“Limitations so frustrating” (Saunders 126) writes the narrator of George Saunders’ The Semplica Girl Diaries. But the self-imposed limitations and restrictions Saunders impose on his writing make for a more interesting story, building its narrative out of disturbing incompleteness. Set in an unspecified but near future, Saunders communicates everything about his narrative through the sparse, … Continue reading The Simplica Girl Diaries in review
ramblings
Progress report for October 2018
Oh would you look at that https://crowsnestbooks.com/authors/ If you haven't already, go and check out my publisher's website! A whole bunch of new writers have been added to their Author section, including yours truly!! What We See in the Smoke is still on track for a late winter/early spring release, and as I've finished a draft … Continue reading Progress report for October 2018
Letters to a Young Poet in review
The ten letters of Rainer Maria Rilke in correspondence with Franz Xavier Kappus that makeup Letters to a Young Poet offer little in the way of technical advice for writing. Rilke does not instruct on form; he does not comment on the use of language, or plot, or dialogue, or verse. However, what takes … Continue reading Letters to a Young Poet in review
The Wrath of Khan
Image from imdb.com
“How do you feel, Jim?”
Did you ever read a book or watch a movie as a kid and think, “Hot diggity, that was great!”, only to leave it for a long time, get some grey in your hair (seven hairs exactly), and then come back to that movie you loved as a kid only to finally realise how brilliant it was?
Okay, maybe that was a bit specific. But that is my experience with what is undeniably the best of the Star Trek movies: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
When I was little, I could only appreciate how fun the movie was. I wasn’t equipped to appreciate how Nicholas Meyer paints his space opera of revenge with themes from classic literature. I can now.
After Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)failed to gain the box office numbers that Paramount wanted, The Wrath of…
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A Short letter to myself and others, on the subject of Literary Reference
There is something which writers are guilty, When educated in literature. It is a vanity they cannot help, Poets, Hacks, Wretches, all suffer alike. * They are all trying to hide other works - Inside our own, love letters in letters Easter eggs of literature waiting To be found by readers with a sly wink. … Continue reading A Short letter to myself and others, on the subject of Literary Reference
The Ink-Stained-Wretch
It's hard to say where the expression Ink-Stained-Wretch originates. Though I have found almost no reliable sources, at least one researcher told me in passing that the phrase comes from Canadian novelist Hugh Garner. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Deadeye Dick attributes it to Alexander Woollcott, but this is probably wrong as well. To great alarm, I … Continue reading The Ink-Stained-Wretch
Explaining my Little Friend
Hello, my big friends and strangers. If you know me, then you probably know that I come with a constant stream of thought and sound. For this, I apologise, but I also must admit that it cannot be helped. You see, I cannot quite find a way ever to shut myself off. I talk and … Continue reading Explaining my Little Friend
Nanowrimo, or how I learned to stop word-counting and love the bomb
Hello writers and readers. As this is written, it is the end of November. While most people know November as that month where basically nothing happens, other than American Thanksgiving, some of you know it as Nanowrimo! (For those not in the know, that’s National Novel Writing Month) This is the month where all around … Continue reading Nanowrimo, or how I learned to stop word-counting and love the bomb
Ben Berman Ghan 