Lives in six words

In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a complete story in just six words. He wrote: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." He won the bet.

Smith, the American online magazine, invited their readers to write their life story in just six words, and the BBC's Today programme (Radio 4) has challenged its listeners to do the same. For the full list, go to Today's website (scroll down the right hand side for the link) but below are few of my favourites.

Try it. It's not easy. You don't have to write your entire autobiography - go back to Hemingway's example and create a complete, but short, story.

Dick Hadfield: Foetus, son, brother, husband, father, vegetable.
Neil Feldman: Bantam, Anglia, Midget, Alfa, Volvo Estate.
Clare Hobba: Unravelled career reknitted as baby blankets.
Heather Thomson: Head in books, feet in flowers.
Richard Merrington: Wasted my whole life getting comfortable.
Patric: Born London, lived elsewhere, died inside.
Robin Pickering: If only I had turned left.
Gillian Smellie: Ditched the map, found better route.

Pink Mini in coat at Bluecoat

Spotted on Friday night - artistic director of the Bluecoat arts centre, Bryan Biggs, with Mersey Mini in hand. He pulled the little book like a rabbit from his coat pocket, declaring 'I never go anywhere without one.'

Mersey Minis spark inspiration in Hungary

Szilvia Opavski, living in Hungary, came to Liverpool University in the 1980s; when she heard about a competition to write about the city for a new series of books, she raided her memories – and was published. Here is her comment about the experience:

It was not the book but the thought-provoking competition itself that made me want to come back to Liverpool for a visit. (I am working on it...) 

You know, everybody has tons of memories of the places he or she has ever visited. But these memories are hidden deep inside. Perhaps so deep they will never appear again. And this was the point when your competition shook me up and made me remember my hidden precious pieces of the past. I travelled back and started to re-live those forgotten days in Liverpool. It was the most unique experience I have ever had.

 

Nowadays when everybody concentrates only on the future, trying to keep pace with the latest technology and new inventions, for me it was the island of peace to recall the good memories of Liverpool in the 1980s.



I cannot tell how happy I was when I got published in Longing! It was a new experience for me that I could share a personal moment with a lot of complete strangers in a foreign country! All my family and friends were very proud of me (let alone my English friends). 

Yes, this competition has given me a fresh impetus to carry on writing some more non-fiction minis. Your competition has led to the start of a completely new 'memory' phase of my writing career.

Writers' debate

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner).

Stephen King on books

The staggeringly successful novelist says:

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”

(Picked up from John Kremer's Bookmarketing Tips newsletter - see link to site opposite)

Mac -v- PC ... a religious issue?

Entertaining piece by Umberto Eco (famous for 'In the Name of the Rose') speculating on the nature of computer designers and users. As a lifelong and evangelical Mac user, I am placed firmly in the Catholic camp, which will amuse those of my friends who know my religious sympathies (or lack thereof). Where do you look for e-salvation? Click on the Umberto Eco link opposite.

Score stars meet

Interviewees Ranulph Fiennes and Victor Greenberg met for the first time at the Radisson Hotel in Liverpool, when Ran came to talk to guests of Rensburg Sheppards – one of the sponsors of SCORE. David Owen (pictured 2nd left, below) of Rensburgs was delighted to introduce the pair before the lecture, and to see Victor signing a copy of SCORE for Ran. Ran then returned the favour by signing a copy of his autobiography for Victor in a positive flurry of ink.

A Parliament of Scores

With the help of Business Liverpool, Liverpool Vision, and Liverpool Lane Develoment Company, we sent copies of SCORE to every MP (646 of them) plus various peers and MEPs. Why? because business is no longer a traditional route through for politicians, and few of them have any business experience. Since business is such a massive element of their constituency's health, and enterprise is the buzzword of youth and media these days, we thought they could do with an easy read to help them learn what 'enterprise' actually means.

Pictured is Ben Chapman, MP for Wirral South (that rare creature, a busincess-savvy MP) taking delivery of books for his colleagues. Piling on the agony is Paul Whitehead of Business Liverpool, and some old trout we dragged off the street for the purpose.

Scoring with Minis

Enterprise Week was fun - was at six events in London and Liverpool, talking to MPs, young entrepreneurs, enerprise graduates, GCSE students, and primary school girls. It was mostly due to SCORE, our latest book about entrepreneurs. The enthusiasm and excitement from every group was infectious and I have signed up for all kinds of projects and schemes over the next year to keep the excitement going. More of this later.

Inspired by Enterprise Week and the number of comments I heard that suggested that lots of MPs, journalists and others don't understand what enterprise is, or what kind of creature an entrepreneur is. So we've sent a copy of SCORE to every MP (646 of them) plus MEPs, some peers and journalists. Addressing and signing over 700 letters is not something I care to do every week, but if they enjoy the book and get the message, it's well worth it.


