Z2012-01-15T10:28:24.410Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-58045719906336714162012-01-13T22:49:00.003Z2012-01-15T16:17:23.739Z

Rauf Denktaş 27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012 (the founder and the first president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) * Letter of Condolence by Ahmet Mustafa Osam London 14th January 2012 RE Condolences to the all citizens and global community. Passing of R R Denktas should not be without a moral . Not long ago, another great man foresaw his own

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-55393202939063717822012-01-12T20:50:00.003Z2012-01-12T20:51:34.935Z

Literature |The Invisible Man Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin Dickens, Charles Dickens, the names rings in ones ear. It’s the familiarity of it, as though one has the name carved into the mind, it musters up a sense of knowing, something one can’t quite pinpoint- maybe a feeling that belongs to a long lost uncle. Even if you

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-77874355287636884372012-01-11T14:42:00.004Z2012-01-11T14:42:45.924Z

 At last, after a month of waiting, it arrived today, and what joy.... what fuffillment, I really needed it today.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-52840368325492117362012-01-11T09:14:00.000Z2012-01-11T09:14:08.990Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-27620432248478305482012-01-10T08:38:00.000Z2012-01-10T08:38:04.356Z

I'm was so humbled when Johanna Harness asked me to do a blog post for #amwriting, and it's up today http://amwriting.org/archives/9265

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19389949411047457222012-01-03T15:06:00.000Z2012-01-03T15:07:11.855Z

2012, a breath of fresh air, and a walk in the park nearby with Mr C. How magical the light was, pregnant with renewal, and hope. Mr C  

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-37069039204141653262011-12-30T15:59:00.003Z2011-12-30T17:02:20.404Z

I always think of Patti Smith's message, well, in fact, her mother's, for the new year, here is a section from Just Kids "...I sat on the floor of St Mark's for the annual marathon reading. It benefited the church and went  on from early afternoon to well into the night, with everyone contributing to the perpetuation of the Poetry Project. I sat through much of it sizing up the poets. I

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-81944328375944642802011-12-29T18:11:00.002Z2011-12-29T18:12:18.389Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19912932670734049312011-12-22T21:06:00.002Z2011-12-23T08:51:02.658Z

I hope you all found energy today, the winter solstice graced us once more, and once more, everything continues. Johanna Harness did a beautiful piece on it here. Winter can be mighty hard, and most of us are struggling by February (my birthday) when one has had absolutely enough and can not handle the lack of light which is far too fleeting. Every year I have to remind myself, there will be

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-88692397790516289682011-12-21T10:56:00.002Z2011-12-21T10:56:33.605Z

Do you ever feel as though your brain is simply a buzzing flat line? I know this feeling all too well at the moment; of course I'm blaming my anaemia and neck/ back problem, which had me on the couch all last week and groaning as I bumble along.... still! It's perplexing to say the least. You want to scream out at the universe, 'cut me a break' alas, it does not care for your little scruples, it

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-50035962329721256662011-12-12T09:53:00.001Z2011-12-12T10:09:13.088Z

Did you feel the moon? I certainly did, even if you don’t believe in its pull on our emotions, it doesn’t matter. I know what I felt. All of Friday I felt agitated and on edge as though I were walking the parameters of my cage.I felt this overwhelming sadness which I realised quickly was in fact desire; desire to work, to do well in my endeavours and to live life. As the evening drew in,

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-51159281997436799372011-11-30T12:12:00.001Z2011-11-30T12:29:29.900Z

Enjoy reading these and remember, it's not over until you decide it is! http://flavorwire.com/232203/famous-authors-harshest-rejection-letters Having said that....when it comes to reading your material and knowing that it's not truly working, the bravest step is to acknowledge this and start again. I've been terribly aware of this recently, especially when it came to my first book. It took

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-13760680493789358112011-11-28T12:13:00.000Z2011-11-28T12:13:33.769Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-84325405940419957972011-11-23T12:33:00.000Z2011-11-23T12:33:28.745Z

I promise to write a longer post once further settled, but I am nuzzling into my writing nook, there's a lot more to be done; more pictures to be hung, a Polaroid of Mr C in his Huckleberry Finn mode and one of my sister and I drinking tea on the garden step at our parents. For now, I have a curtain rail that is broken and a slight mess mainly hidden and cleverly placed outside the frame...

