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James Burt

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In defence of Creative Writing

I'm generally fairly cynical about creative writing courses. I think they can be valuable but most focus too much on publication rather than the joy of working at an art. The New York Times published an interview with George Saunders... Continue reading

Posted Feb 16, 2013 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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My favourite books of 2012

I read 166 books in 2012. While some were great, too many were disappointing. In 2013 I plan to finish fewer books. Throughout school I was taught that I should read all of a book before dismissing it and now... Continue reading

Posted Jan 1, 2013 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Let's have a golden age

(This is my favourite of the pieces that I wrote for the Literary Network. The question is asks is one I think is very important: with the numbers of people studying creative writing, why has there not been a boom... Continue reading

Posted Aug 22, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Why Bother Writing?

(This is the penultimate post from the Literature Network. It was written in 2009 and posted in May 2010 and is one of my favourite pieces from the set. I think it provides a good answer to the question of... Continue reading

Posted Aug 18, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Where do ideas come from?

(This was originally posted on the Literature Network site back in October 2010. It's quite a light post, but the concept of ideas existing independent of writers keeps turning up in the literary theory I'm currently reading. There is far... Continue reading

Posted Aug 15, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Twelve Tips for Spoken Word Performers

(Another post that was originally posted on the Literature Network site, this one from July 2010.) One of the most exciting developments in creative writing is the growth in prose spoken word nights. There are events across the country, such... Continue reading

Posted Aug 14, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Big Game Hunting in the Second Hand Bookshop

(This is a post from the literaturenetwork back in July 2009. The piece questions some of the things we have lost in the Internet age, a question that drives my PhD research. If I was to write this article today... Continue reading

Posted Aug 13, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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The Six Perils of Writing Workshops

(Another post from the Literature Network. This was originally published in November 2009 and it was these ideas that led me to start Not for the Faint Hearted) Writing workshops help make writers. But are they always constructive? Imagine if... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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How Many Readers Do You Need

(This is another of the Literature Network posts. It was written a few years back and introduced the idea of 1000 True Fans. That idea still seems as distant as ever - the Internet is a good place to access... Continue reading

Posted Aug 11, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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7 Tips for being a Great Writer

(This is another literature network post that has been offline since the site disappeared. It's my favourite of the pieces and received some very mixed responses, which I quite liked. Some people thought I was joking, others thought I was... Continue reading

Posted Aug 10, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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13: The Art of the Unseen

Imagine if the first live gig you saw was the Flaming Lips. You might think that every performance would be as rich and spectacular as that and be sorely disappointed to find out most bands just shuffle about a bit... Continue reading

Posted Aug 9, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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12: Graffiti at the Beatles Ashram

This is another post that has been languishing in my drafts folder - back in March, I visited the 'Beatles ashram' in Rishikesh, where the Fab Four had stayed in 1968. The atmosphere of the ruins was strange and creepy.... Continue reading

Posted Aug 8, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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11: Thousand Hour Stare

On Saturday, at the Hayward Gallery's Invisible show, I saw one of the most incredible works of art I've ever seen. 'Invisible' displayed works of art dealing with the unseen. Tom Friedman's 1000 hour stare was hung in a room... Continue reading

Posted Aug 7, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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9: Indian Museums and bad taxidermy

India contains some wonderful museums, from the massive ones in cities like Kolkata or Delhi to those in smaller towns. The Haveli Musuem in Udaipur contains puppets, restored rooms, and the world's largest turban. The turban has been designed so... Continue reading

Posted Aug 5, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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8: Will Self vs Creative Writing

Via a tweet from @piratemoon I found a fascinating interview with Will Self. As the final question, Self is asked "What do you feel a writer should use his twenties for?" His reply is strident: "Just read a lot of... Continue reading

Posted Aug 4, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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7: In Defence of Tourist Photographs

Ralf Potts wrote a beautiful essay, Tourist Snapshots, which describes the author's relationship with travel and photography. In fact, if you're short of time, you should read that essay rather than this post as it's full of interesting quotes and... Continue reading

Posted Aug 3, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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6. You're Not My Babylon

One of the greatest songs ever recorded is You're Not My Babylon by These Animal Men (video on youtube). Released in 1994, it peaked at number 77 in the UK charts. It makes me sad that some of my favourite... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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5: Is there any future in blackmail?

In his post The Interactive Blackmail Squad: NEW SERVICE!, Will McInnes suggests an upcoming business opportunity: "You give us a list of up to 25 up-and-coming people you think will be movers and shakers in the next 10 years... we... Continue reading

Posted Aug 1, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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The problem with history is that it only happens once. Explanations about why things happened can never be tested. When I was younger, the only people on television were famous people. When interviewed, they explained how hard they'd worked and... Continue reading

Posted Jul 31, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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3: Blogging - blaming my tools

This is a post about blogging, and how the software I use affects what I write. It follows on a little from Saturday's post. I’ve been blogging since about 2000, when I used Blogger, FTP and a demon.net account. The... Continue reading

Posted Jul 30, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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2: Friends and other animals

Kate Shields! Night porter, night painter. For six months she has been working at the Artists Residence hotel, preparing her exhibition, Friends and other Animals. A true underground artist, working night shifts while holding sittings, Kate Shields! has finally emerged... Continue reading

Posted Jul 29, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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1: You've Got No Write

Writing is hard. No, writing is easy. As I've said before, one of the great things about Not for the Faint-Hearted is turning out interesting and entertaining pieces of writing in three minutes. One of my NFTFH pieces, with very... Continue reading

Posted Jul 28, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Mowing the lawn at the end of the world

At the weekend I saw Seeking a friend for the end of the world. The final rescue attempt has failed and a 71 mile wide asteroid will strike the Earth in three week’s time. The movie follows two characters through... Continue reading

Posted Jul 17, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Creative Writing is a pyramid scheme

(In 2009 I wrote some posts for literaturenetwork.org. The site in question is no longer available so I'm posting the pieces I have copies of to my weblog) Creative Writing is a big business. A few years ago the BBC... Continue reading

Posted Jul 10, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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Not for the Faint-Hearted 2012

After a long break, Not for the Faint-Hearted recently resumed its regular monthly slot. Last week was the second 2012 session and about 18 people came along. The Not for the Faint-Hearted (NFTFH) sessions are based around a series of... Continue reading

Posted Jul 9, 2012 at beat: James Burt's weblog

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