‘My antipathy to military culture started early and it wasn't helped by living in a garrison town.’
From a distance it looks more like a running stitch on a pillow or sampler than a collage of men. About one hundred soldiers are arranged by height on a tiered stand, each horizontal row of heads hyphenated by the shining belt of the man behind, each vertical line of brass buttons punctuated by a wh…
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‘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.
‘In Edwardian days, if you were growing up in England (though Maurice was from Ireland) your life was regimented.’
‘Places don’t always remember what they are.’
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo talks about her novel When We Were Birds.
‘Under the skin, our skeletons / are braided with tendons – roses on an openwork arch’ Two poems by Beth Bachmann
‘It’s a story that happens to you once and then lives with you forever.’
An excerpt from Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde.
‘Only history makes her lonely, only after makes her first.’
A poem by Claire Schwartz.
‘Question: ‘What do a Trabant and a condom have in common?’ Answer: ‘Both decrease the pleasure of the ride.’’
Durs Grünbein introduces photography by Martin Roemers.