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-87679697934123955962011-11-13T13:44:00.004Z2011-11-14T09:13:35.816Z

A little update on the new house madness; I dared to step foot in the garden this morning as the sunlight beckoned, but "oh my" is there a lot of work to be done! Not just weeding but getting rid of carpets that were thrown out, along with all sorts of disturbing, unrecognisable objects. Where will the veg go? where will the compost go? where will my sanity go? It's a huge task, but one

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-26083564254541862402011-10-27T18:36:00.004+01:002011-11-22T14:44:24.307Z

Today was spent browsing the tables of Greenwich Market, holding my bag tightly against my body don't get your purse out and I managed to stay strong as I passed a barometer which I simply knew Peter would have loved.....ahem. I restrained myself, and spent £1 on a Leonard Cohen book of poetry, £1 on a beautiful scarf and £3 on a plate I could not resist. We  (sister- Sifa & friend- Hessel)

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-47332821402043651742011-10-27T17:04:00.000+01:002011-10-27T17:04:04.620+01:00

Review for New Books Magazine

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-89288311551821923952011-10-26T17:20:00.004+01:002011-10-30T08:55:47.607Z

I was meant to write this post a month or so ago, but you know how life is; it swallows you and takes over once more, but here it is. A few pics from Sussex; where Mr C and I cycled for miles along the Cuckoo trail and through sweet welcoming towns between Hailsham and Pevensey Bay. We walked, talked, laughed, smiled, cooked and planned. It was our first year wedding anniversary (Sussex last yr) 

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-22701985442185942402011-10-20T17:59:00.008+01:002011-10-30T08:58:05.537Z

It's been one of those days where every emotion under the sun has been experienced; a day of glorious autumn sunlight and refreshing cold. A day of catching up with a friend, tea and haberdashery. A day of work (dog walking) with my sister and her best friend (adopted brother) and a day of change lurking in its midst. A change that I have anticipated and now must continue.  Noisette, the

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-48014135553935055732011-10-20T08:20:00.001+01:002011-10-20T15:27:16.427+01:00

Literature Virginia Woolf by Alexandra Harris There is an entire shelf in my bookcase dedicated to Virginia Woolf; her novels, her diaries and biographies so it is hardly surprising that I became intrigued by a new biography. What new light can possibly be shed upon one of the most scrutinised literary figures? Do I not know all that needs to be known? Such questions fluttered haphazardly in

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-74590649361712753242011-10-17T13:12:00.004+01:002011-10-30T08:48:59.811Z

A little reading on the side, to keep my mind fluttering and bounding along   a beautiful orchid from the husband to keep a smile on my face And now back to work.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-4239933949097816622011-10-13T08:16:00.000+01:002011-10-13T08:16:47.149+01:00

Literature │A Folklore Tapestry The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife published this year was the winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction. Usually more accustomed to the art of short story writing, Obreht found herself tackling the novel form and to her surprise, this lucrative choice was a mighty, and pardon the pun- roaring success. Obreht who was born in the former

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-72785885200623167872011-10-10T10:07:00.001+01:002011-10-30T08:49:37.969Z

I'm truly my happiest when my brain is buzzing; copious amounts of reading always do it for me, even to the point where my eyes and head ache and the husband demands that I put the book down because I have begun to squint or worst, "please turn that light off" when he's trying to sleep. Keep it moving, keep it swimming, leaping and singing, and most importantly, re-fuel so you can keep going.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-48067883166395865732011-10-06T08:52:00.001+01:002011-10-06T08:56:55.421+01:00

Literature │The Double Baked Novel The Hours by Michael Cunningham By Zehra Cranmer “Am I writing The Hours from deep emotion? Of course the mad part tries me so much… The design is certainly original and interests me hugely.” These separate entries taken from Virginia Woolf’s diary, written in 1923, depict her thoughts on her writing process of The Hours which she later renamed Mrs Dalloway

