Words about Words - March 2021

Hello all,

Welcome to March’s edition of ‘Words about Words’, featuring - as always - things I’ve found interesting, entertaining or useful over the past month, and a bit of my own work.

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Interesting, entertaining or useful

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Coffee outside, somewhere new

I like Alastair Humphrey’s writing about adventures both big and small. He recently shared his thoughts on exploring locally, by encouraging his readers to drink coffee somewhere new. It’s a nice idea… LINK

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My father was famous as John le Carré. My mother was his crucial, covert collaborator

Nick Cornwell shares an insight into the working practice - and powerful professional and personal relationship - of his parents… LINK

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Visual pleasure in narrative cinema

I read this 1975 essay by Laura Mulvey as part of a writing course hosted by Matt West of Artful Scribe. It may be almost 50 years old, but much of the argument remains valid today.

It’s a bit heavy (paradox of phallocentricism, anyone?), but an interesting read if you commit the effort to it… LINK

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The Australian Dream

I spent a semester in Australia in 2005, so even though I’m far from being an expert on the country, I do have an ongoing interest in it. ‘The Australian Dream’ is a documentary, written by Stan Grant, that looks at the experience of Adam Goodes - an aboriginal Australian Rules Football player - national identity and racism in Australia.

Even though the Australian history of racism is different to that of the UK, USA, or other countries (due to our different histories and contexts), I think everyone can learn from this film. It’s currently available on the BBC Iplayer in the UK… LINK

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Monocle

I’m not a fancy-watch wearing, jet-setting, Euro-entrepreneur (far from it!), so I’m probably not their ideal target reader, but I’ve spent the past couple of weeks flicking through the March edition of ‘Monocle’ magazine - and have found it really interesting.

Perhaps because lockdown has made our worlds smaller, taking a bit of time to learn about things that wouldn’t normally pass across my radar (rewilding in Lebanon, a Japanese chef’s new business, the revitalisation of Barcelona kiosks, etc.) feels important and necessary… LINK

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My work

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‘Out of Thin Air’ by Michael Crawley, review

Over on my blog I reviewed anthropologist Michael Crawley’s fascinating book on running in Ethiopia.

The short version? I loved it… LINK

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The Lonely Goat Guide to Running in London

Using tips received from members of the Lonely Goat Running Club community, I wrote this guide to running in the British capital… LINK

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Thanks for reading

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That’s about it for this month’s edition of ‘Words about Words’, except to say that I have joined 1% for the Planet and pledged to give one per cent of my income to environmental causes. You can read more about it here… LINK

Keep an eye out for April’s edition of ‘Words about Words’, arriving in subscribers’ inboxes on the last Thursday of the month, and published here the following day.

Until next time,

Jonathan

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