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Miles Salter's blog. Thoughts on writing, books, poetry, journalism, the media and more. My freelance writing work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Yorkshire Post, Church Times, Catholic Universe, Third Way, The Big Issue In The North, The Grocer and Third Way.
| The Wasp Factory | | Iain Banks' Gripping Tale of Violence and Isolation | | 03 September 2009 | |
I've recently finished reading Iain Banks' 'The Wasp Factory'. It's a gripping and disturbing tale centred on Frank, a teenager who lives alone with his father on a small Scottish Island. Frank's warped world is one of violence and bizarre rituals. He exercises his power by lavishing violence on animals, creating the factory of the title where wasps are killed in a number of grotesque ways. Frank believes that he can use this as a way of telling the future.
I was really impressed with this book. Banks relates Frank's voice brilliantly. Frank is an 'unreliable narrator'. He tells us that he has killed 3 other children in bizarre ways but it's hard to believe this entirely. He presents himself as sane but the reader is able to see how warped his mind is. The end of the book, as Frank's brother, Eric, returns to the island, is a terrific climax as Frank discovers some dark family secrets.
This is one of those books that I've heard a lot about, but haven't got around to read until now. I was impressed by this dark and compelling tale of power, isolation and fractured minds.
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| Harry Patch and Andrew Motion | | The Last Survivor Of First World War Dies | | 27 July 2009 | | Harry Patch, the last british survivor of the first world war, has died. Yesterday's Independent On Sunday carried a picture of Patch on its front cover with his powerful words, "War in nothing but organised murder."
It was fantastic to see Andrew Motion talk about Patch and read part of his poem in salute of the man on Channel 4 News on Saturday. Poetry being read on a new bulletin ? I had to blink away my disbelief. I head Motion read that poem at an event in 2008 and it brought tears to my eyes. Mr Motion has been a brilliant advocate of poetry over the last ten years, and I always enjoy hearing him at events or on the television.
As for Patch, he wasn't even able to speak of the horrors of t he trenches until he was 100 years old. Many men who were caught up in the war, or the wars that followed, were unable to speak of it. Goodbye Harry, and thanks for speaking out.
Miles, York, July 27th 2009.
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| John Ryan - Obituary 25th July 2009 | | Creator of Captain Pugwash Dies | | 25 July 2009 | | Words Words Words was sad to see that John Ryan, the Creator of Captain Pigwash, has died aged 88.
In the films, a comical pirate had a number of adventures battling his nemesis, Cut Throat Jake, and was accompanied by Tom the Cabin Boy and Willy.
The BBC commissioned the first series in 1957 after spotting potential in Ryan's books.
His agent, Jane Gregory, said there was "a huge amount of love" for the childish pirate and his shipmates.
Ryan had continued to write books until the 1990s, publishing more than 20.
Jane Gregory added: "They're all now republished and they're hugely successful - partly because all the parents and, indeed, grandparents now, remember the delight of Captain Pugwash."
Miles, York, July 25th 2009 |
| Bang a Gong For British Poetry ! | | Forward Prize 2009 List Announced | | 24 July 2009 | | It's a good time for poetry. Although poetry's appeal is relatively small (you rarely catch poets' new works troubling the Bestseller Lists), there is nevertheless a distinct and passionate audience for poetry. The Forward Prize has just been announced, and the list includes Don Paterson's 'Rain', Christopher Reid's 'A Scattering', an intensely personal collection about the illness and death of his wife.
The Forward prize's founder, William Sieghart, said the entries – 109 submissions in the best collection category, 57 for best first collection and 120 for best single poem – highlighted "the rude health of the UK's contemporary poetry scene".
Josephine Hart, chair of this year's judges, said she sensed a renaissance in poetry, which was "immensely heartening". She said: "Poetry is language at its best, the highest literary art form, and increasingly people are turning in these challenging times to a place they can find wisdom and beauty and without wanting to sound too pious – truth.'
This concurs with what Carol Ann Duffy said about poetry when she was appointed Poet Laureate a few months ago. She said (and I am summarising here), that in an age where we are overloaded with advertising, half-truth and political spin, poetry is about telling the truth.
The internet is also proving to be a fertile ground for poetry, with thousands of people logging on to 'The Poetry Archive', a site which Andrew Motion helped to start and says he is very proud of.