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-36776920217417422002011-09-28T10:23:00.003+01:002011-09-28T12:34:46.855+01:00

But what else would a Virginia Woolf fan read? Can one read too many biographies of a writer they love? Possibly? Only time will tell in this latest labour of love by Harris who is a well known Woolf scholar. I am always keen to read new insights, and new interpretations of Woolf's work, you never know what little gem lurks in that darkened corner. I'm ready to venture in.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-37212884899540648482011-09-21T19:48:00.000+01:002011-09-21T19:48:02.096+01:00

                           21 September 1934 -

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-58488520841164465882011-09-18T09:36:00.001+01:002011-09-18T09:37:49.191+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-15446807381656458942011-09-05T17:51:00.000+01:002011-09-05T17:51:58.651+01:00

http://www.contactmusic.com/video/patti-smith-patti-smith-outside-society-epk

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-1894921862197212832011-09-03T09:45:00.002+01:002011-09-28T12:33:27.004+01:00

It's not hard to see from my many posts on Virginia Woolf that I am a fan, and that I consider her as a form of writer spirit guide. I loved the film and now I'm hoping that I'll love the book although I do have reservations- what if I don't like Cunningham's depiction of Woolf? what if I think "what is this man harping on about?" or worst - I should have written this book! We will see, I just

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-38450807804748201792011-09-01T09:15:00.000+01:002011-09-01T09:15:40.912+01:00

Literature │ The Real Houdini The Devil’s Music by Jane Rusbridge A split, a disconnection and a fracture pull apart the lives of a family. Lies, secrets and memory pull the reader along through the rapid currents of this beautifully written novel. Written in the less ventured second person narrative, the story is narrated by Andrew and his mother, yet it would be wiser to point out that it

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-80592958968246063452011-08-26T19:20:00.003+01:002011-08-27T09:43:17.753+01:00

                      &                     

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-18249278696544168082011-08-25T12:51:00.000+01:002011-08-25T12:51:28.710+01:00

On this beautifully atmospheric day, a day for writers and not dog-walkers (luckily I tick both boxes hah!) my mind turns to the work ahead, beneath and above. I write this with a soaked dog running around, my red waterproof jacket dripping as it hangs off the kitchen chair and the constant pitter patter of the rain.... a typical day in August, it's not a surprise yet everyone seems bemused and

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-75640616288767229282011-08-22T13:22:00.004+01:002011-08-22T13:57:10.817+01:00

I've found myself unable to write, flat hunting has taken over my life and in turn, drummed words and creativity right out of me. As we view flats which are either too dark and grim, to flats that are hilariously awful where the husband and I look at one another with that knowing look, each reading the other's mind "let's get out of here....now!" we have been left frazzled. I dream of the

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-14172776359105866072011-08-22T09:39:00.000+01:002011-08-22T09:39:47.379+01:00

Patti Smith's "Outside of Society" is to be relased on the 23rd August! All the classics in one place. It's a must. 

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-52197489143600446482011-08-17T16:08:00.001+01:002011-08-17T16:13:26.700+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-46457379008598991802011-08-15T13:52:00.000+01:002011-08-15T13:52:31.347+01:00

A poem written by Sifa Mustafa (@sifamustafa) http://loveisthelawmagazine.tumblr.com/post/8815881888/the-secret-of-the-sea-by-sifa-mustafa

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-25613844964210132532011-08-11T11:15:00.000+01:002011-08-11T11:15:20.664+01:00

Literature Drowning Rose by Marika Cobbold By Zehra Cranmer There is no feeling like the one you get when you discover a new writer, not that Cobbold is a new writer, in fact she is the author of a number of books which have done well in their own right, however, if one hasn’t read a Cobbold yet, then Drowning Rose may be the place to start. Drowning Rose is essentially a mystery, even a

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-82465865753479983572011-08-04T08:52:00.002+01:002011-08-04T08:57:22.394+01:00

Literature │ A River of Ghosts To the River: A Journey Beneath the Surface by Olivia Laing By Zehra Cranmer “I am haunted by water,” Laing proclaims. She doesn’t seem to be at ease unless she is near water; she has to be able to hear it at least. To the River is Laing’s journey along the river Ouse, a place that she has been drawn to as though it had been charged with a magnetic power, one

