Tag Archives: Jo Bloom

In the Media, February 2016, part two

Posted on by
3

In the media is a fortnightly round-up of features written by, about or containing female writers that have appeared during the previous fortnight and I think are insightful, interesting and/or thought provoking. Linking to them is not necessarily a sign that I agree with everything that’s said but it’s definitely an indication that they’ve made me think. I’m using the term ‘media’ to include social media, so links to blog posts as well as traditional media are likely and the categories used are a guide, not definitives.

harper-lee_3374329b

On Friday, the death of Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird was announced. Obituaries followed from Ed Pilkington and Matthew Teague in The Guardian; Eric Hamburger also in The Guardian; Casey N. Cep in The New Yorker, and The Irish Times, and appraisals of her work from Michiko Kakutani, ‘In Harper Lee’s Novels, a Loss of Innocence as Children and Again as Adults‘ in the New York Times; Sarah Churchwell, ‘Harper Lee: author battled to reconcile racial justice with a racially unjust society‘ and Elaine Showalter, ‘Harper Lee: an American novelist deserving of serious attention‘ both in The Guardian; Michelle Dean, ‘Did Go Set a Watchman spoil Harper Lee’s literary legacy?‘ in The Guardian; Katy Waldman, ‘What Is Harper Lee’s Legacy After Go Set a Watchman?‘ on Slate, and Alex Clark, ‘Why Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird endures to tell its tale of radical change‘ in The Observer

You might have heard that a fortnight ago Beyoncé released a new song ‘Formation’ which she went on to perform at the SuperBowl. Lots of people had lots to say about it. LaSha wrote, ‘Kendrick Lamar won’t face backlash like Beyoncé: Socially conscious art, sexual expression and the policing of black women’s politics‘, Priscilla Ward wrote, ‘White Beyoncé haters don’t get it: “Formation” isn’t “race-baiting” — but it is unapologetically about race‘ both on Salon; Banseka Kayembe wrote, ‘Beyonce Gets Political: Here’s Why it Matters‘ on the Huffington Post; Shantrelle Lewis wrote, ‘“Formation” Exploits New Orleans’ Trauma‘ on Slate; Nikita Richardson did ‘A Deep Dive into the Important, Unapologetic Blackness of Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’‘ on Hello Giggles; Suzanne Moore said, ‘Black Pride at the Super Bowl? Beyoncé embodies a new political moment‘ in The Guardian; The Pool asked, ‘Four women on what Beyoncé’s Formation means to them‘, and Anna Leszkiewicz said, ‘Beyoncé and #BlackLivesMatter: why “Formation” is her most radical release to date‘ in the New Statesman.

image

Last weekend was Valentine’s Day; there was plenty of writing around that too. Emma Dowling wrote, ‘Love’s Labour’s Cost: The Political Economy of Intimacy‘ on Verso Books; Eleanor Franzén wrote ‘V Daze‘ on Elle Thinks; Eileen Myles, ‘on the Excruciating Pain of Waiting for Love‘ and Heather Haverilesky, ‘What Romance Really Means After 10 Years of Marriage‘ on The Cut; Marie Phillips wrote, ‘What I learnt from a year of being in love‘ and Emer O’Toole shared, ‘The Rules, and how I fell in love‘ both on The Pool; Lauren Duca asked, ‘Is There Such a Thing As a Feminist Marriage Proposal?‘, Laura June revealed, ‘What I Thought Romance Meant, Age 12–Present‘ and Meaghan O’Connell told us, ‘Getting Married in One Week Was the Most Romantic Thing I Ever Did‘ all in The Cut; Emma Flowers wrote, ‘Finding, Nearly Losing and Finally Building Love Across Two Genders‘ on the Huffington Post; Heidi Julavits on ‘My High-School Boyfriend, the Con Artist‘ in The Cut; Tiffany Yannetta wrote, ‘Lights, Camera, Love‘ on the history of dating shows on Racked, and Alana Massey said, ‘Tinder Is the New Meet-Cute‘ in The Cut.

Congratulations to Ríona Judge McCormack who won the inaugural Galley Beggar Press short story competition with ‘Blackburn‘. And The Stella Prize announced its 12 book longlist for 2016.

chibs_2588264b

The best of the rest:

On or about books/writers/language:

author-photo-sarai-walker-marion-ettlinger-550a8180e805696201a6f51f80599b879a9e122c-s300-c85

Personal essays/memoir:

pfjnym6hvw9bnyvlxcvo

Feminism:

peixe8

Society and Politics:

lisa-owens

Film, Television, Music, Art, Fashion and Sport:

img-idra-novey_140105222853

The interviews:

photo-on-2012-04-25-at-03-34-23

The regular columnists:

In the Media: 14th December 2014

Posted on by
3

In the media is a weekly round-up of features written by, about or containing female writers that have appeared during the previous week and I think are insightful, interesting and/or thought provoking. Linking to them is not necessarily a sign that I agree with everything that’s said but it’s definitely an indication that they’ve made me think. Also, just a note to make it clear that I’m using the term ‘media’ to include social media, so links to blog posts as well as traditional media are likely.

