I flundered lovely as a blouse That sleats on high o’er pails and phrills, When at a seance I saw a fowl The ghost, of hilden waffotills; Divide the blike, Coneath the blees, Pluttering and strancing in the frieze
Conpentred as the hores did pont And swondleon the mokiway, They briched in never-blinding stine Along the gargins wovt awry: Ten thousand jaw, I ater a flounce, Wessing their shids in glightly spance.
The Webs deside them planced but loy Out-did the sparkling waves in schlee A waite could not clutt ie glay In juch a ferund timpanee: I glazed- and jazed- but little ploat What gealthy wasps shrew thlee had cloght:
For loft, when on my louch i pi In racane or in trensive slood, They flush upon that innard plie Rich is the blass of molitude; And then my tart with leisured gills: Fish dancing with the daffodils
Hello, mother, cried Emile as Mary came through the front door.
What’s happened
The doctor was not wearing a mask and she says I have to go out and play Bingo
That seems odd.
Mary made them both pilchard sandwiches topped with vanilla ice cream.And wondere what was wrong with her
Suddenly she realised the pain had a curious intensity, like she had felt in her teeth /jaw just before an angina attack
Out came the GNT spray which she aimed under her tongue,using Guy’s Hospital method
Wow,said Emile.That looks weird.Can I have some?
Emile, it is what bombs are made of.It could kill a cat
In a few minutes the pain was gone and Mary felt relieved though angry
In ran Annie in pink leisure clothes and green Mary Jane shoes
I like your shoes,Mary said.Where did you get them?
I found then at the back of the wardrobe
I think I shall look in my wardrobe, though some shoes I had kept for best disintegrated
Where?
I was having tea with Dorothy.I looked down and saw lots of black spots on her carpet.It was the soles of my shoes.She was very kind and just got her dust pan and brush
I think we should wear the things we love now, not save them for some imaginary future,Annie murmured like a pike that has just seen Ted Hughes in its dreams
Guess what I have bought,Mary cried
A new mug?
No, a coat the colour of dark grey stone walls
I don’t like the sound of that.Shall we call Dave?
No, it’s ok,I am pleased I can sit on walls in the winter
You are easily pleased,Annie informed her.Most women want new kitchens, Le Creuset pots, clothe s and shoes
I have enough,Mary responded.
But who defines what is enough? When I went for an interview for Uni it was on a Tuesday.I wore my only blouse on Sunday so I wore it again though the collar was dirty and my cardigan made by Mother was not a success as the button band was not the right length as it twisted
I went over the Pennines by train in the worst winter ever and arrived for my interview with no money for a sandwich for my lunch
The men interviewing mte asked why I wanted to do maths
I said,I want to do research.I had already discovered something myself though later I saw Pascal had discovered it.He had better notation which helps
They burst out laughing and slapped their thighs.At least they didn’t sexually abuse me
I had never seen men with manicured hands before
How did you feel?
In those days I didn’t feel,Mary told Annie.I wish I were like that now
At least they accepted you,Annie whispered.Let’s not bring up the past
It seems to come up by itself
And so say all
I made this from a photograph using digital software
First we had grow your own, and now it’s kill it yourself.
We had paint your own pictures then it was draw your own blood.
Write your own books then Read your own palms.
We used to make love now it’s ensure your own climax
We used to talk to each other Now we message our others We used to share bedrooms Now we are alone with just Zoom We used to have fantasies now we have pornography We didn’t see our own vulvas Now we get plastic surgery so they look good for anonymous strangers.
If we do everything ourselves and nothing for each other where will that lead to in the end?
Doctor,I think my husband has something wrong with him.
Thank God, I thought he was dead!
Doctor I think I’m going deaf
What?
Doctor,I have a pain in my bed
Oh,do stop moaning; get a different bed
Why do I have bad feet doctor?
You’ve got the wrong sort of ethics
Doctor,my head feels strange. .
Can’t you just laugh it off?
Doctor,where is the receptionist?
She’s at a reception.
Doctor,you look worn out.
I shall take two aspirin and see myself in the morning.
If you can’t see yourself in the morning then things are serious indeed
But will anybody else be able to see you in the morning?
Doctor I thought I saw a rat.
It’s your imitation fur bedroom slipper.
Why do my shoulders ache at night?