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-85665099893889325162011-08-03T14:20:00.002+01:002011-08-03T14:29:45.285+01:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY #amwriting turns 2 today and the twitter writing community is celebrating a beautiful togetherness thanks to Johanna Harness.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-73841966239567156922011-07-30T09:26:00.001+01:002011-07-30T09:34:28.036+01:00

&

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-34317466228771233202011-07-25T10:54:00.004+01:002011-07-25T11:00:07.431+01:00

   AMY JADE WINEHOUSESeptember 14, 1983 - July 23, 2011      

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-2475613977081824662011-07-20T08:44:00.002+01:002011-07-25T11:04:41.425+01:00

                      &

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-71229734788265988812011-07-19T11:02:00.001+01:002011-07-19T11:05:53.765+01:00

It seems to be one of those days where I'm desperately grasping at words but they are not sticking and I'm not going to even ask where the summer has gone because when I really think about it, it's always been like this; a severe flash of heat and no rain to the point of drought, then the floods and grey. With writing deadlines impending, I steadied my mind by reading a few entries in Virginia

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-45680346327364557402011-07-12T10:25:00.002+01:002011-07-13T14:48:57.626+01:00

To the lovely person who posted anonymously this morning, (I couldn't post a comment on the linkk for some reason) I just wanted to say thank you, it was terribly kind of you. I thank you for reminding me of inspiration and passion as they can be lost and it only takes a nudge to fall into step and return to the path, something I need in a busy stressful moment like now. May we, in our darkest

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-58911927500649192802011-06-24T20:08:00.000+01:002011-06-24T20:08:40.182+01:00

Our rumpled friend, you brought so much joy to us as Columbo, and so you shall forever more. (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) 

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-25364000672577824572011-06-19T14:04:00.003+01:002011-06-19T14:06:29.160+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-64482715796618374172011-06-13T10:43:00.000+01:002011-06-13T10:43:34.715+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-50780690005211737202011-05-31T11:17:00.003+01:002011-12-04T10:23:55.216Z

Over the last few days, or the month even, I have done a lot of thinking, ruminating if you will, over my own sense of peace. Recently, it had been advised that I take up the practice of mindfulness in order to better my health. In the past, I have attempted to incorporate this way of life and thinking into my hot blooded Turkish way of being but hadn't succeeded. It depends where you are in your

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-78034821650979701062011-05-31T10:24:00.001+01:002011-05-31T10:25:23.458+01:00

        (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)Happy Birthday to one of America's greatest poets

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-63899373123019138322011-05-10T12:55:00.003+01:002011-05-11T08:35:44.802+01:00

I had been hoping that I'd be able to read the sequel to Rosamond Lehmann's Invitation to the Waltz  which is The Weather in the Street but alas! it turned out to be in small print, far too small for my weakened eye, so I searched my library, desperate to find something with larger print. And who comes dashing to my rescue? Well, Mr Forster actually, The Longest Journey to be specific. Forster

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-28610711749887481482011-05-09T09:18:00.006+01:002011-05-11T08:37:30.024+01:00

April 2011 is a month that I long to forget. It brought illness and anguish as poor health lead to partial sightedness in my left eye, an entire day spent in A&E , mind altering medication and sheer frustration as I was unable to see. But far worst, I was unable to read. For the first two weeks, the wonderful Mr Cranmer read to me. Just as my sight began to diminish, I had picked up Stephen King’

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-61337302274186268442011-04-20T17:49:00.002+01:002011-05-11T08:49:46.977+01:00

Literature │ Life is a metaphor, but what does that mean? Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (published in "Avrupa") We know that life is multilayered. When we believe we’ve just lifted a layer, dealt with it and understood it, we only expose the next. But what do we do with the next layer? Will that new tissue, new exposed specimen just be the beginning of many more to come after that? But

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-75779509712653893292011-04-11T21:49:00.002+01:002011-05-11T08:50:27.043+01:00

