Norman Collins
Posted on 2nd December 2019 |
Books
As the papers fill with ‘Best Of’ lists we’re being presented with all sorts of interesting books for the winter months, plus some not-very-well-hidden PR promotions. Bookshops charge for table space and listings magazine charge for entries, so to counteract these here’s a selection from my current reading pile, my only agenda being enjoyment and/or […]
Posted on 19th August 2018 |
Books
Norman Collins had the prime requirement for a writer; he was naturally interested in the daily lives of others. He was a populist and a bit of an ethnographer, but these days we remember him better for his other career, first running radio’s Light Programme (which had grown out of popular entertainment for the forces), […]
What makes a book, a film, a scene, a song or a play stay in the mind? It’s a question writers wrestle with constantly. Often it’s a case of the ‘sevens’; when you’re seven years old everything is exciting and new, and any old rubbish sticks with you forever. I’m horrified at how often the […]
Posted on 29th September 2016 |
The Arts
Surprise at the unexpected is one of the most delightful things I can think of. I remember watching children’s faces when they peered into a room at the British Museum and saw Anthony Gormley’s installation featuring hundreds of little clay people looking back at them. For a moment they felt like gods. The delight of […]