Forgotten to take you hydroxychloroquine? Try sprinkling a little rat poison on your food instead. That will definitely weaken your immune system but as long as it doesn’t kill you we doctors are happy to give it to you. Because it will cure your rheumatoid arthritis m,my dear
Image par Katherine
Eh bien, mon I Q n'a que 65 ans et pourtant j'ai un diplôme de maths
D'où?
Vous ne pouvez pas les acheter.
C'est ce qu'ils disent tous
Je suis un crétin, vous êtes des crétins, ils sont des crétins
Et moi?
Tu es un imbécile.
Je desire un moron pour mon lit~je suis enchante par les imbeciles comme moi
Je ne suis même pas français
Je ne regrette pas mon oncle est un topologie daemon.Quelque chose desirez vous?
Pourquoi avez-vous cette lettre dans votre main?
C'est un refernce de mon tuteur. "Ce garçon est tellement stupide qu'il ne peut même pas épeler Feck et il n'a jamais entendu parler de Sodome et Gomorrhe.
Pourkwa Sod em and Gomorrow? Je suis auntie bbc supernatural
Je ne sais pas mais je suis un analyst de classi sequel comme epsilon delta et Leib Knits sweaters,Ou est Kant? Kant est mort! Oh,non,non, je suis finnish, I can’t go on like this. I am Dutch.
Double?
Treble!
Kant aime Leipzig.Je t’aim frogs.Ma mere aime le chat et mon pere aimes ma meres.J’ai trois meres
Traumas?
O h Freud again
Advertisements
Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here,
as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page.
You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.
from Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters, a Bilingual Edition Translated by Wallace Fowlie and revised by Seth Whidden Mémoire I L’eau claire; comme le sel des larmes d’enfance, l’assaut au soleil des blancheurs des corps de femmes; la soie, en foule et de lys pur, des oriflammes sous les murs…
Archives
Select Month
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
September 2012
May 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
Categories
Select Category
advice
aggression
animals
appearance
art
art and artists
authors
beautiful thoughts
Bible
Bible story
Biography
blogs
books
budget
childhood
Christianity
Confession
confusion
cookery
Courage
creativity
criticism
dreams
education
effects of our writing
ethics
evil
fiction
film
food and cookery
free verse
funny verses
gender
History
homo sapiens
how to live
How to writr
humor
image
images
individualism
interviews
lamentation
language
law
learning
library
limerick
literature and languages
love
love song
madness or error
mediation
metaphor
modern history
Morality
morals
music
mysticism
nonsense
on writing
philosophy
photo
plays
poem
poetry
poetry writers
politics
quote
quotes
reflecting on life
reflections
relaxation and trust
Religion
review
rhyming verses
rondeau
sanity
sex fear
sexual behaviour
sexual problems
sexuality
short story
sin
sonnet
Stan
stories
story
Symbol
technology and privacy
Theology
therapy industry
thinking
Thinkings and poems
thoughtfulness
thoughts
titles
truthfulness
Uncategorized
value judgments
villanelle
virtue
vision
vocation
women.beauty
word meanings
words
work
writers
Writing and writers
Follow Blog via Email
Click to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Eh bien, mon QI n’a que 65 ans et pourtant j’ai un diplôme de maths
D’où?
Vous ne pouvez pas les acheter.
C’est ce qu’ils disent tous
Je suis un crétin, vous êtes des crétins, ils sont des crétins
Et moi?
Tu es un imbécile.
Je desire un moron pour mon lit~je suis enchante par les imbeciles comme moi
Je ne suis même pas français
Je ne regrette pas mon oncle est un topologie daemon.Quelque chose desirez vous?
Pourquoi avez-vous cette lettre dans votre main?
C’est un refernce de mon tuteur. “Ce garçon est tellement stupide qu’il ne peut même pas épeler Feck et il n’a jamais entendu parler de Sodome et Gomorrhe.
Pourkwa Sod em and Gomorrow? Je suis auntie bbc supernatural
Je ne sais pas mais je suis un analyst de classi sequel comme epsilon delta et Leib Knits sweaters,Ou est Kant? Kant est mort! Oh,non,non, je suis finnish, I can’t go on like this. I am Dutch.
Double?
Treble!
Kant aime Leipzig.Je t’aim frogs.Ma mere aime le chat et mon pere aimes ma meres.J’ai trois meres
Traumas?