Miles, York, July 24th 2009 |
| The Pre-Raphaelites on TV ! | | Didn't Rosetti look sexy ? | | 22 July 2009 | | I really enjoyed the new series about the Pre-Raphaelites on BBC TV last night. It was sassy, sexy and didn't take itself too seriously. It's the kind of show the BBC should be doing a lot of, but these things are notoriously expensive to make, so we get truckloads of crappy reality TV nonsense instead. But this was great, with an excellent script by Peter Bowker and some good acting to boot. I'm inclined to overlook the factual inaccuracies (which crop up in almost every screen adaptation of a real-life group of situation) because this was enjoyable and well made. I want to see the next part !
Miles, York, July 22nd 2009
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| Literary Prize In Memory Of Harold Pinter | | The winner is the play with the longest......pauses ! | | 21 July 2009 | | Good to see that a new literary prize set up in honour of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
I've read a few Pinter plays, and once tried my hand at writing something with a Pinter-esque edge to it. He was the master at writing dialogue that was laced with menace, threat and ambiguity. His plays, 'The Birthday Party', 'The Caretaker' and many more carry a dark undertone to them and he had a fantastic ear for the natural rhythms of speech. Pinter was also active in politics, frequently championing causes that he thought were important to human freedoms and peace.
The judging panel will include Pinter's widow Lady Antonia Fraser, playwright Sir Tom Stoppard and the broadcaster Mark Lawson.
The prize will be awarded at the British Library on 14 October, with the British or UK-based writer receiving a cheque for £1000.
Their work will be expected to fulfil the vision for writing that Pinter set out in his 2005 Nobel acceptance speech - turning an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon the world, and showing a "fierce intellectual determination ... to define the real truth of our lives and our societies".
The National Theatre's Nicholas Hytner and Lisa Appignanesi, president of English PEN, will also help judge the winner. |
| Frank McCourt Obituary | | Author of 'Angela's Ashes' dies, aged 78 | | 20 July 2009 | | The author of the world famous 'Angela's Ashes' has died aged 79. Frank McCourt's tough story of a wretchedly poor childhood and a drunken father sold millions of copies and wss turned into a film.
The 78-year old writer had been suffering from meningitis. He was also diagnosed with melanoma, the unpleasant skin cancer. McCourt called the story an 'epic of woe'. It told of his Irish family and their struggle to survive in Ireland in the 1930s and 40s. McCourt had been born in Brooklyn, New York, but the family returned to Ireland when they couldn't find work. They returned to Ireland in 1934. But it was an ill-fated move.
Angela's Ashes describes the squalor of that life, with several families haveing to share a single outside toilet. The houses were infested with rats and vermin. Three of his seven siblings died, and he nearly perished from typhoid fever. The book opens with a terrific opening line : 'Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.'
McCourt would write several more books, including 'Tis and 'Teacher Man', but it was Angela's Ashes that made the most impact.
Miles, York, 20th July 2009 |
| Virginia Woolf's Beach Sold for £80,000 | | Inspiration for 'To The Lighthouse' goes under the hammer. | | 19 July 2009 | | I was interested to read recent reports of the sale of the beach that inspired Virgina Woolf's novel 'To The Lighthouse' in the news in the last few days. The piece of land, Upton Towans, on the Cornish Coast, went for £80,000. The sale had gained interest from around the world, including Russia and the US.I reckon £80,000 was a bargain. The potential revenue from a Virgina Woolf museum and cafe must surely be in excess of £100,000 per annum, but sadly it looks like the rules say that the buet will not be allowed to develop it. It s a tourist attraction waiting to happen ! I can't help thinking more should be done with places like this - Philip Larkin's house in Pearson Park in Hull would be a wonderful musuem. But most people who pass by wouldn't know he lived there (although there is a small plaque on the wall).BBC
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BBC Radio York called me up on Friday and asked me to go in to talk about the writers as paedophiles story, so I trooped in for a quick natter with the unflappable Jonathan Cowap. Nice piece in today's Sunday Times which asks if J K Rowling will be getting her check done. It's a bit laughable, really. Talking of J K Rowling, the Sunday Times review of the new film agrees with me about the Potter phenomenon, saying much the same thing as I did. Thank God I am not alone.