This week there’s been a lot written about rape and the culture which surrounds it due to a piece published in Rolling Stone magazine about a gang rape at The University of Virginia. Responses came from Margaret Talbot in The New Yorker, Emily Yoffe on Slate, Maya Dusenbery on Feministing, Rhiannon Cosslett of The Vagenda in Time, Salamishah Tillet in The Nation and Sarah Ditum in The New Statesman; Deb Rox wrote about working at a rape crisis program in ‘Truth Is a Fire I Couldn’t Hold‘ on The Butter; Lena Dunham wrote about her own experience of speaking out on Buzzfeed; Katie McDonough comment on Salon in a piece titled, ‘The right’s Lena Dunham delusion: Anger, misogyny and the dangers of business as usual‘, and Caitlin Moran wrote about the Ched Evans’ case in the UK. While from a story focus, Kathleen Founds wrote about Vonnegut and rape culture on Buzzfeed and Sarah Hughes wrote about ‘Rape on TV‘ in The Guardian.

It’s also been another week where #readwomen2014 has been highlighted. Creator Joanna Walsh reflected on the year in The Guardian; Lauren Aimee Curtis wrote about her year of reading women in Meanjin; Lorraine Meads wrote about creating the first Feminist Library in Nottingham on Dawn of the Unread; Rebecca Mascull wrote about her reading year on her blog, and @hashughes began a Women’s Writing Calendar – send her forthcoming events you’re involved in/are aware of so we can share in the goodness. Meanwhile, Nicola Sheppey at The Vagenda wrote ‘Why Women Need to Read Books By Men‘.

And the other big story was Vlogger Zoella’s novel. The fasting selling debut since records began was ghostwritten, it was revealed last Sunday. You can read the story in The Telegraph. Keren David wrote her thoughts about it on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure; Matt Haig defended her in The Guardian; thirteen-year-old Zoella fan Julia Brookes commented on Girl Online, and on Thursday, Siobhan Curham, the ghost writer involved, commented on her own blog.

The best of the rest articles/essays:

The interviews:

If you want some fiction or poetry to read:

Or some non-fiction:

And the lists:

Ridley Road – Jo Bloom

Posted on by
7

1962. Twenty-year-old hairdresser, Vivien Epstein has left Manchester for London following the death of her father. She’s looking for a man, twenty-four-year-old Jack Fox who visited her father a few days before he died.

They told each other things they had never told anyone else. She said that she felt ashamed for not remembering much about Mum. How for years after Mum’s death she would occasionally wake in the night to the sounds of Dad’s muffled sobs, but didn’t know if she should go to him. And in an embarrassed voice, she admitted that she had always been troubled by her flat chest and non-existent hips, and couldn’t bear how easily her fair, papery skin bruised.

In turn, Jack told her that he was a twin but his brother had died five days after he was born. He had once watched his school friends taunt a girl in a wheelchair until she broke down and cried, but he hadn’t intervened or stopped them. It took him a while to admit that he did love his dad, but loving his mum came far more easily.

When Jack leaves, he promises to come back for Vivien but following the death of her father, she decides it’s time to start again, to rebuild her life somewhere else.

Vivien finds herself lodgings with Nettie Levy in Hackney and a job at Oscar’s salon in Soho. When Vivien goes to the salon to mention her previous boss’ name in the hope they’ll take her on, Barb, who runs the place, asks her to cut the hair of a friend of hers, Steve.

Vivien gathered up tufts of hair and nodded to herself a couple of times. He couldn’t accuse her of taking the job lightly. Her focus was intense. She tapered his hair at the back, then snipped away at the sides, the tip of her tongue poking out between her teeth. When she worked her way round to the front, Stevie could finally work out she wasn’t wearing a ring.

Stevie’s desperate to be a professional musician and soon, he’s desperate to be Vivien’s boyfriend too.

But Vivien’s more interested in seeing Jack again, although that’s proving more problematic than expected; when she arrives at the house she thought he was lodging in, the landlady tells her he’s ‘long gone’.

Her search for Jack leads her to Sid Klein, one of her father’s oldest friends. She visits him and passes on photographs of the 43 Group – a group her father and Sid were part of following the end of the Second World War – ‘…when the scores of men and women, mostly ex-servicemen, who had united to run fascists off the streets had turned into thousands’.

Fascism is on the rise again, Colin Jordan’s established the National Socialist Movement and has taken to speaking in the streets, often on the same days as Oswald Mosley. The 62 Group has formed to protest each of these rallies. Vivien joins them on a day Jordan’s speaking in Trafalgar Square hoping she’ll see Jack there. Not long after Colin Jordan takes the stage, things become hostile.

Jordan shouted into his microphone, ‘Hitler was right – ‘

The crown booed and clapped.