O h Freud again
Advertisements
Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here,
as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page.
You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans.
UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE
Share this:
Google+ has shut downPrintEmail
-Save
Press ThisMore
Related
Try it in French
Try it in French
In “Thinkings and poems”
Poem by Rimbaud
from Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters, a Bilingual Edition Translated by Wallace Fowlie and revised by Seth Whidden Mémoire I L’eau claire; comme le sel des larmes d’enfance, l’assaut au soleil des blancheurs des corps de femmes; la soie, en foule et de lys pur, des oriflammes sous les murs…
In “poetry”
Google transwaite
Google transwaite
In “thoughts”
About Katherine
I like art, poetry,history, literature,cooking,doing nothing to music.And conversation
View all posts by Katherine →
This entry was posted in Thinkings and poems. Bookmark the permalink. Edit
← Jennifer Warnes singing Joan of Arc liveA wider focus →
I welcome comments and criticism
Enter your comment here…
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Archives
Archives
books creativity fiction free verse funny verses humor image language limerick metaphor nonsense on writing photo poem poetry politics reflections Religion rhyming verses short story sonnet story Symbol Thinkings and poems thoughts value judgments villanelle vision word meanings words
Meta
Site Admin
Log out
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
WordPress.com
Follow Blog via Email
Click to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Join 1,275 other followers
Follow
RSS – Posts
RSS – Comments
Top Posts & Pages
Harmonious dirtiness
Exonerate- the meaning
The coal
Sitting at the piano, what reflections
The Difference Between Lack and Absence by Annie Diamond
Poetic truth:Wordsworth
Humans kill ;it is our “virtuous ” vice.
Benedictus
Immer krankier than thou
Where am I?
Categories
Categories
Follow Blog via Email
Click to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Join 1,275 other followers
Follow
Meta
Site Admin
Log out
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
WordPress.com
Follow Blog via Email
Click to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Join 1,275 other followers
Follow
RSS – Posts
RSS – Comments
Blog Stats
81,434 hits
How my heart speaks Blog at WordPress.com.
🙂
J’ai pensé écrire la fin avant de commencerLes intimations viennent de mon propre cœur et aussi des paroles d’amis aimants qui m’aident sur mon chemin jusqu’à la fin
Nos esprits grandissent à partir des paroles d’amis aimantsou de leurs lettres si nous sommes séparés Ils voyagent avec nous jusqu’à ce que nous atteignons la fin
Les amitiés peuvent mal tourner, faisons amende honorableUn mot, un regard, ils laissent le processus commencer Nos esprits grandissent à partir des paroles d’amis aimants
Je pense que c’ est un danger de prétendre Car alors nous risquonsde briser les cœurs Ils ne peuvent pas voyager avec nous jusqu’à la fin
Parfois, la grâce fine et la joie peuvent chaque descendre Jamais essayer defaire une carte ou un tableau Nos esprits grandissent à partir des mots d’amis aimants
Ne terminez pas votre vie avec la menteuse forteChaque cellule est de l’ensemble une partie Nous sommes un malgré le grand tourment
J’ai pensé écrire la fin avant de commencer
Les intimations viennent de mon propre cœur et aussi des paroles d’amis aimants qui m’aident sur mon chemin jusqu’à la fin
Nos esprits grandissent à partir des paroles d’amis aimant sou de leurs lettres si nous sommes séparés Ils voyagent avec nous jusqu’à ce que nous atteignons la fin
Les amitiés peuvent mal tourner, faisons amende honorableUn mot, un regard, ils laissent le processus commencer Nos esprits grandissent à partir des paroles d’amis aimants
Je pense que c’ est un danger de prétendre Car alors nous risquonsde briser les cœurs Ils ne peuvent pas voyager avec nous jusqu’à la fin
Parfois, la grâce fine et la joie peuvent chaque descendre Jamais essayer defaire une carte ou un tableau Nos esprits grandissent à partir des mots d’amis aimants
Ne terminez pas votre vie avec la menteuse forte
Chaque cellule est de l’ensemble une partie Nous sommes un malgré le grand tour
Ça doit être bref. Et le caoutchouc Ooh, vous êtes impoli, n’êtes-vous pas Regardez, ce n’est pas un jeu de mots croisés
Non, mais vous êtes.
