Andrew Oldham

Simon Armitage Web Site

Simon Armitage Web Site

News from Simon’s website, click on Pennine Way:

‘ The Pennine Way – Can You Help?

Hello.  In July 2010 I’m walking the Pennine Way and writing a book about it.  All the guide books recommend (in fact some insist) that the walk should be done from South to North, to keep the weather at your back and the sun out of your face.  Despite which, I’m walking it from top to bottom, starting in Kirk Yetholm and finishing in Edale.  It’s because I live close to the southern end of the trail, and I like the idea of walking home.  Also, that way it will be downhill, right?

More importantly, I’m doing the walk as a poet, in the style of the old troubadours.  Wherever I stop for the night I’m going to give a poetry reading.  There will be no charge for the reading, but at the end of the evening I’m going to pass a hat around, and people can give me what they think I’m worth.  I want to see if I can pay my way from start to finish on the proceeds of my poetry.  So, it’s basically 264 miles of begging.

If you live on or near one of the recognised stopping points on the Pennine Way and would be willing to host or organise a reading for me, be it in a room in a pub, a village hall, a church, a library, a school, a barn, or even in your living room, do get in touch by emailing me at: simonpennineway@aol.com

If you can throw in B&B and a packed lunch, point me in the right direction next day, sherpa my gear along to the next stop, or even want to walk that leg of the journey with me, so much the better.  I’m pretty well house-trained and know at least three moderately funny anecdotes.’

The Literary Platform

The Literary Platform

This is a great website. The Literary Platform is dedicated to showcasing projects experimenting with literature and technology. It brings together comment from industry figures and key thinkers, and encourages debate.

ARCHIVE: Hunter S. Thompson – Loathing and Fear for a Nation 1939-2005

Andrew wrote this obituary in 2005. ‘It was an awful few months in 2005,’ says Andrew, ‘A number of poets, writers and personal friends died. I had a spate of obituaries to write for a number of magazines. This is one of many I did on Hunter S. Thompson, it was written 24 hours after his suicide. He would have hated this obituary’.

Hunter S. Thompson: Loathing and Fear for a Nation 1939-2005. Article by Andrew Oldham

Hunter S. Thompson was much more than drink, drugs, guns and motorcycles, he was a million miles from the paranoid Doonesbury character, he was a continent away from the media portrayal of him in his latter years. This was a writer trying to make sense of not just a country but a home; and in many ways coming to terms with a growing right wing government and his own impending old age. Unafraid to view his thoughts and ideas, he did seem more and more afraid that he was unable to stop the tide, that the America he loved, the America he celebrated, the America he admonished had changed so rapidly.

This was not a liberal hippie or rebel without clue crying out with anger against apathy, this was not Howard Stern, he wasn’t climbing on any old band wagon. Thompson had seen the blooming and inevitable death of the American Dream in favour of money, control and mass paranoia. The America he would grow old in wasn’t the America of his youth or aspirations. Thompson had and was coming to terms with modern America, the puzzle that became the USA.

Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky on the 18th July 1939. His father, an insurance agent died from a rare immune disorder whilst the young Thompson was at High School. The young Thompson up till then had grown up in a comfortable, affluent home. Thompson was everything middle America wanted, a member of prestigious club called the Athenaeum Literary Association, he ran with rich, socially elite young people of Louisville and would have inevitably become a Republican but the death of his father forced his mother to take a job as a librarian to support the family. Suddenly he was the poor kid amongst his friends, the dreams of an Ivy League school were now beyond him. With increasing frustration and anger, the young Thompson rebelled against the Athenaeum Literary Association and became famous for outrageous pranks; flooding the ground floor of his high school with three inches of water, dumping a truckload of pumpkins in front of a downtown hotel. During this period he turned to writing and began to publish bitter and sarcastic essays for the literary association’s newsletter, including one called, Open Letter to the Youth of Our Nation, signed John J. Righteous-Hypocrite: “Young people of America, awake from your slumber of indolence and harken to the call of the future. Do you realize you are rapidly becoming a doomed generation?”

During his senior year, Thompson was arrested several times for vandalism and attempted robbery. He was eventually barred from the literary association, and spent thirty days in jail. When released, he joined the United States Air Force as a provision of his parole. He was honourably discharged in 1958 and began writing for any small newspaper that would take him. 1964 would be turning point for the young Thompson. During that year the California attorney general issued a report on a dangerous new motorcycle gang known as the Hell’s Angels, and the national media picked up the story.

Thompson was hired by The Nation magazine to write a brief article about the gang. A book followed: “For fifteen hundred dollars I would have done the definitive text on hammerhead sharks and stayed in the water with them for three months!”. With the advance Thompson bought a motorcycle and began his investigative journey; for several months he followed Hell’s Angels gangs across the States, until five Hell’s Angels suddenly turned on him and beat him senseless. In 1967, he published his book, Hell’s Angels. The first edition sold out immediately and broke onto the New York Times bestseller list. Thompson had a few problems with the sudden fame and the ensuing book tour; he showed up drunk for most of his interviews. By 1969 Thompson was one of the most prominent journalists of his generation. Writing for Playboy magazine, Thompson developed his first true piece of Gonzo literature, The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy. Playboy turned it down because the editors felt that it was too meanspirited. In reality, Thompson had stepped beyond the who, what, where, when, and why of mainstream journalism and delivered something quite different: a piece where the writer was not objective but subjective, allowing his own personality and impressions of his subject to emerge. Thompson had created and coined the phrase: Gonzo Journalism.

In 1971, Thompson published his most famous book, Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, later made into a film by Terry Gilliam. Now firmly immersed in writing the life he lived, Thompson would become embroiled in the drug culture: “I haven’t found a drug yet that can get you anywhere near as high as a sitting at a desk writing, trying to imagine a story no matter how bizarre it is, [or] going out and getting into the weirdness of reality and doing a little time on the Proud Highway.” This sense of ‘fleeting’ would always be part of Thompson’s psyche, to him politics, history, countries and journalism would come and go, but the ride was worth grabbing hold of.

Thompson once wrote to his friend Susan Haselden: “In brief, I find that I’ve never channeled my energy long enough to send it in any one direction. I’m all but completely devoid of a sense of values: psychologically unable to base my actions on any firm beliefs. I seem to be unable to act consistently or effectively, because I have no values on hich to base my decisions. As I look back, I find that I’ve been taught to believe in nothing. I have no god and I find it impossible to believe in man. On every side of me, I see thousands engaged in the worship of money, security, prestige symbols, and even snakes”.

Hunter S. Thompson was found dead on Sunday the 20th February 2005 in his Aspen-area home. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 67.

Tags: Andrew Oldham, Hunter S Thompson, Obituary

Merry Christmas

Just a quick message to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We hope you have a peaceful and wonderful season full of mince pies, egg nog, snowballs (throwing and drinking kind), turkey and beef, pies and left over sandwiches, roast spuds and gravy. Do remember though, and think of those who find this time of year incredibly difficult, these people need our support and sympathy at this time of year. Please adopt a vegetarian this Christmas and show them that meat is their friend.

Joking aside, there are those who are less fortunate and those who cannot be home this Christmas. Think of those who may need your support this year and give generously to those that have fallen by the wayside:

http://www.emmaus.org.uk/ and http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/

Christmas comes once a year but charity, sympathy, empathy and support can last a lifetime.

- Andrew Oldham, Lisa Barnes and David Waddington 19/12/2009

Writers Retreats

With the credit crunch biting, don’t deny yourself the chance to recharge the batteries and be creative. Alizon Brunning has passed this onto me, Alizon is an old friend, and this is her new venture. This is a stunning region and a wonderful place to stay.

The apartments are in our own lovingly restored town house which is located right at the heart of the Arabic quarter with its ancient historic buildings and cobbled winding streets. The apartments have been designed as romantic hideaways where you can get away from it all, yet have access to lively bars, and shops. From the terraces you can watch the light change over the olive groves, see the farmer plough his field, the goatherd drive his animals home and spot many birds of prey. Summer evenings bring spectacular shows of shooting stars.In a few minutes you can walk to the magnificent gorge with its ruined flour mills and abundance of flora and fauna. Five minutes brings you to two traditional squares surrounded by lively bars where the tapas are still free and top quality Rioja is served. A short drive takes you to the hot springs after which the town is named. Swimming can be in the local pool or at Lake Bermajales only a 15 minute drive away. An artist’s and writer’s paradise.

Tags: Alizon Brunning, Andalucia, Writers Retreat

Final Week to Book: Andrew Oldham

20/06/2009 ANDREW OLDHAM: Re-writing

FINAL BOOKINGS BY 06/06/2009

Anyone can write but only writers can re-write. This is skills based workshop looking at the authorial voice, reader response, publishing markets, characterisation, genre conventions and exercises to keep you writing. For poets and writers.

 Andrew Oldham is an award winning writer and Creative Writing Lecturer for Edge Hill University and the OU. His work has been heard on BBC Radio 4 and has appeared on the pages of North American Review, Transmission, Ambit and Gargoyle. He has edited several small press magazines. He is published by Route Books.

This is one of several workshops available over summer. You can view the full programme and book online or find information on sending a cheque at:

http://www.incwriters.co.uk/KitschenWorkshops2009.htm

Tags: Andrew Oldham, Dormouse and the Teapot, Kitschen, Mossley, Rewriting, Workshops

New Blog

I’ve also been busy working on a new blog setup for Incwriters utilising the good people at WordPress. This is a blog open to any WordPress user interested in reading, writing or publishing. Publishers can join and showcase their new publications and more importantly it will give opinion from readers, writers and poets on the state of the industry. Some times these opinions may be controversial or even wrong, but the spirit is to create debate and discussion on the blog. What will be the future of reading and writing if we don’t discuss it?

Visit the blog at: http://incwriters.wordpress.com/ and register with WordPress at: http://en.wordpress.com/signup/

Then send your signup email to incwriters@yahoo.co.uk with information on you and your work.

Tags: Blog, Incwriters

Save Salt Publishing

As many of you will know, Jen and Christopher have been struggling to keep Salt moving since June last year when the economic downturn began to affect our press. Their three year funding ends this year: they’ve £4,000 due from Arts Council England in a final payment, but cannot apply through Grants for the Arts for further funding for Salt’s operations. Spring sales were down nearly 80% on the previous year, and despite April’s much improved trading, the past twelve months has left them with a budget deficit of over £55,000. It’s proving to be a very big hole and they’re having to take some drastic measures to save their business. Here’s how you can help them save Salt and all their work with hundreds of authors around the world. JUST ONE BOOK

1. Please buy just one book, right now. They don’t mind from where, you can buy it from Salt or from Amazon, your local shop or megastore, online or offline. If you buy just one book now, you’ll help to save Salt. Timing is absolutely everything here. They need cash now to stay afloat. If you love literature, help keep it alive. All it takes is just one book sale. Go to our online store and help us keep going.

2. Share this note on Facebook or your Forum. Tell your friends. If they can spread the word about their cash crisis, they can hopefully find more sales and save our literary publishing. Remember it’s just one book, that’s all it takes to save us. Please do it now.

GO TO: http://www.saltpublishing.com

Tags: Poets, Publisher, Salt Publishing, Save Poetry

Frank O’Connor Longlist 2009

Following on form last week’s Edge Hill Short Story Prize shortlist comes the list of short story collections longlisted for the 2009 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. The Award has one of the biggest prizes for short story writers, €35,000. Yet, what makes €35,000 story? Well the long list this year has expanded from 2008′s thirty-eight to a stagger fifty-seven short story collections. The great thing is that the big boy publishers are weighing up against the independent small presses (including Andrew’s publisher, Route). We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Anthony Croppers collection.

The judges for the award are Lloren A. Foster, Milka Jankowska and Vincent McDonnell. The shortlist of 5 titles will be announced in late June, and the winner in September.

For more on the award visit The Munster Literature Centre.

Here is the longlist:

Sana Krasikov, One More Year, Portobello Books Ltd
Petina Gappah, An Elegy for Easterly, Faber and Faber Limited
Eleanor Bluestein, Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales, BkMk Press (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Bonnie Jo Cambell, American Salvage,Wayne State University Press
Dennis Cooper, Ugly Man: Stories, Harper Perennial
David Eagleman, Sum, Pantheon Books (Random House)
Mary Gaitskill, Don’t Cry, Pantheon Books (Random House)
Lauren Groff, Delicate Edible Bird, Hyperion
Daniel A. Hoyt, Then We Saw The Flames, University of Massachusetts Press
Ian MacMillan, Our People, BkMk Press (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
James Mathews, Last Known Position, University of North Texas Press
Christopher Meeks, Months and Season, White Whisker Books
Lydia Peelle, Reasons for and Advantage of Breathing, Harper Perennial
Andrew Porter, The Theory of Light and Matter, University of Georgia Press
Glen Pourciau, Invite, University of Iowa Press
Midge Raymond, Forgetting English, Eastern Washington University Press
Wells Tower, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Anthony Cropper, Nature’s Magician, Route
Jane Feaver, Love Me Tender, Harvill Secker (The Random House Group)
Paul Flynn, Crossing the Border, CC Publishing
Tania Hershman, The White Road and Other Stories, Salt Publishing
Sue Hubbard, Rothko’s Red, Salt Publishing
Kazuo Ishiguro, Nocturnes, Faber and Faber Limited
Sushma Joshi, The End of the World, FinePrint Books
Alex Keegan, Ballistics, Salt Publishing
Charles Lambert, The Scent of Cinnamon, Salt Publishing
James Lasdun, It’s Beginning to Hurt, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Tom Lee, Greenfly, Harvill Secker (The Random House Group)
Frederick Lightfoot, Fetish and Other Stories, Superscript
André Mangeot, A Little Javanese, Salt Publishing
Sean O’Brien, The Silence Room, Comma Press
John Saul, As Rivers Flow, Salt Publishing
Ali Smith, The First Person, Penguin Group Canada
Mark Illis, Tender, Salt Publishing
Simon Van Booy, Love Begins in Winter, Harper Perennial
Tricia Dower, Silent Girl, Innana Publications and Education Inc.
Hannah Holborn, Fierce, McClelland & Stewart
Pamela Stewart, Elysium, Anvil Press
Deborah Willis, Vanishing and Other Stories, Penguin Group Canada
Kuzhali Manickavel, Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings, Blaft Publications
Arnon Grunberg, Amuse-Bouche, Comma Press
Kristiina Ehin, A Priceless Nest, Oleander Press
Maike Wetzel (Trans. Lyn Marven), Long Days, Comma Press
Gyrơir Elíasson (Trans. Victoria Cribb), Stone Tree, Comma Press
Jahnavi Barua, Next Door, Penguin Books ( India )
Jasmine Anita Yvette D’Costa, Curry is Thicker Than Water, BookLand Press
Michael J. Farrell, Life in the Universe, The Stinging Fly Press
Robert Graham, The Only Living Boy, Salt Publishing
Alan McMonagle, Liar, Liar, Words on the Street
Philip Ó Ceallaigh, The Pleasant Light of Day, Penguin Ireland
Kiril Bozhinov, Eclipses: Stories of Disappearances and Reappearance, Beyond Art Productions
Shih-Li-Kow, Ripples and Other Short Stories, Silverfish Books
Jeanette Galpin, Aroha and the River, Maungatiro Press of Marton
Charlotte Grimshaw Singularity, Vintage
Sefi Atta, Lawless, Farafina Books
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck, Fourth Estate LTD
Empar Moliner (Trans. Peter Bush), I Love You When I’m Drunk, Comma Press

Tags: Anthony Cropper, Comma Press, Frank O'Connor Award, Route

Edge Hill Prize shortlist 2009

Andrew has been a reader for this award since its inception and is proud to support the award. The five short story collections on the shortlist for the £5000 Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story 2009 have just been announced: (1)Shena Mackay, The Atmospheric Railway, Random House, (2) Gerard Donovan, Country of the Grand, Faber, (3) Anne Enright, Yesterday’s Weather, Random House , (4) Chris Beckett, The Turing Test, Elastic Press, (5) Ali Smith, The First Person and Other Stories, Hamish Hamilton.

Tags: Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story