&

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-48517729604012745462011-04-04T17:49:00.002+01:002011-04-04T17:51:35.644+01:00

Literature │ The Perfect Fit The Still Point by Amy Sackville (published in Avrupa newspaper) The Still Point is Sackville’s debut novel after leaving her job working as an editor with an illustrated books publisher to pursue her love of literature and ended up doing an MA in creative writing at Goldsmiths. This is a story which stretches and rests over a chasm of time, a North Pole expedition

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-66877217895858446242011-03-29T15:33:00.001+01:002011-04-04T17:43:56.023+01:00

As I lie here, awake, lucidly between naps, chained to my bed by an agonising flu, I suddenly thought of Coleridge's poem "This Lime Tree Bower My Prison". He wrote this when he sustained an awful burn (by his wife if I remember coretly) and found him unable to go for a beautiful walk with his friends. He finds hmself trapped in the shade of this Lime Tree Bower whilst his friends proceed, and he

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-3030348693769333202011-03-28T10:10:00.000+01:002011-03-28T10:10:24.894+01:00

25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 A Message; Thank you for sharing with us your most inner thoughts. We'll always be thankful for what you left behind, your words.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-41351724926300471662011-03-27T16:14:00.001+01:002011-05-11T08:51:13.781+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-23251741653083038602011-03-27T10:40:00.000+01:002011-03-27T10:40:41.222+01:00

Literature │ “Your Life together was purely chance.” A Widow’s Story by Joyce Carol Oates By Zehra Cranmer “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” These are the words of C.S.Lewis in A Greif Observed, published in 1961 under a pseudonym. Lewis wrote this after his wife died in order to make sense of his grief; of the thoughts that passed through his mind and the feelings that

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-18572727869256210932011-03-23T13:11:00.001Z2011-03-23T13:12:19.090Z

Elizabeth Taylor 1932 - 2011

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-59633447373936785982011-03-21T09:28:00.002Z2011-03-21T09:28:46.025Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-10306623897995866782011-03-17T17:47:00.001Z2011-03-17T17:47:46.188Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9KY8yK97vU Patti Smith, thank you for giving us the richest gift. Your story.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-26498387109936204012011-03-10T21:45:00.003Z2011-07-20T08:46:37.078+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-77408367759647469342011-03-04T20:29:00.002Z2011-03-08T15:45:31.573Z

I felt myself quieten as I stepped onto the land and home of romantic poetry, where Wordsworth lived, and where Samuel Taylor Coleridge slept, screaming out when feinding for opiates, alarming the entire house including the sleeping children in the adjoining room. Restraining myself from touching the furniture around me, I swallowed everything whole with my eyes and nose. With each room, I gazed

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-755550939640388512011-02-25T09:35:00.000Z2011-02-25T09:35:39.288Z

http://1heckofaguy.com/2011/02/23/leonard-cohens-olivetti-lettera-22-typewriter/

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-22519958866539567172011-02-24T09:54:00.001Z2011-02-24T09:55:26.963Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-15122571226324559402011-02-21T14:50:00.002Z2011-02-24T09:55:01.326Z

I know that I started South Riding a week or so before and became distracted by Kingsolver but unfortunately it has happened again. I awoke on Saturday to a delivery, the delivery of Kingsolver's The Bean Trees which is the prequel to Pigs In Heaven, but I was completely unaware of that when I bought it two years ago from a charity shop. I also purchased her Prodigal Summer so god knows how long

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-2034391551589156372011-02-19T21:37:00.002Z2011-02-19T22:39:15.718Z

The Moon by Leonard Cohen The moon is outside.I saw the great uncomplicated thingwhen I went to take a leak just now.I should have looked at it longer.I am a poor lover of the moon.I see it all at once and that's itfor me and the moon

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19118687413277300142011-02-19T18:43:00.003Z2011-02-19T20:43:15.613Z

I grew up with an apple tree in the garden (my sister & I carved our initials into it) as well a large grape vine from which we picked grapes and turned the leaves into dolma, we also had blackberries, gooseberries and a few strawberries before the birds ate them & our neighbour use to give us pears from his tree. Our garden in the summer is abundant with mint and in the past before they died,