Vous obtenez la croix et nous avons
Qu’en est-il des mots?
Juste bourdonnement aujourd’hui. Maintenant, nous allons apprendre sur les nombres transcendantaux Vous pouvez parler mais nous ne pouvons pas apprendre Pourquoi, est-il interdit?
Non, nous sommes juste épais
Eh bien, mon QI n’a que 65 ans et pourtant j’ai un diplôme de maths D’où? Vous ne pouvez pas les acheter.
C’est ce qu’ils disent tous
Je suis un crétin, vous êtes un crétin, ils sont des crétin
Et moi? Tu es un imbécile.
Je ne suis même pas français Pourquoi avez-vous cette lettre dans votre main?
C’est un refernce de mon tuteur. “Ce garçon est tellement stupide qu’il ne peut même pas épeler Feck et il n’a jamais entendu parler de Sodome et Gomorrhe.
Eh bien E n’est pas U Sont-ils les jumeaux sur la rue Coronation
Pour l’amour de Dieu, lisez la Bible. Sera-t-il heureux? Non, mais ça t’arrêtera de parler autant.
When Mary got home she tried to find her key but it was nowhere to be seen. Then she remembered that she had another key with her.
I must have dropped it in the cab she thought to herself I will ring them up tomorrow, Emile her large black and white cat ran towards her very fast.
You won’t believe this, Mother..
Emile, I have told you before I am not your mother.
Why do you take everything so literally, the cat asked her in a manner that reminded her of the French psychoanalyst Jack Le Con.
If I am on the autistic spectrum she said to him, that might explain it.
Well you have to take a test to see if you are on the spectrum
But I have got comfortable with you and I don’t want you to change your personality just because somebody says that you’re a bit odd.
Don’t tell me somebody has been spreading rumours about me. Who says I am odd at all depends on the definition doesn’t it? I may be odd in some ways but surely that’s what makes people interesting if they have a lot of differences from everybody else you know
Well Jesus was very odd and very old wasn’t he ,because God was his father?
Do you think God was my father said Emile ?
I’ll ask him next time I see him said Mary cruelly.
Are you going to see God, can I come with you?
Let me put the kettle on and make some tea and then I will have to get some food out for the supper. Do you fancy some sardines from a tin?
Well I won’t say no to a sardine wherever it’s come from I know that God would never put them into tins
Next time I go to church I will start laughing because they are talking to God as if he is a being from another planet but I will be imagining him on top of a mountain putting a sardines into tins although being on top of a mountain it will be quite difficult to find sardines.
Nothing is difficult for God but he doesn’t sound very practical :I expect some angels would put the sardines in to tins if he asked them to do that
Here you are said Mary and she put a saucer of sardines in front of the cat while she 🦐heated up a tin of chicken curry from Waitrose,
Around the kitchen she looked with sorrow because if Stan wete alive he would never have used a tin of curry for her dinner. Why am I so bad at cooking? I suppose I’ve never spent enough time doing it and also when you live by yourself it takes away the incentive
The Amazon assistant switched on the radio and they heard the end of the news.
Boris Johnson has an army and they are marching on London from Framlingham Castle because they can’t suffer the Home Secretary any more. When she compared asylum-seekers to insects even Boris Johnson was shocked. And Boris is a very rich man now so soon he will be the King.
Oh that will be very exciting. I believe
I think we’ve had enough excitement here since the referendum what we all want is so hot cocoa and an early night. I hope it’s not too late for that.
But will the citizens of London be able to sleep knowing that Boris Johnson is leading an army from Suffolk although if he meets beautiful women on the way he might take longer to get here. Let’s hope hes not fathering any more children. London is overcrowded already.
Before we go to bed we vegetate No need for teacher but a compost heap. And as we vegetate, we drift to sleep While in our dreams our little mind debates
But mostly we’re unknowing in this dark Where God himself may manifest at will. His dazzling darkness makes our souls be still And wait for strikes by living ,glowing spark.
But in the morning ,we come back to strife Take up our work and suffer every stroke. From sapling to the oldest,strongest oak Each must choose again its proper life
Every look we cast at others strikes Reflects and shows us what we have become And when there is no movement, we are done Our mind and heart have chosen what they like.
