Ann Hamilton - 27 July 2007

27 July 2007

Competition questin: World famous boxer, Cassius Clay, was better known as ...?
Answer: Mohammed Ali
Prize: 'A blow to the Heart' by Marcel Theroux
Winner: Andrew Lawrence, London

Books

Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes (Faber and Faber)
With just two exceptions, these 88 poems, in the form of a narrative, are addressed to Sylvia
Plath, the American poet to whom Hughes was married. They were written over a period of more
than 25 years, the first a few years after her suicide in 1963. Intimate and candid, they
cover the whole period of their relationship,from the first meeting to the aftermath of Plath's
death, but are largely concerned with the psychological drama that led to the writing of her
finest poems and to her death.

Artists' Way by Julia Cameron
This work provides a 12-week course that guides the reader through the process of recovering
their creative self. It aims to dispel the "I'm not talented enough" conditioning that tends
to hamper the creativity of many people.

Travels to the Scriptorium by Paul Auster (Faber and Faber)
An old man sits in a room, with a single door and window, a bed, a desk and a chair. Each day
he awakes with no memory, unsure of whether or not he is locked into the room. Attached to the
few objects around him are one-word,hand-written,labels and on the desk is a series of vaguely
familiar black-and-white photographs and four piles of paper. Then a middle-aged woman called
Anna enters and talks of pills and treatment,but also of love and promises.Who is Mr.Blank,
and what is his fate? What does Anna represent from his past - and will he have enough time to
ever make sense of the clues that arise? After the huge success of "The Brooklyn Follies",
"Travels in the Scriptorium" sees Auster return to more metaphysical territory. A dark puzzle,
and a game that implicates both reader and writer alike, it is an ingenious exploration of
language, responsibility and the passage of time.

Next week, Ivy Lord is going to join to talk about books and all things literary.