We all have that story that has become a sticking point in our lives. A wound we can’t escape; a personal or professional failure, a trauma or tragedy, a season of misery or an unfortunate event that occurred. If we’re being honest, we all have many of these, but there are some you feel within the fibre of your being. It’s the one you thought of when you read the title of this essay.
Read MoreA rippling reminder of what making art, of any kind, is all about. I woke up feeling irritable and anxious — not ideal for a Monday, but the universe delivered and dropped a timely reminder from Kurt Vonnegut into my line of sight. It gave my soul a flutter of much-need lightness that carried me through the day. The following quote is his call to create for creation sake, for the enriching experience of having made something and released it into a world of one.
Read MoreI’ll admit, I subscribe to quite a few [amazing!] mailers, but I don’t have a lot of time to read them. I dump them into designated folders until the right moment or mood to smash through a whole bunch at once. Seth mailers come once a day, so they add up quickly, but the man has a gift for brevity and communicating one essential idea. This makes rolling through his mailers - his daily blog post delivered by email - refreshing and delightful.
Read MoreHis book, Kitchen Confidential, sat on my bookshelf for years before I actually picked it up. And that was it; I was late to the party, but I was hooked. I quickly read his follow up, Raw, and then absorbed every episode of his shows: Parts Unknown, No Reservations, The Layover. Probably twice. Does that make me a Bourdainian? Fine, I’m it; I'm one of them. What people who haven’t connected with his work don’t understand about the Bourdain legacy, and the tribe of loyalists that feel his absence from this earth, is the atmosphere he created with every word he wrote.
Read MoreWriters have a hard time owning the title of their craft. If you write, competently or professionally or as a practice, you’re a writer. If you engage in the process of writing, be it a book, blog, short story or journal entry; you're a writer. So why does the word ‘writer’ stir so much discomfort and vulnerability in those who do the damn thing?
Read MoreOur lived experience is becoming more digitised by the minute, but books aren’t going anywhere. Books are one of the earliest forms of technology. A Buddhist text called the Diamond Sutra was the first book produced in Ancient China, 868 CE. Ironically, books are one of the most undervalued forms of technology today.
Read MoreIt's always a good day to write - even on Friday's, but especially on the 13th day of the month. Here are 13 ways to get out of your own way today. 1. Stop looking at your phone the moment you wake up even through you promised yourself you wouldn't and that this morning would be different
Read MorePatti Smith is one of my favourites writers. Her writing is a whole mood; both melancholic and atmospheric and just simply, Patti. My journey with her writing began with her autobiographical, Just Kids. I was mesmerised by her life story and the poetic nuance in which she shared it.
Read MoreHemingway may have put that in his pipe and smoked it, but for a lot of us it seems there's so much more to writing than just doing the damn thing. But is he right? Is most of it just about getting out of our own way?Well, there's only one way to find out - so here's to opening a vein and bleeding for the next 30 days.
Read MoreI grew up an absolute magazine junkie. As a tween in the 90’s I discovered Smash Hits, Top of the Pop’s and NME Magazines through my friend, Mary Chen. Her mother travelled regularly between Johannesburg and Taiwan, bringing her piles of music magazines and Spice Girl-inspired fashion on return trips. Yes, including an imitation pair of those infamous Union Jack platform boots. We took turns teetering around her house, we flipped through eye-opening pop music goss, we drooled and imagined this wild world out beyond the pages.
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