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-42881652291348004102011-02-13T19:32:00.001Z2011-02-13T19:33:46.895Z

I know it's terribly uncouth to read so many books at once, but it can't be helped, I've been enjoying this one a lot recently. It's inspiring, it's hilarious and it's my goal in many years time when I have the chance to garden and plant big scale, till then, it's all preperation which is why I ended up at Blackheath Farmer's market, it was such a delight, everyone is friendly (something alien

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-11225024694675700892011-02-06T19:57:00.000Z2011-02-06T19:57:19.489Z

I reject winter. I denounce it. I will no longer be swept along in the cold greyness, forgetting what summer once felt. In a bid to move on, I have taken over two gardens, my mother’s and mine by planting beautiful coloured polyanthus’ and primroses. I have uncovered the masses of bulbs from the winter’s grasp. My writing desk is covered in sunshine, my hall way and sitting room is also laden

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-89543426182427989122011-01-29T09:50:00.001Z2011-01-29T09:51:09.161Z

This arrived in the post the day after I picked up Wolf Hall and since it's a book of a size that I can actually carry with me, I have taken up South Riding. I discovered when reading the introduction, that Virginia Woolf had asked Winifred Holtby to write an autobiography on the Hogarth Press, I am still reading Woolf's diaries, so I picked my Woolf back up, and who's name do I see mentioned

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-66060174619169095172011-01-24T20:05:00.001Z2011-01-24T20:06:08.789Z

Another book that has been sitting on my bedroom shelf for a long time, a book that I had bought on 5 am insomniac whim, Hardy's Jude The Obscure  after hopefuly.  

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19280587182203280782011-01-19T10:14:00.000Z2011-01-19T10:14:05.784Z

19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-5373227885957880432011-01-18T11:44:00.001Z2011-01-18T11:45:13.860Z

This book had been sitting on my shelf for a number of months, a friend had lent it to me and I knew it was about time. This isn't the type of book I usually go for, but back in a time long, long ago when I watched TV, I used to love watching those documentary dramas; I loved CSI, Law & Order and those awful channel five reenactments. So far, I have to say, it is actually a good read, and the

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-25386796562324989662011-01-15T10:24:00.000Z2011-01-15T10:24:26.284Z

I sat at the table this morning and an image flashed before me, one that I had seen a dozen times and it was a photograph of a typewriter, the picture and feeling for the week ahead; The photo was taken from Patti Smith's Land 250 book, it is a photo of Herman Hesse's typewriter. I hope to extract the rhythm and rhyme of this object and allow it to encompass my thoughts while I plough on with the

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-73046279819194872052011-01-13T15:07:00.003Z2011-01-13T15:11:53.473Z

Two shafts of blue light crossed the room and lent across me as I lay in bed, I still felt heavy with sleep as my nights are filled with a myriad of dreams, especially since I returned to the writing table. I've made it a rule to write a sentence a day in my diary, just to make sure the juices are consistently flowing, but my brain doesn't seem to switch off- where do my night thoughts end and

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-59215100052777143032011-01-10T09:02:00.001Z2011-01-10T21:14:14.589Z

& I've developed an interest in Native Americans, this has a lot to do with my longing and wish to be somehow more connected with my surroundings and those magical elements that touch us, that appear time to time, a lot of the time, we're not quite aware of them. I am seeking that awareness.

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-89123031257267449682011-01-06T20:30:00.001Z2011-01-06T20:35:18.807Z

So, here it is, the new year. I fell into it with a thud as my health seemed to fail me. Start the year as you wish to continue it, I said, and I started it with tiredness and illness, so I decided this wasn't the way I wanted to continue it, I thought, this is the year in which I will fight things harder, try harder, and write harder, but so far, I'm coming up short, but I will try. I will try

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-20686401781211133582010-12-31T16:49:00.000Z2010-12-31T16:49:59.179Z

Happy Birthday Patti

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-68235341227139268382010-12-20T19:02:00.001Z2010-12-20T19:02:49.008Z

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-19652653600717829712010-12-17T21:47:00.000Z2010-12-17T21:47:00.044Z