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Am very tired after 3 poetry and music gigs this week, although they went really well with good audiences and good atmosphere. Thanks for everybody who came and to all those who took part. Great !
Miles 19th July 2009 |
| Writers In Schools - We Are Not Paedophiles !!! | | Paranoia reigns supreme ! | | 16 July 2009 | | Oh dear. A big broo-ha-hah has busted out today over the potential screening of writers working in schools. The Independent splashed it all over their front page, with suitably outraged comments from top children's authors like Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo and Anne Fine all saying how crap it is. Others are more conciliatory, saying that the measure is designed to protect children. The fact that writers have to pay over sixty quid for the test appears to have added insult to injury.
I have mixed feelings about this. I've worked in schools a lot as a writer and storyteller for the last four years, and have really enjoyed it. It's a great way of engaging children in the written and spoken word. I try to involve them in the work as much as possible. I remember being asked once for CRB (or something similar) that showed I was 'okay'.
I remember feeling really pissed off that I was going into their school to help with their literacy work and I was being asked to prove that I wasn't about to start enticing kids for perverse reasons. It is desperately sad that our society is so paranoid about these things that it feels the need to have these checks in place, and relentlessly pursues them.
On the other hand, I feel some sympathy for those people who are working with the best intentions in mind. Disgusting crimes that have occurred from the Moors Murderers onwards have led us to feeling highly protective towards our children. On balance, I'd rather be 'checked', pay the money, and continue to work in schools. I won't be boycotting the scheme, but I will also be agreeing to it reluctantly.
Miles Salter, July 16th 2009
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| How To Finish Your Novel Without Going Completely Nuts | | The importance of editing, people. | | 14 July 2009 | | Oh dear. Having laboured for over 18 months on my novel for teenagers, it still is not finished. The words 'teeth' and 'pulling' come to mind. Various re-writes have taken place, and I hope the current round of edits will be the last. We shall see.
Still. At least I know the enterprise has not been entirely wasted, as it has helped me to improve as a person who puts words in one order and then changes them to create a different order. In fact this editing process is crucial, and may be what separates the good writers from the lousy ones. 'Writing is re-writing,' is a common maxim which is very true. Too often the poor writer dashes something off and thinks it is good enough. In reality, months of re-writes are in order for the work to become a great story or poem. Something I have read in writing competitions and the reports issued by judges for said contests is : 'not enough editing is taking place'.
Editing and re-writing is where the rubber really hits the road for the writer. It's where you take your dirty piece of coal is transformed into a bright golden nugget. But to get that result takes massive patience and stamina and determination. Michel Faber spent 18 years on 'The Crimson Petal And The White'. You may go slightly mad in the process. Stay calm. See a friend. Take a jog. Have a bath. Get a god night's sleep. But tomorrow, my friend, is another day. Writing is work. And hard work is what separates the great writer from the mediocre one. |
| Difficult Characters | | Zoe Heller on 'difficult characters', and more... | | 04 July 2009 | | | Miles Salter considers the inclusion of unpleasant characters in modern fiction. | | More... |
| Star Trek | | Star Trek Rejeuvenates ! by Miles Salter | | 14 May 2009 | | | Miles Salter looks at the new Star Trek film. | | More... |
| Carol Ann Duffy | | A Great Result For Poetry ! | | 01 May 2009 | | | Carol Ann Duffy has been made Poet Laureate. 1st May 2009. by Miles Salter | | More... |
| Kate Rusby - Interview for The Independent | | by Miles Salter | | 19 April 2009 | |
Click here to read Miles' 2006 feature on folk musician Kate Rusby :
www.independent.co.uk
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| Feature on Heavy Metal Music | | Feature in Northern Echo, 4th December 2008 | | 19 April 2009 | |
Miles explains the appeal of heavy metal music in a feature for the Northern Echo, December 2008 :
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk |
| Interview with Stuart Maconie for The Northern Echo | | Stuart Maconie talks to Miles Salter about his book, 'Pies and Prejudice' | | 19 April 2009 | | A feature from April 2007. Miles interviewed writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie about his book 'Pies and Prejudice' for a feature for The Northern Echo.
