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Posts tagged ‘On writing’

May 23

words
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Close Encounters of the Reading Kind

And then I came upon noted American Spanish-to-English literary translator Edith Grossman’s comment on translation, which she calls ‘a kind of reading as deep as any encounter with a literary text can be.’ And I thought, how many authors have I read in such a manner. Which writer has transcended the average and beyond to stand out and make me delve deep into their works, the charm of their words and the feelings they evoked. How many of these books managed to remain alluring over the years? Which writer delighted with words in the same way a painter does with colours and images or a singer with voice and lyrics?

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Dec 26

download-21
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The Year That Was

The sun is setting. Already it grows dark. It is that time of the year when another year gives way to yet another. In four days time we will bid adieu to 2011 forever. For so many it was the last year of their lives. For so many others, it marked new beginnings, of hope, togetherness and renewal. The world will welcome the new year with fireworks and merrymaking. Many will be waiting to start something anew. Many will make promises to themselves they will not keep.

Twenty eleven was a landmark year in so many ways. Things changed. The Apple is no longer the same. It’s a year since J D Salinger died. For the first time…

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Dec 18

books
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6 Gifts for the Debut Novelist

The debut author is slightly better off. He has less needs than the struggling writer. He sees light at the end of the tunnel after a long struggle. His days of rejection slips are over. His book has been released. He now eagerly awaits reactions from the reading public and critics. In this holiday season, what could be the best gift for him? Here is my list.

1. An honest review, and a fair review, which will establish his standing amongst his peers. It will tell him where his book stands in the milieu, and might give it the necessary fillip to make it to a bestseller list, when his joy will know no bounds…

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Dec 15

black and white writer
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9 Gifts for the Struggling Writer

The struggling writer is the worst off of all. He stares at a dark future, fumbling for a sliver of light in a dark tunnel of words, and not sure of what the uncertain future held for him. He is alone in his struggle, writing from his heart, not knowing whether his work will be appreciated one day, or whether he will be stuck in the doldrums forever. In this holiday season, what could be the best gift for him? Here is my list.

1. A critique of his work, preferably free (for they are expensive), which tells him what he is doing right, and where he needs to park his words or where his plot is going all awry. It will push him in the right direction…

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Dec 11

reading man
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Things You Can Do with Books

So you think books are only for reading. Think again. Books have been put to good use by mankind for as long as they have been in existence. Books are the creation of imagination (and research), but the use they have been put to belies imagination. From keeping warm (remember the movie The Day After Tomorrow) to their use as weapons of self-defense (again, lots of movies) to … well, the list goes on and on. Here, in a nutshell, are my list of nine interesting things you can do with books.

1. Use as a pillow, though it may be uncomfortable, both for the book (especially one with a bad back), and you, unless it is face down…

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Dec 6

woty
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The Word of the Year 2011

It is the time of the year to select the word or phrase which best defines 2011. What word or phrase reflects the ideas and events which occupied the world this year? How do you select such a word? According to the American Dialect Society, the best word of the year candidates will be: demonstrably new or newly popular in 2011,widely and/or prominently used in 2011, indicative or reflective of the popular discourse, and not a peeve or a complaint about overuse or misuse.

The Oxford English Dictionary has already made its choice. The one word or phrase that characterized the past 12 months is squeezed middle, a phrase first suggested…

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Nov 30

jamil-ahmad
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Are Writers Late Bloomers?

It took more than three decades for Pakistani writer and retired civil-servant Jamil Ahmad to get published at the age of sevety-eight. The first draft of what became The Wandering Falcon thirty years later was written in his spare time in the 1970 and completed in 1974. His wife had suggested that instead of writing bad poetry, he should focus on writing about the tribal areas, where they had spent more than a decade of their lives. The manuscript gathered dust for close to three decades until 2008 when it found its way to Penguin UK. The Wandering Falcon was published earlier this year in India and is due out in the United States next month. This week…

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Nov 24

Blank-paper-in-typewriter-001
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Memories of My Typewriter

It is not much to look at: blue in colour, faded in places, and scratched in others. Its make is Japanese, and from a time before Litton sold its office supply business in 1979 to Olivetti. Then, portable typewriters were a luxury; it even has a metallic cover with a built-in handle. Most offices and homes had large gargantuan ones sitting amongst the clutter on desks like lazy Feng shui buddhas.

It came my way from one of my great-uncles. He was a journalist in Assam when there were few, writing for newspapers such as The Statesman and The Deccan Herald. One day, just like other people, he passed away. After his funeral…

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Nov 20

l
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The Longest Words…

The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries at 45 letters is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which refers to a lung disease from inhalation of fine silica particles. The word was deliberately coined to be the longest word in English. The longest non-technical word in major dictionaries is floccinaucinihilipilification at 29 letters. It is ‘the act of estimating something as worthless.’ The next longest word at 28 letters is antidisestablishmentarianism. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often accepted as the best-known ‘longest word.’

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Jun 21

words-painting5
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Penning a picture, colouring a word

A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound – Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, 1862

Painting came much before writing,of that there is no doubt. Simple paintings of different objects gave way to pictograms, the first system of writing. Cuneiform, the ancient Sumerian system or hieroglyphs, the ancient Egyptian system of writing were essentially pictograms. Both painting and writing has evolved over time and generations to reach its present state. But when it comes to getting the message across, can writing hold a candle to painting? Or is painting a lesser art…

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