Before all that we had our last book launch of the year, waving off LEAVING, volume 5 of Mersey Minis. With the fifth volume we could launch the set in its chic PVC belt, clear, so you can see all the colours and cover illustrations. Very cute. AND we had an exhibition of all the illustrations at the same event. Lots of fun, and bundles of books vanishing with new owners - lovely.

Poetry Kit magazine now online

A message from Jim Bennett:
Poetry Kit Magazine is now online at

http://www.poetrykit.org/pkmag/index.htm

With POETRY from: Patrick Frank - Lyn Lifshin - Sam Silva - David W Rushing – Kaye Aldenhoven - Rosemary Quinn
Raud Kennedy - Lynn Strongin - Ian C Smith - Lorn Macintyre - Ashok Niyogi - Laura Solomon

POETRY FEATURE using autobiographical poetry by Alan Corkish - S. K. Iyer as a start point for responses from other poets.

REACTIONS from: Sherry Pasquarello - Waiata Dawn Davies - Stuart Nunn - James Bell - Catherine Kanaan
Philip Johnson - Gary Blankenship - Jonathan Shaw - Irene Hossack - Sally James - Barbara Philips

and including the following FEATURES
An Introduction to Hyperpoetry by Edward Picot
Legal Deposit at the British Library by Richard Price
Writers Forum - Lawrence Upton
Interview with Michael Levy
New York and what I did to it - Rosie Lugosi

Stella Duffy and Rupert Smith on books, writing, and getting published

Have a look at this. It's on Homotopia TV, so there's - unsurprisingly - a gay & lesbian angle to this conversation, but whether you're whether you're gay, straight, or confused, Rupert and Stella talk a great deal of sense about the process of writing, getting published, attracting readers and selling books. Have a watch. Go to the festival!

Hit http://homotopia.tv/ or go to 'Stella & Rup on writing' in the links list (opposite & down a bit)

Countdown to L Day

Less than three hours to go now until Liverpool's 800th anniversary. Eight centuries since Bad King John did a Good Thing and signed the first charter to turn Liverpool from a fishing village into a charter town, albeit with a modest seven streets. And it's at the bottom of one of those original streets, where the Mersey used to lap at the wall of the chapel, that we will be launching Mersey Minis 3 tomorrow afternoon. Huzzah thrice! Happy jollies to us!

So delicious you'd want to lick them

We've now got the whole series of Mersey Minis back from the printer, although Volumes 4 and 5 won't be launched till Sept and Nov respectively. They are scrumptious – shouldn't brag, I suppose, but they are just yummm. The spines of the set, lined up together, look like ice cream strips - blackcurrant, pistachio, strawberry, blueberry and peach. Positively lickable. And in a tin (which they will be come Christmas) we might sell more in food shops than bookshops.

And that's just the colours. The illustrations are fabulous – beautiful linocuts, for te covers and the 15 icons scattered through the text. And as for the reading matter – fascinating, enchanting, poignant, wry – all those jolly adjectives.

There's been nothing like them before – the combination of design, size, and content – little things, postcard sized but with plenty of good reading - perfect for pockets and handbags for reading en route or sneaky distraction in boring circumstances.

They're very different to our normal case-bound, colour photography look, and we're thrilled to bits with them, and (more to the point) with people's reactions to them. How lovely it is to have one's babies admired and cooed over....

Fewer gripes, less angst

Huzzah for Richard Ford, a literate American who has been plugging his book 'The Lay of the Land' at the Edinburgh Book Festival. The man – interviewed on the Today programme 10 minutes ago, knows the difference between 'less' and 'fewer'. He's a rare example of the species. It's one of the gaffes that makes me shout at the radio, when supposedly well educated pundits refer to 'less people' or 'less times', blissfully ignorant of the useful word 'fewer'.
I'm not sure Richard Ford will enjoy America in the next decade or so. He was incredulous that the voting public should have gone for an actor (Reagan): 'an actor!' in the 1980s. Ford is soon going to have to stomach the prospect of a presidential election featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney.

Birthday drumbeat

Liverpool is 800 years old, as a charter town, on 28 August this year. That's when King John signed the town's first royal charter in 1207 (although Liverpool existed, in a small way, well before that).
We (Capsica) are giving Liverpool a gift of several thousand books – copies of the third volume of Mersey Minis (see the link at side), which is all new writing gathered and commissioned specially for the occasion.
Volume 3 will ONLY be available on the day, and it is only being given away (so if someone tries to sell you a copy they're being naughty) – although you are most welcome, indeed encouraged, to cough up for the other books in the series.

And after our book launch party in the afternoon, something splendid is happening outside St George's Hall, on the plateau, at 8pm. Have a read of this, and come and join me there.

