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Philip Terry: The Penguin Book of Oulipo Gallery Philip Terry: The Penguin Book of Oulipo Blog

On the planet Sitara, there are five sexes - maka, fitu, jipu, gimini, and gojo. The makas lay the eggs, the fitus make them genetically active, the jipus make them fertile, the giminis sit on them until they hatch, and the gojos feed the larvae until they can live on their own. It's not really [...]

Likewise, from the moment it emerged fi lm has used slapstick comedy to stage veritable orgies of destruction, demolishing anything that just stands or hangs motionlessly, including traditionally revered cultural treasures, and sparing not even public spectacles such as theater and opera that embodied the spirit of old culture. Designed to provoke all-round laughter in [...]

Ben Okri: The Freedom Artist Gallery Ben Okri: The Freedom Artist Blog

Those who smiled did not smile any less because the world had changed. They read the new version of the old myths with irony. They read them with humour. Apart from the pleasure they took in reading the new versions, there was no way of separating the ones who smiled from those who did not [...]

Simon Barnes: How to be Wild Gallery Simon Barnes: How to be Wild Blog

Lawrence Durrell’s chief weapon, as he sought to talk the human race down from its position on the ledge a hundred stories from the street, was humour. Don’t jump: laugh. Humour is a great life-force: laughter is a celebration of being alive. When we have family parties, we spend most of our time drinking and [...]

Axel Linden: On Sheep – Diary of a Swedish Shepherd Gallery Axel Linden: On Sheep – Diary of a Swedish Shepherd Blog

Baa-ah. So there they are. I can't really see them, but they're usually over in the copse. The sheep. Or a sheep, singular and plural in the same word. I am thinking about the literary critic Horace Engdahl. A few years ago I used to admire, or at least I was interested in, or people [...]

Tales from the North Circular: Mr Chaudry Takes Back Control Gallery Tales from the North Circular: Mr Chaudry Takes Back Control Blog

I have a very particular elderly neighbour, whom I'll call Mr Chaudry, who never ceases to amuse me. He spends all his day in his garden, I feel a bit guilty not bothering at all with mine. Every time I see him I tell him that I don't mind at all if he would like [...]

Tales from the North Circular: Looking for Sophie Gallery Tales from the North Circular: Looking for Sophie Blog

I heard a knock on the door early this morning, I thought it was the postwoman. It maybe the new mobile I ordered yesterday, though I am not expecting it today. In addition, it was just past 6 o'clock, too early in the morning for these type of deliveries. I rushed downstairs from my bed, [...]

Book Review: Short Cuts to Happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar Gallery Book Review: Short Cuts to Happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar Blog

This book is one of the latest installment of numerous books on happiness by Tal Ben-Shahar. It's part of the new publishing phenomenon, where authors find meaning and lessons for life from all sorts of things, including cats, dogs, trees, walking, cleaning, organising, cooking, talking, literature, English classics, Russian novels, French novels etc. etc. Tal [...]

Tales from the North Circular: The Hunchback of North Circular Gallery Tales from the North Circular: The Hunchback of North Circular Blog

There's this hunchback beggar has made a haunt the North Circular during the 2018. He can be seen during mornings and afternoons begging from the cars stopping on the traffic. I am dreading for him every time I see him like this morning. As soon as the traffic stopped there he is with his crutches [...]

Word of the Day: Bookended Gallery Word of the Day: Bookended Blog

Few days ago I received this message from Tim: I'm a bit book-ended with travel and other viewings otherwise. The word bookended puzzled me a bit, I'd never heard or read it before, another Americanism perhaps? As I was reading the short email, an image came to my mind, an image of being book-ended, someone [...]

Philip Terry: The Penguin Book of Oulipo 22nd October 2019

Boris Groys 9th July 2019

Ben Okri: The Freedom Artist 24th February 2019