So in our end we vegetate again And no more rise to labour in the day We fertilise the fields passed on our way We show the end of woman and of man.
A daily round becomes our life and death. We live because we’re breathed by sacredness.
Saturday was shopping then a walk Epping,Ongar,Finchingfield by car Reading book reviews and chewing stalks Buttercups and meadows,Henry Moore
Driving back from Chelmsford, cornfields flamed Smoke and fire and earth, the sun dismayed Farmers working hard, a harvest, grain The sky through mist a cobalt blue displayed
Standon with its fords and wandering cows Little rivers,Essex, flowing down The Stort joins with the Lea,a gurglimg sound Water for the Thames and mossy ground
The earth feels like my body sacrificed An artist’s canvas stretched , a matricide
1 Fell off writers’ block into a pit of tigers.Bad layout. 2.Strangled by over-loving cat.
Verdict: guilty
3.Large bottle of ink bounced back off wall . thus broke skull.Suicide denied by dead man or wife as appropriate [Delete one]
4 Forgot to eat while writing long novel.Was not worth it
5 Forgot to sleep owing to inspiration.Stupid despite possessing unique genius
6.Killed by malfunction of new laptop.[Can be returned to Amazon free when body is removed]
7.Tried to meditate and fell out of the window. Oriental death 8 Tried to clean outside of the window with a microfibre cloth.A pane broke and cut his throat.Incidental death 9 Got depressed by lack of air.Jumped and lost balance killing two cats on the patio.Verdict Unfair 10.Thought he was sleepwalking and walked off roof of extension [only just completed].Insurance will be paid. 11.Fainted in church and was used as a human sacrifice.Jesus wept 12 Hit head on bannister while falling down the stairs.Euthanasia while dizzy.Resurrection imminent 13.Fought off wife but bitten by the dog .Both dead.Verdict, pointless end. 14 Wrote a best seller, got drunk and died of shock! 15 His website was declared a threat to humanity.Died of shame.
How sad I think of washing the bed sheets When my partner holds me in his arms Instead of kissing me he might well shout
Do I get more pleasure as I sleep Dreaming of a Bendix and its charms~ How sad I think of washing the bed sheets
Even grown up men are seen to weep Their lover wants a burglar to alarm Instead of kissing her , he might well shriek
Even when it’s raining cats and sleet Women hang their washing in the yard How sad I think of washing all the sheets
When we marry we don’t know these weights The world sits on our backs quite unadorned Instead of kissing him,she might well shriek
Now romance cannot last, and love lies lame Buying houses, babies, what to blame? Women are still fraying mind and sheets Instead of kissing lovers ,indiscreet
Mary was in the teal coloured kitchen of her almost detached house making a jam sponge pudding when the doorbell rang.She wiped her hands on her new purple trousers because she didn’t want to dirty a clean towel.
She found her colleague Dr Rosa Benchez standing nervously outside shivering
Come in , Mary cried.
Would you like a cup of tea? You need to sit by the fire and get warmer
I’d love that, Rosa said politely but distantly
A few minutes later they were sitting looking out of the bay window watching a blackbird sitting on the fence;they hoped it would start to sing
May I talk to you,Mary? I have got rather more agitated than ever before
.I am wondering if I need counselling or maybe shooting, she joked morosely
OK,said Mary cautiously.Has anything unusual happened ?
Yes, my sister has had her driving license taken away because of big panic attacks she had crossing the Humber Bridge …. you know how huge it is.She got out of the car and screamed,Help! Help!
That was dangerous with so much traffic about
She is furious and says we live in a Nazi state and is writing to the Times
Well, it can happen that you lose your licence,Mary said,but when she has learned to deal with the attacks she can re-apply and get her license back.Simple things like not eating and being tired can bring that on so I have heard.And fear of fear, too.
As well as that,Rosa said,my son has got a recurrence of cancer and is going onto some new drug-type chemo.My ex husband is very distressed and so am I as it was unexpected.
And even worse my new fiance Prof. Charlie Blogge has broken off our engagement with no reason.I can’t think of any at all.Shall I ever trust a man again?
He said I can keep the ring which is a blue sapphire ,supposedly, but when I had it valued they said I was mistaken and you can buy them on amazon for £57 and less.