‘Our real enemy is the Jew –‘

Now people were going crazy. Vivien’s hand leaped to her mouth. A female protestor holding up a star was being dragged along by two policemen. Her handbag was torn from her and tossed into the air. Davy punched someone in the face, pulled back his fist and punched the same person again.

And then she spots Jack, jumping down from the back of a truck, but things aren’t as she expected.

Ridley Road follows the stories of Vivien, Jack and Stevie whose paths cross many times in many different ways. It’s also the story of the 62 Group and their fight to end fascism in the U.K.

Bloom’s narration moves skilfully between a number of the key characters, allowing us access to different thoughts and points-of-view. This, along with the vivid drawing of the characters and the unflinching portraits of the violence perpetrated by the National Socialist Movement are the strengths of the novel. Tension is high throughout and although there are moments that are difficult to read, the narrative drive keeps you turning the pages.

My proof copy of Ridley Road says it’s ‘perfect’ for fans of four key female novelists. Of those named, I’d say it’s definitely the sort of book Maggie O’Farrell fans would enjoy – the 60s setting and the theme of family recalled The Hand That First Held Mine – (only O’Farrell can write in that lyrical, almost dream-like prose she conjures, though) and it very much reminded me of Sadie Jones’ first two novels.

Ridley Road is an accomplished debut and I look forward to reading more of Jo Bloom’s work in the future.

 

Thanks to W&N for the proof copy.

In the Media: 26th October 2014

Posted on by
10

In the media is a weekly round up of features written by, about or containing female writers that have appeared during the previous week and I think are insightful, interesting and/or thought provoking. Linking to them is not necessarily a sign that I agree with everything that’s said but it’s definitely an indication that they’ve made me think. Also, just a note to make it clear that I’m using the term ‘media’ to include social media, so links to blog posts as well as traditional media are likely.

 

This week there’s definitely a celebration of feminist role models happening. At the forefront (mostly because her book Yes, Please is out in the US on Tuesday and the UK the following week) is Amy Poehler. Bustle have 15 Quotes that Prove She’s Our Brilliant Fairy Godmother; Popsugar have 19 Times Amy Poehler Said What We Wish We’d Said, while People have her answering questions people posted on Twitter and Facebook. Amanda Hess, in Slate, wrote about Poehler joining the famous women’s comedy/memoir/advice-book club; Lydia Kiesling wrote in Salon about how Nora Ephron presides over Poehler, Dunham, Fey and Kaling’s books, while Sam Baker in Harpers Bazaar wrote about Fearless Feminist Reads and why they’re important for teenage girls as well as adults.

Someone else who’s been written about as a feminist role model this week is Jane Austen. Jane Austen: Feminist in Action by Sinéad Murphy ran on the Huffington Post blog; Alexander McCall Smith explained why he’s modernised Emma on the Waterstones’ Blog; Sarah Seltzer on Flavorwire wrote about ‘Why We Can’t Stop Reading – and Writing – Jane Austen Sequels‘, while on Something Rhymed, Emma Claire Sweeney wrote ‘In Praise of the Spinster‘ about playwright, Ann Sharpe, Austen’s family’s governess.

Another amazing woman, Joan Didion, is also being celebrated this week. Her nephew is making a documentary about her. You can watch the trailer here. He’s decided to raise funds via Kickstarter which led to Flavorwire publishing Some Other Joan Didion Kickstarter Rewards We’d Like to See and Vogue re-publishing her 1961 essay ‘On Self-Respect‘.

It would be wrong not to mention Hallowe’en this week, particularly as there’s been a group of pieces around that theme. Wired’s podcast, which features Lauren Beukes, is What’s Scarier, Haunted Houses or Haunted People?; Electric Literature have published ‘“Then, a Hellbeast Ate Them”: Notes on Horror Fiction and Expectations‘, looking at Diane Cook and Helen Oyeyemi amongst others; Sarah Perry has written on The Gothic for Aeon, and Kate Mayfield who wrote the memoir ‘The Undertaker’s Daughter’ is on For Books’ Sake talking about How Not to Write a Memoir and in The Guardian talking about ‘Growing Up in the Family Funeral Parlour‘.

Talking of scary, Gone Girl‘s still a hot topic this week. Tana Wojczuk wrote ‘Gone Girl, Bluebeard, and the Meaning of Marriage‘ in Guernica in response to Elif Bautman’s piece ‘Marriage Is an Abduction‘ from last week’s New Yorker. Amanda Ann Klein wrote about the ‘Unbearable Whiteness of Gone Girls‘ for Avidly, and Steph Cha wrote about ‘Laughing at “Gone Girl”‘ in the LA Review of Books.

This week’s other notable essays/articles:

And the interviews:

In translation news, I’ve seen no articles this week about the identity of Elena Ferrante – hurrah! But I have seen that there’s a new imprint called Periscope devoted to translating poetry by women – hurrah!

If you’d like some fiction to read/listen to:

Or some non-fiction:

This week’s lists:

And the best things I’ve read this week: