If human souls did never kiss and greet

… but who, of men, can tell

That flowers would bloom, or that green fruit would swell

To melting pulp, that fish would have bright mail,

The earth its dower of river, wood, and vale,

The meadows runnels, runnels pebble-stones,

The seed its harvest, or the lute its tones,

Tones ravishment, or ravishment its sweet,

If human souls did never kiss and greet

(Keats, Endymion)

free fiction – Indigo

Following is part one of an ongoing gothic fiction story set in Melbourne, Australia. I am hoping to post the second instalment in January – but will be travelling, so will do my best!

please download the pdf here:

Indigo_ophelia_keys

profile pictures and portraits

 

Am I ugly? Am I beautiful? Am I perfect? Not your idea of perfect, but my idea of perfect. Does my photograph give a better idea of who I am than my writing, or are my cells more mutable than my ideas? In which case a photo is little more than a postcard as my life goes spinning by. In which case all of our profile photos are just brief moments that soon lie about who we are. Or perhaps they tell the truth about who we would like to be – that little part of ourselves we would like to expand and make into our whole selves. In which case my photograph tells you what I dream of being, which is far more vulnerable than anything I am prepared to express in my writing.

 

inspiration

Article on inspiration by Adam Phillips, The Observer, Sunday 12 March 2006

‘However much we want inspiration, if it disturbs our normal sense of ourselves then we are going to resist it. Most people are not seeking self-knowledge; they believe – they live as if – they already know who they are. So self-knowledge in this sense is the enemy of inspiration, our best defence against this alien invasion. As in sex, we may long to lose our composure and self-control but there is one thing we desire even more, and that is not to.’

Read full article at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2006/mar/12/1

Imaginary Worlds and Insanity

I came upon a forum post recently that read – ‘I’ve invented a complete imaginary world. Am I insane?’

Having created an extensive imaginary world myself, I was more than a little curious to read what the consensus was on this question. Not that anything was going to shake my belief that imaginary worlds are important expressions of our full and complete selves. I just wanted to know if I was in a strange minority and should hesitate to bring it up in job interviews.

Of course this lonely post was answered by a wave of people who had their own imaginary (often quite elaborate) worlds. The discussion was pretty fascinating (link provided below).

I have to say I get annoyed when people refer to daydreaming or imagined worlds as ‘escapism’. I would go out on a limb and say that this actually has nothing to do with escapism, and is one of the purest forms of ‘realism’ imaginable.

An imaginary world is a space in which to be different versions of ourselves and to experience unexpected, wonderful and sometimes alarming aspects of our minds. At these moments you are becoming as free from outside constructions (of who you should be, for example) as it is ever possible to become. You are actually facing yourself rather than ‘losing’ yourself.

I’m also annoyed by patronising accounts of children’s and teenagers’ imaginary worlds as ‘safe places’ where they can practice to be proper adults (of course, on reaching adulthood, they should instantly relinquish any make believe tendencies). Anyone who has an imaginary world worth its salt will know it’s not a safe place at all! (That’s enough of me getting annoyed now).

Obviously authors and artists need to hold onto their imaginary worlds. Maybe everyone else should start to feel a bit better about them too. After all, you’re using more of the creative capacity of your brain, and that has to be a good thing.

P.S. Good news on imaginary friends also. Apparently they’re the expression of a healthy imagination, and now we should all be a little self-conscious if we never had one. I don’t really think I did, just a cast of characters I inhabited at will. Nothing weird about that, is there?

 

‘I’ve invented a complete imaginary world. Am I insane?’:
http://ask.metafilter.com/59628/Ive-invented-a-complete-imaginary-world-Am-I-insane

Research on children’s imaginary friends:
http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/202632_imaginary07.html

Or maybe we can be a little lazy and just borrow other people’s imaginary friends:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=imaginary-friends

The Brontes - imaginary worldbuilders par excellence

oscar wilde quote

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.

Oscar Wilde

factual fable?

Aesop’s fable describes a thirsty crow that cannot reach  reach the water in a pitcher. It cleverly uses stones to raise the water level. Recent research has found that crows are more than able to carry out this task.

Aptly named researcher Christopher Bird commented:

“Corvids are remarkably intelligent, and in many ways rival the great apes in their physical intelligence and ability to solve problems. The only other animal known to complete a similar task is the orang-utan.

“This is remarkable considering their brain is so different to the great apes’.

To see video of the clever crows go to

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2009080602

can you read an ebook in the bath?

This article is as interesting for the discussion that follows. Can you read an ebook in the bath? Ummm, yes?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/feb/09/kindle-ipod-books-piracy

reasons not to use google translate

(Shakespeare’s moving passage from Othello, translated back from Italian):

‘Shut down, shut down, a brief candle! Life is but a shadow that walks a mediocre actor who strut and size on the stage for the tempo of his party and then not hear below’

or who could forget that famous Oscar Wilde quote:

‘We are all in rigagnolo, but some of us lay down the stars’ ?

friends and readers

“Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.”

–George Eliot

When I’m writing fiction I imagine that I’m writing to a friend. When I’m editing I imagine that I’m editing for a hostile audience. It’s important not to get the two mixed up!