So she took off the ring and hurled it into Mary’s coal fire where it looked very nice as it got hotter and hotter glowing like a lighthouse off Portland Bill in a sea storm or a banger about to explode
Good grief, said Mary.No wonder you are agitated.We may have to phone Dave the bisexual lovable paramedic available on the NHS 24 hours a day.Or we could have our hair permed and dyed red instead, she murmured to herself
Which of these events bothers you most,Rosa? She continued gently while hoping she would cope.
It is my own feelings that worry me most.I wake up feeling very sad and nervous;I wonder if I am having a breakdown.Then I feel worse as I turn it over in my mind trying to decide what to do.Then I get up and get food into me and think it all over and over again while drinking my tea.
Well, you know it is normal to feel sad, anxious or distraught when bad things happen,Mary told her.
But most people look happy when I see them in the town , Rosa shouted angrily
That is because being outside they put on a mask.They could be feeling worse than you.Anyway, why bother about that? We are all different.Some people think I am very calm but they don’t see me when I’m not.I go stiff like a piece of wood.Then I pass out
So what do you do? Rosa asked her nervously,twirling a golden ringlet around her finger as she watched her engagement ring melt in the fire.
I don’t do anything,Mary said.This is one of the fundamental errors in our society that action is needed for so many things and especially for negative feelings.But it’s usually part of life.Things pass.
I pretend I have a big round box inside me and I let the anxiety live in there nice and cosy until my mind has absorbed and dealt with the pain.Once my box was quite small but it has grown bigger now and so it has room for mad or bad feelings.I do little tasks and listen to music.
Then if I feel really bad I listen to Leonard Cohen and tell myself, he had it worse.But he made money out of it! Not that you can make money out of yours. though it’s worth musing about
Well,Rosa replied.Thank you,Mary.I am glad I am not the only one who feels so anxious sometimes.I shall try to get a box like yours.
You are welcome,said Mary jovially.Come round on Sunday for tea.Emile is out hunting but he loves to see you and so do I
The women hugged cautiously and Rosa went out looking less cold and nervous as she bravely carried her box away .It was invisible to the people walking nearby
In fiction, character is (almost) everything. We discuss “the elements of craft” – characterisation, plot, point of view, dialogue, detail, setting, style, and so forth – as if they were separable, as if you could disentangle them one from another. You can’t, of course; but when you filter almost all things through the specificities of character, many questions resolve themselves, almost miraculously.
Each of us is, in any given moment, the sum total of our temperament and experiences up to that point. Our baggage and idiosyncrasies may be suggested in our appearance; but much is invisible to the world. We all know that if there are three people in a room, each will tell a different story about what happened there – so ccharacter determines the story itself. But it also determines what will unfold – the plot.
As a writer, when you create a character, you don’t simply create his exterior (the wispy goatee, the receding hairline, the Liberty print shirt and expensive loafers); you must also come to know who he is (bullied in school, uneasy in friendships, veering between eager to please and cruel; vain but pretending not to be), and what has formed him (a Catholic school in the Sydney suburbs? A comprehensive in Exeter? Born with a silver spoon; or things started off comfortably, but his father’s business failed when he was 11? Raised in the shadow of three older siblings? Or alone with a single mum?). You must know his passions (loves pugs? Bicycle racing? First world war history? Talmudic study?) and his fears.
Once you know this person as well as you know yourself (or better), and once you put him, or her, in a particular place in a particular time, your character can only really act (or react) in a limited number of ways. He will notice only certain things, and those things only from a particular perspective; he will interact with others as only he can. If you’re using the first person, or the third person privileging this character, your diction and syntax – your very writing style – will be shaped by this person.
So much about a character is invisible, in fiction as in real life; but what lies beneath the surface will affect every aspect of your story. If you really take the time to figure out who you’re dealing with, much will become clear. • Claire Messud is a senior lecturer in creative writing at Harvard
Drawings of Londoners sleeping in the underground during the Blitz
I wonder if they were more companionable
It’s the summer and there is no pandemic nor epidemic
I have seen four doctors they tell me that I am very ill
I don’t think this is a healing environment quite
Quite
I am in the admissions hub and I’ve been here for 26 hours so maybe in another 10 hours I might be in a ward
Water clean my teeth lie down and sleep
When I was a child I didn’t want to sleep and when I went to bed it came easily but now I would like to sleep more and of course it’s harder to get what you desire