‘Gama has defeated them all, and more, but how is he to be Champion of the World if this half of the world is in hiding?’
‘Gama has defeated them all, and more, but how is he to be Champion of the World if this half of the world is in hiding?’
Sign in to Granta.com.
‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
‘Write the story that unsettles and excites you, that keeps you coming back to your desk.’
‘Some of these bigger characters, Muhammad Ali or Lennox Lewis, they can become these mythologic, mythological characters, or these godlike figures.’
Declan Ryan on contemporary boxing.
‘When you said so loudly that you were the best, that you were worth the top dollar, then not just every game but every play became important.’
Nico Walker on the rise and fall of American football, from Jim Thorpe to Deion Sanders.
‘As Prarthna took photographs, I stood in the doorway watching the school-age girls with taut muscles and intense focus lock in bouts across the length of the hall.’
Snigdha Poonam on wrestling and the photography of Prarthna Singh.
‘After all, they were landlady and tenant; what right did he have to meddle?’
