Tag: identity
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52and40/37 White Noise
I love the odd day in Glasgow. As familiarity grows, I’m beginning to link the city up with maps, memories, family folklore and reference points in the past, present and future. I like the break from Edinburgh’s tourism too, when I’m off west. Interactions with people and the pavement feel markedly more real and more easily…
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52and40/25 Regenerative Circuits
The hardest bit of writing for me isn’t finding ideas or receiving rejections. Both of those are plentiful for me at this stage. Both of those are great teachers too – to be appreciated and understood just as the nice, easy bits are. For me, the hardest bit’s waiting for feedback. The no-woman’s land of yay or nay.…
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52and40/17 Woman Down
I’ve wondered who this guy is a lot. Turns out he’s Everyman. He’s Joe Public, apparently, the work of German artist Stephan Balkenhol. And yet…. There are more women than men in Edinburgh (and Scotland). How about a sculpture of the city’s Everywoman, instead? Or perhaps alongside? According to population data, she’d be between 16 and 29, living…
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52and40/10 Air In Your Hair
I’ve never seen a Scottish Autumn and Winter as beautiful, so far, as what 2016’s given. The beauty in these seasons is going a long, gentle way to keeping breathing through the humanity shitstorm we’ve seen happen around the world this year. It’s easier to believe we’re not all doomed when nature’s on its best behaviour. As my…
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Of Mice and Men
Internalised misogyny’s kinda like the rat who lived in our back garden. Every now and then it poked its head out of a small hole in the dry stane dyke and scared the living shit out of me (but thrilled the dog). For soooooooo long I believed the rat was simply a large mouse. Then, faced with…
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52and40/1 The Importance of Good Lighting
Autumn has arrived and keeps inviting summer back onto the stage for another bow and enthusiastic applause. My thoughts are turning to putting the garden to bed for winter and revving up for draft 2 of my big writing project; editing workshops await (yay!) We moseyed with friends in Glasgow at the weekend,…
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We Need To Talk About Clearing
Well, I do. In this year of turning to salute and wink at my forties as the fresh new chapter, I’ve been telling you about all the metaphysical things I’ve cleared and neglecting to tell you about all the literal stuff that’s been leaving the bodily grasp, too. So, in order of colossal effort to nae…