Jesse Ball and Josie Mitchell discuss the process of writing about different worlds, the fraudulence of speech, and why Jesse named his pet dog Goose.
‘Confusion is the only natural response to the world, the alternative would be to just fall in with everyone else’s plans.’
Jesse Ball and Josie Mitchell discuss the process of writing about different worlds, the fraudulence of speech, and why Jesse named his pet dog Goose.
‘Feelings can be very obscure but numbers never lie.’
Kevin Brazil on metrics, obsession and fitness.
‘An intense workout is an ecstasy of punishment packaged as self-improvement.’
Mary Wellesley on exercise, ritual and Barry’s Bootcamp.
‘I was not good at sports because I would not do sports because I did not have the body for sports because I would not do sports.’
Saba Sams on girlhood, embodiment and avoiding sports.
‘Following United rarely brings me any great joy and most often it depresses me. If I could disengage, I would.’
Jonny Thakkar on Manchester United.
‘I deployed my body against an opponent like a blunt and effective instrument.’
John Patrick McHugh on playing Gaelic football.
Jesse Ball (b. 1978, New York) is known for absurd and philosophical works of social criticism, often in the form of novels. His prize-winning books have been published in many languages. Since 2007 he has been on the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
More about the author →‘When I was 4 or 5 I sent the Queen of England drawings of monsters.’
‘People love to say it to you like it counts: Oh, Lucia, she will live on in your memory.’
‘The place was so squat and pitiless, so endless, repetitive, fluorescent.’
Fiction by Jesse Ball.
‘My friends, what I mean is, this life is shallow like a plate. It goes no further.’
‘You are learning – learning a great deal. It is too much for you, so your body bows out. Then you wake up and you can continue.’
Phillip Lewis on writing emotional autobiography. ‘A sincere observation followed by a sincere utterance is the most powerful and effective form of communication.’
Granta magazine is run by the Granta Trust (charity number 1184638)
The copyright to all contents of this site is held either by Granta or by the individual authors, and none of the material may be used elsewhere without written permission. For reprint enquiries, contact us.