This Space of Writing

by Mitchelmore, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781782799801
• ISBN10: 178279980X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-12-11
• Publisher: Zero Books

Summary

What does 'literature' mean in our time? While names like Proust, Kafka and Woolf still stand for something, what that something actually is has become obscured by the claims of commerce and journalism. Perhaps a new form of attention is required. Stephen Mitchelmore began writing online in 1996 and became Britain's first book blogger soon after, developing the form so that it can respond in kind to the singular space opened by writing. Across 44 essays, he discusses among many others the novels of Richard Ford, Jeanette Winterson and Karl Ove Knausgaard, the significance for modern writers of cave paintings and the moai of Easter Island, and the enduring fallacy of 'Reality Hunger', all the while maintaining a focus on the strange nature of literary space. By listening to the echoes and resonances of writing, this book enables a unique encounter with literature that many critics habitually ignore. With an introduction by the acclaimed novelist Lars Iyer, This Space of Writing offers a renewed appreciation of the mystery and promise of writing.

Author Biography

Stephen Mitchelmore began reviewing books online in 1996 and four years later became Britain's first book blogger at Spike Magazine. Since then he has written reviews for various publications, including the TLS, but now devotes his time to writing his widely read book blog This Space. He lives in Brighton and works as a designer in the e-learning industry.