On ‘8 Questions For Esther Kinsky’

I had the immense pleasure of interviewing German writer Esther Kinsky about her novel, Rombo, for the wonderful Public Books.

I read Rombo last year. As I mentioned in the interview, it was a spontaneous purchase – I knew of Kinsky but had not read anything by her before. Yet I recognised the energy and the uniqueness of the project even after skimming a couple of pages; I was hooked – and mystified – and I felt compelled to ask Kinsky about the book directly. Fortunately, she agreed to respond to my eight questions (which has turned into a bit of a thing), and did so with extreme thoughtfulness and grace.

Big thanks to Clare from Fitzcarraldo, Megan and co at Public Books and, of course, Esther.

Read The Past Survives in the Telling: Eight Questions for Esther Kinsky at Public Books.

Release of Midnight Grotesques

I am very pleased to announce that my third book, Midnight Grotesques, has been published.

MG is a collaboration with US-based artist Michelle Lynn Dyrness – something we cooked up and spoke about at length during the pandemic, exchanging ideas and words and images across time and space. The composition was like a dream: it was a project that allowed us to shut out the world and turn inward, something we both did during the late hours in our respective parts of the world – hence the midnight.

The final product, published by Sublunary Editions, is now available in book form. The design of the book-object itself was just as collaborative, this time also drawing in Sublunary’s publisher Josh. I love Michelle’s work and thoroughly enjoy the challenges that come with pairing image and text – and Josh is a publishing dynamo. The whole process has really been a testament to the magic that comes from creating in collaboration.

Really proud of the strange little book that we have put together. Order Midnight Grotesques here.

Midnight Grotesques Cover + Pre-order

I’m very pleased to be able to share the cover of Midnight Grotesques, my small, experimental book with California-based artist Michelle Lynn Dyrness.

Midnight Grotesques started as a pandemic project – Michelle and I trading images and text across the planet, playing on ideas of provenance and the uncertainty of narrative truth, slowly building what this would become. I am a huge fan of Michelle’s work – while I consider myself fortunate to have collaborated with her a number of times, this is the first time our vision has been pushed to its extent. Big thanks to Joshua Rothes for his support and belief in the project.

Midnight Grotesques will be published by Sublunary Editions on December 5, 2023.

Pre-orders can be made at Sublunary.

On ‘Where the Dead Man Lost Himself’

My piece Where the Dead Man Lost Himself has been published in the May 2023 edition of the the mysterious RIC Journal.

Without getting into style too much, I did worry that the formal play would appear trite – one long sentence has been done to death. However, that’s how it came and my attempts to bend it into something else failed – so that’s how it stayed.

With thanks, as usual, to S.

On ‘When the World Folds In (The Dead Man)’

My piece When the World Folds In (The Dead Man) was published in the April edition of the elusive RIC Journal.

This line:

Good boy, dead man.

…the way it had several meanings, its playfulness, had been on my mind in the lead up to composing this piece.

With thanks to S – as always.

Another Eight Questions for Saudamini Deo

My second interview with writer and translator Saudamini Deo has been published, again by the good folks at Asymptote Journal. This time, Saudamini and I discuss her English translation of Traces of Boots on Tongue by Rajkamal Chaudhary – the second book in her translation project, published by Seagull Books as part of their India List series.

We also discuss what’s next for her, the prominence of the modern translator and much more. Saudamini is always a pleasure to work with, and she is a creative and compelling interviewee (and writer and translator and editor and…) – you can read my eight questions for her here.

With thanks to S, of course, and to Meghan from Asymptote.

On ‘Saying Nothing’

Thread, Greek or Roman, 1st century CE

The next part in my ongoing conversation with Daniela Cascella has been published at Sublunary Editions.

In Saying Nothing: A Conversation with Daniela Cascella, D and I discuss her her two books Nothing As We Need It and Chimeras. The two books, both published last year, explore her notion of chimeric writing, a concept which I’ve seen evolve through her series of books.

As always, the conversation about the writing was a pleasure. Thanks to D for her time and energy and to Josh for giving it a place to live.

Three Versions of the Dead Man

Saint Martin Brings a Dead Man to Life

I’ve been neglecting to post here the latest pieces on the Dead Man as published in RIC – I also failed to meet the deadline for the March edition of RIC, first issue I haven’t contributed to in quite some time. However, the Dead Man never goes away – he can’t, that’s his problem. April piece is being finalised as we speak, and see the other recent contributions below. With thanks, as always, to Saudamini.

Untitled (The Dead Man Plays Poker)

The Dead Man and the Joke

Brief Portrait of the Dead Man’s Father

Eight Questions for Harald Voetmann

Very happy to be able to say that my interview with Danish writer Harald Voetmann has been published by the kind folk at Full Stop Magazine.

More or less everything I have to say about the interview is in its intro, but it’s worth repeating here that I really did love Awake (do check it out – through ND Books in the US or Lolli Editions in the UK) and I can’t wait for the next couple of books.

With thanks to Harald, of course, and Denise at Lolli Editions. And a special thanks to Michael at Full Stop for giving the interview a home.

On ‘Untitled (Death of the Dead Man)’

My piece Untitled (Death of the Dead Man) has been published in the anniversary edition of RIC Journal. As usual, it’s a privilege to have my writing be given a home – with thanks, as always, to Saudamini.

As you can see, the Dead Man still follows me. Still tugs at my sleeve to distract me and sleeps on my sofa some nights, snoring so loudly I can hear him from the next room.