Good morning!
The release of our weekly newsletter means we have reached the end of the week. We are now on our seventh edition - thank you so much to everyone who has loyally tuned in so far. If you have any comments, feedback or would even like to write a letter to the editor, drop a line to editor@wildfellzine.com.
A note from the editor:
In Zadie Smith’s novel, Swing Time, the protagonist (who remains unnamed), describes watching a clip of the film of the same name, featuring Fred Astaire. She explains:
“I felt a wonderful lightness in my body, a ridiculous happiness, it seemed to come from nowhere. I’d lost my job, a certain vision of my life, my privacy, yet all these things felt small and petty next to this joyful sense I had watching the dance, and following its precise rhythms in my own body.”
Positioned early on in the novel, for me, this is one of the most poignant moments. During lockdown, I have found listening to music a particularly welcome escape. Just as the unnamed protagonist of Swing Time is able to lose herself watching Fred Astaire dance, so have the lyrics of my favourite artists been a means of escaping.
While reading a book - unless it is an audiobook - is often a silent venture, I really enjoy the way Smith captures the physical way in which our bodies can respond to good music. Her writing itself in this moment is somewhat lyrical, illuminating the protagonist’s connection with the rhythm. Smith has been mentioned many times in this newsletter before and I could not offer more encouragement to go away and read her work.
Megan - EiC of Wildfell
CW: The film referenced in the novel includes insensitive racist imagery which readers may find distressing and which Wildfell’s editorial team does not condone.
Article of the Week:
Escapism is a theme in this week’s newsletter. In this review, Frances Tappin discusses Amy Liptrot’s “powerful rediscovery of the Orkney islands” in her review of The Outrun. “Just as the driftwood, shells and nets wash up on the shores, Liptrot finds herself “washed up” and thrown back into the islands,” writes Frances. You can read her review here.
Image: Razvan Narcis Ticu via Unsplash
Creative Writing of the Week:
This evocative poem by Maddy Tinson is entitled ‘The Woods’ and is part of the series of creative writing in our first edition. You can find the poem here.
Book Recommendation:
Many have heard of The Handmaid’s Tale but have you read any of Margaret Atwood’s other fiction. The Blind Assassin is a hefty but worthwhile novel set during the early 20th century in Canada. A novel within a novel, things are not what they seem in this intriguing page-turner. The book follows two sisters as they navigate politics both at home and within the public sphere. While The Handmaid’s Tale is a truly superb novel, it is really worth trying some of Atwood’s other fiction. I would also recommend delving into Atwood’s poetry - ‘They eat out’ is a particular favourite of mine.
Knowledge Corner:
I was particularly excited to hear that Taylor Swift had dedicated a song on her latest album to the glorious lakes. There was a feature on BBC North West last night comparing her to Wordsworth. While Swift’s lyrics are beautiful, I don’t think there is much to compare with the 18th-century poet. You can listen to the song here.
Thank you to Jelena, our interviewee of the week for recommending this fascinating podcast on William Morris, the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. I am a big fan of Melvyn Bragg and the wonderful In Our Time, it never disappoints. Listen along here.
Image: Birmingham Museums Trust via Unsplash.
Interview of the Week:
This week’s interview is with Jelena Sofronijevic, a journalist and radio/podcast producer whose latest series Empire Lines, will be released in early September. Watch this space.
Who is your favourite author?
Authorial style trumps plot for me, so if I enjoy one text, I start collecting the author’s complete works. Yukio Mishima, E.M. Forster, George Orwell, and Daphne du Maurier are amongst my favourites.
What are you currently reading? Would you recommend it so far?
Lockdown has destroyed my ability to concentrate on any single task, so I’m currently dipping between four or five texts. In fiction, I am thoroughly enjoying Hiromi Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo, for its vivid descriptions of mother’s yudufo and mountainside mushroom broth. I have, however, yet to fully realise the thirty-year-age-gap/former-teacher-and-student romance – I will report back. In non-fiction, Dejan Djokić’s Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918-1992 is an ambitious collection of essays, exploring how this ‘idea’ was differently understood, at different times, and by different nations, leaders and groups.
What genre of book do you keep returning to?
Sociopolitical satires – whether late Edwardian or peak socialist Yugoslav.
(Did I mention that the Political Studies Association published an extract from my dissertation on zoomorphism political satire in Tito's Yugoslavia?)
#PSAUG2020: http://psa.ac.uk/psa-undergraduate-conference-2020-student-presentations)
If you could bring one book to a desert island, what would it be?
A long collection of short stories.
Thanks for tuning in to this week’s edition of Wildfell Book Club. As always, please do share this and drop us a line on editor@wildfellzine.comif you have any comments, queries or feedback. Have a great weekend!