on swifts, an essay from Helen Macdonald's book Vesper Flights

www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/m...

thelondonmagazine.org/article/fict...

www.awritersnotebook.org/p/the-list

popula.com/2018/12/27/t...

www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f...

I don't agree with relatability as the ultimate arbiter of good writing, but sometimes it just is lovely to read your experiences in someone else's expert untangling of their own, and to feel something within you loosen, too

On the @amykey.bsky.social theme, I like to read this when I've lost my way a bit in my thinking about writing. I need reminders that writing is a constant practice in gauging where the line is between what to offer and what's important to keep just for me

amykey.substack.com/p/in-the-blu...

I'm looking forward to reading your upcoming memoir mentioned here! I v much agree with your emphasis on the importance of demonstrating real life examples and experiences over theory-heavy exploration in helping people to better understand what "translation" means in the literary context

It was niggling me to remember where I wrote about that as it's so relevant to this! I found it, screenshots attached :)

Yes the AI aspect is v relevant. I wrote somewhere about that last year-ish, something along the lines of how integral it is to reading translation that you can feel that a human sat there and considered the sentences and sentiment/intention deeply, which is something we can't get from AI obvs

Bonsai by Guadalupe Nettel, from Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories

granta.com/bonsai/

sharing another favourite

thelondonmagazine.org/article/essa...

this is the piece Heather quotes from- it's worth reading as an accompaniment, but also because it contains important insights in its own right - those that an "outsider" would see so clearly about a place that locals maybe can't see anymore

camillagrudova.substack.com/p/man-countr...

for me, seeing them is synonymous with hearing the cuckoo and spotting cuckooflowers in meadows and lawns. This time of year is arguably the best time of year. But then, I'm likely to say that each time I'm reminded of a new butterfly or flower or bird's particular standout moment of the year

I was also re-reading lots of Gwendoline Riley write-ups because I finished First Love so did the same thing I did after My Phantoms which was Google and read anything I could find about her which is what I do when I read or watch anything that immerses me like that

www.vulture.com/article/gwen...