The opening paragraph of my novel Casting Shadows Chapter One The room was tight and suffocating. I could feel the weight of the walls press down hard on my chest. The white walls and floors were blinding and if such whiteness had a smell, it would be the smell of this small room. The sun spilled through the bars, creating sharp line prints to cascade along the floor and the table where we

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-25522279464378880302010-12-14T11:45:00.001Z2010-12-14T11:47:04.178Z

Not once did I feel let down by Bolano's 2666, and I truly felt this as I came to the last pages of it last night in bed, I screamed, "no, this can't be the end!" but alas, it was. I closed the book with a huge sigh and placed it on my bedside table. It's a different table to the one that I placed it on when I first bought it, it has travelled far, and I know that I want to keep it there for a

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-27332357729026970782010-12-13T11:53:00.000Z2010-12-13T11:53:05.448Z

Literature │ What’s in a name? Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (published in "Avrupa" newspaper) I don’t usually cave in to pressure when it comes to “must reads,” but it was impossible to turn anywhere without the title Freedom and Franzen being flashed. He was in every paper, every board and so forth, so I thought that I ought to find out what all the fuss was about, and I did. It’s not a small

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-61337449208290114352010-11-10T11:59:00.001Z2010-11-10T11:59:58.167Z

I thought I ought to try reading something contemporary so here is what I came up with. I only came across Jonathan Franzen 3 weeks or so ago when reading an article in the Observer and one of the things that drew me to him was his anguish when writing, he claimed that when it came to writing a new book it was difficult as it was as though he was attempting it for the first time. I do hope the

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-17941185184551518132010-11-05T08:54:00.000Z2010-11-05T08:54:42.145Z

FREDERICK D. SMITHSeptember 14, 1948 - November 4, 1994

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-63478074323826853212010-10-28T09:05:00.000+01:002010-10-28T09:05:00.237+01:00

I was sitting in my reading chair, soaking up the last morsels of sunlight and reading Howards End when I came across a passage which nearly made me fall off my chair, I certainly sat up straight. Forster was describing my London, it was his London, going through integral changes, but it was the same London that has been plaguing me for so long. So here is the extract of the week; "And month by

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-63996504118895817872010-10-26T10:03:00.002+01:002010-10-26T10:27:52.140+01:00

It was a bright sunny Sunday morning after a long week of submitting manuscripts and preparing myself for the long wait as the fate of my writing remains in the hands of others once more, that I decided, I have to get out of here. “Here” is the flat, I longed to hear the birds and be shrouded in trees and mud. Although I wasn’t feeling too well, my desire for fresh air and to not see my desk for

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-12663392859720462962010-10-22T09:26:00.004+01:002010-10-22T11:21:52.966+01:00

Poor Artist's Cupboard -Charles Bird King (1785 -1862) Perseverance, acceptance and belief are what keep us humans going, and these are the words that are running through my head this morning. That twist in my gut becomes tighter as I continue writing, and as I continue trying to find that agent and publisher who sings the same tune as me. Even in my darkest moments, I can not see myself giving

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-2934590446858090492010-10-21T23:44:00.003+01:002010-10-22T11:12:35.389+01:00

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-78562317969592259332010-10-21T09:11:00.001+01:002010-10-21T09:12:53.003+01:00

After writing yesterday's post, I called my sister and we met for our annual autumnal walk, we crunched along in the leaves, talked of plans and headed back to my parent's house for tea....just like old times...and just like times ahead. It was a beautiful chilly day, the first for the Barbour coat in fact. After hearing about  the dramatic temperature drop over the radio when I got home, I had

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4610666401426712867.post-54771134431509046292010-10-20T09:29:00.013+01:002010-10-20T10:59:00.716+01:00

Oh dear, yet another autumnal blog post; each one a different leaf, some are torn, some pale and others are burning red and orange. I am here at my writing desk- a fold out one, the same one that I used back at home when I began writing Casting Shadows. This desk once faced a triangle of trees, I'd watch the leaves turn then fall to the ground. There was always such joy, there was always a

zehrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03043586845046126778noreply@blogger.com1