Explore Essays and memoir
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New New World
Peter Conrad
‘I left Australia at the age of twenty, carrying with me everything I thought I would need.’
Ann Beattie | First Sentence
Ann Beattie
‘Several times I’ve wanted to title something one thing, but have realized or been persuaded it isn’t a good idea.’
God and Me
Diana Athill
‘Perhaps it’s just that the human mind is incapable of imagining anything that doesn’t begin.’
Rabih Alameddine | Portrait of My Father
Rabih Alameddine
‘I come from a family that hangs pictures of family on its walls.’
When Did I Become a Writer?
Mia Couto
‘I am often asked when I became a writer, and I have taken to not rushing my answer.’
Means of Transport
John Berger
‘Use these photos as means of transport. Ride on them. No passes needed. Go close. Imprudently close. They leave every minute.’
John Berger on images of violent dispossession from South Africa and Lesotho.
How to Read the Comics
Ariel Dorfman
‘Unlike the other comic strips in the magazine, ‘The Adventures of Mampato’ was conceived, illustrated, and entirely produced in Chile.’
People Don’t Get Depressed in Nigeria
Ike Anya
‘He has come to us against the wishes of his family and the village and I feel that I owe him something.’
An Education
Lynn Barber
‘The whole meeting seemed completely unreal but then everything at that time seemed unreal, so I said ‘Yes, by all means make the film,’ and went back to the hospital and forgot about her.’
Trouble at the Waterworks
Edward Blishen
‘Old age is a sustained process of injury. You are being very distinctly shot at.’
According to Your Will
Naomi Alderman
‘Thank you, God,’ said the boys, ‘for not making me a woman.’ ‘Thank you, God,’ said the girls, ‘for making me according to Your will.’