Click here to read the article :
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk |
| Review of Richard Hawley's concert in York, 18th February 2008 | | Richard Hawley review | | 19 April 2009 | | Click here to read Miles' review of Richard Hawley at York Opera House, 18th February 2008
music-news.com
"Are you going to be as good as Belfast ?" Richard Hawley asks the audience at the start of his set at York's Grand Opera House. A muted response gets an uncertain "That's a no, then" from the singer, who then precedes to wind the audience up, elliciting bigger cheers. So the Yorkshire audience may not have been as ecstatic as their Irish counterparts, but the reception that greeted much of Hawley's set was genuinely affirming.
Hawley headed a four piece backing band, all dressed smartly in back and looking like a quartet of Vic Reeves lookalikes. Hawley's slicked hair, shiny suit, crooning voice and Gretsch guitar made you feel at times like you had been transported back to the 1950s, an effect further enhanced by the use of a glitterball. "I like doing that song," he said, after the glitterball entranced the crowd, "because the audience never fail to gawp at the ceiling, and you lot were no exception."
But there's a lot more to Hawley than 1950s reto-kitsch. His set mainly comprised songs from "Lady's Bridge" and "Cole's Corner", and included songs like "Just Like Rain", written when he was 16, and "Hotel Room". This song was introduced with the deadpan and distinctly un-ironic "This song is about addiction. And I should know." Such tunes were full of emotion - not overdone, but nevertheless steadily present. At times it was genuinely moving. Although not given to grand gestures, his music and performance were affecting. As he said at one point "I saw a woman cry during one of my ballads. I said cheer up love, it's not that bad." That remark summed up a gig where humour and sadness rubbed shoulders. It was all oddly life-affirming. |
| I love black print on white paper | | Entertainment North East | | 02 February 2006 | | Miles Salter interviews David Almond:
www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk |
| Archbishop feeds the 3,500 with an M&S snack pack | | The Sunday Times | | 23 October 2005 | | To see Miles' recent contribution to The Sunday Times, click here:
www.timesonline.co.uk |
| A three year battle for freedom | | Socialist Worker | | 24 September 2005 | | An article based on an interview with the human rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith appeared in Socialist Worker newspaper on September 24, 2005. To read the article, click here:
www.socialistworker.co.uk |
| Book Reviews: The Rock Cries Out | | GenerationCross.org.uk | | 01 September 2005 | | To read Miles' review of Steve Stockman's book, "The Rock Cries Out", click below.
www.generationcross.org.uk |
| Feature - Joanna Jepson | | Catholic Universe | | 01 September 2005 | | | A feature about Joanna Jepson was used in the Catholic Universe newspaper (September 2005). |
| Greenbelt 2005 | | The Church Times | | 24 August 2005 | | A preview of the 2005 Greenbelt Festival was used by the Church Times (August 2005).
Read it here:
www.churchtimes.co.uk |
| Feature - Jon Ronson | | The Big Issue In The North | | 01 July 2005 | | | A feature about the journalist Jon Ronson was used in The Big Issue In The North |
| Interview - Davild Kappler | | The Grocer | | 01 June 2005 | | | Miles interviewed David Kappler, non-Executive Chairman of Premier Foods, for a feature which appeared in The Grocer magazine. |
| Interview - Mordechai Vanunu | | Third Way | | 01 June 2005 | | During a visit to Palestine, Miles interviewed Mordechai Vanunu, and the resulting feature appeared in Third Way magazine (June 2005). To find out more about Third Way, click here:
www.thirdway.org.uk/ |
| Review - Rufus Wainwright Live | | wordswordswords.co.uk | | 16 May 2005 | | | Read on for Miles' review of Rufus Wainwright at York Opera House | | More... |
| Visions - like church only different | | bbc.co.uk | | 01 April 2005 | | Miles' article about "Visions", York's alternative worship group,
is at : www.bbc.co.uk |
| Review - Juliet Turner | | The Talk... | | 14 July 2004 | | | You can read Miles' review of Juliet Turner at Fibbers, York, in 2004, at www.thetalkmagazine.com |
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Miles Salter is a freelance journalist, poet and creative writing tutor. He lives in York, UK.
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Miles Salter, Freelance Writer /
Reflectable Ltd
2010