Mutual Arising is looking for 800 drummers to perform at St Georges Plateau, Liverpool City Centre, on the night of this Historic Date. Anyone can take part as the rhythm they have created for the event is very simple to learn but is very powerful to hear! The event is open to everbody and of all ages.
They would like YOU to Play YOUR Part by coming along to the event and joining in! If you are not one of the final 800 you can be part of the groove by following their ONLINE TUTORIAL (Learn At Home) available now. If you have any type of drum at home, fancy making a simple one or just want to clap, then make sure you are part of this Historic Event by and for the people of Liverpool.
Help them create the biggest beat in history. The nights activities are also being filmed and will appear in the Mutual Arising ‘Spirit of Liverpool’ movie, due for release in 2008.
There are daily workshops (not Mondays) in St George's Hall between now and the 28th – for details go to the Drum 800 website at http://www.mutualarising.com/drum800/eventnews.htm or email Drum800Workshops@mutualarising.com

Crime writers – heads up

Brilliant course being run this autumn/winter by University of Liverpool's continuing education dept: Forensic geoscience...
How smart is that to cite as your Monday evening activity of choice?
Here's the blurb:
"Crime scene investigation has become popularised by the media. This course will look at the collection of geological information and the application of analytical techniques to criminal and civil investigations ranging from murder to identifying frauds and fakes."
Starts on Monday 24 September, 7-9pm, for 15 weekly meetings.
We could all be publishing books based on forensic geoscience in a year or two – Silver Daggers a-go-go.
For more info go to http://dbweb.liv.ac.uk/cll/page.asp?page_id=7370 , ring 0151 794 2523 or email conted@liverpool.ac.uk

Abso-bloody-lutely

This is my new bête noire. Everybody says it, all the time. I exaggerate, but you must hear it too. Every time one is asked a question, the positive answer is 'absolutely'. What's really infuriating is that I heard myself say it yesterday. I agreed with what my interviewee said, strongly, and That Word fell out of my mouth. It used to be justifiable, like an exclamation mark, when used sparingly. It has now become a synonym for 'yes' and is swiftly becoming meaningless.
Few things are absolute. Very few. Indeed I'm more inclined to think that everything is relative. So my concurring noise of choice should be 'quite'.
But, for the simple life we are all supposed to desire, the best response must be, simply, Yes.
Quite.

Unggghhhhhh

Would someone please tell me how a month can disappear without so much as a bye-your-leave? I've been away for almost half of it, but what happened to the other half I can't imagine. I can't bear to write more about it.

Hell's teeth!

Another lovely launch tonight – Mersey Minis Vol. 2 - LIVING. It's at the World Museum, which is frightfully smart and really lovely – very generous of them to host us. A marvellously apt place to launch a Mersey Mini, given the international flavour of the writing and the quality of the editing and illustration. Fiona and I are very proud of these little books and so thrilled to have such enthusiastic feedback from readers, reviewers and colleagues.
However, back stage all is not smooth. For one thing, the Mersey Minis website has vanished - all people will find now is a cute little message that says 'back soon' or something similar. Not ideal. The air has been blue in Capsica Towers for the last couple of days as we try to track down our webmaster.
I'm going away on Friday and have about 5 weeks' work to do before I go. So I wake at about 3.47am most nights and spend some time (feels like years, probably 3 mins) fretting and wondering if I should get up and do something or get more sleep. The sleep usually wins, eventually.
This morning I discovered that the two rooms I thought I'd booked for my cousin and I are not booked. But lots of other people are. Booked, that is. So the house is full, and the house next door. So we might be camping for two weeks instead; Romania has had the hottest June on record, but what's the betting it will then break into the wettest July? Soggy camping. Ah well.
It all makes good fuel for the autobiography. Not that I intend writing one – it's such hard work, trawling through one's past. Hard and painful. Not pleasant. Quite apart from the question of whether anyone would want to read it (answer: a very few very very good friends, perhaps).
Must go and iron something to wear later. Can listen to the Archers while I'm doing so.

Geek chic at the Italian Club

Last night saw the first event under the Geek Chic banner, celebrating the launch of Mersey Minis with the help of the brilliant Eithne Browne, who read from the books amidst funny, sharp-edged comment; Rebecca Sharp provided the music - beautiful sounds from her Celtic harp; while Eithne and Rebecca provided nourishment for the soul, Rosaria Crolla and her staff fed the audience with delicious Italian food, good wine and the best coffee in Liverpool.
The whole idea was the brainchild of the lovely Gemma Aldcroft, who is determined to create a civilised social scene in Liverpool for those of us who are not happy with getting pissed and shouting inanities over impossibly loud music. Hurrah for Gemma!
For me and Fiona it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and pleasure that everyone showed for our gorgeous little books. I hope that Deborah Mulhearn, the series editor, was delighted with her reception and the audience's very evident appreciation of her work.
A huge thanks to everyone there last night for making a great evening and the first of many to come.