Captivating Literary Rabbit Holes

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Emily Kate. “New Year, New Non-Fiction to read in 2024!” The Turnaround Blog, 17 January 2024:

“Speaking of books made to challenge and intrigue — Unwords by Andrew Gallix is the latest must-read title for fans of all things literary and perhaps a bit “meta”. Unwords consists of essays and reviews haunted by a phantom book the author never completed in his twenties. Andrew is one of the UK’s top literary critics, as founder of the blog 3:AM Magazine and a regular contributor to numerous magazines and newspapers. Inside Unwords, readers find the highest form of intergloss, from reviews to manifestos, from interviews to personal essays, and deep dives into captivating literary rabbit holes.”

Two Languages

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Alex Marshall, “Jon Fosse Wants to Say the Unsayable”, The New York Times, 7 December 2023

The perspective he gained in the moment of his accident, Fosse explained, made its way into his writing: “I often say that there are two languages: The words that I wrote, the words you can understand, and behind that, there’s a silent language.” And it’s in that “silent language,” he added, that the real meaning may lie.

In a lecture in Stockholm on Thursday, a ritual that all Nobel laureates observe before getting their awards, Fosse expanded a little on the idea of a silent language. “It is only in the silence that you can hear God’s voice,” he said. “Maybe.”

Essential Reading!

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Lee Rourke on Instagram, November 2023:

“It’s always an honour to have your work critically evaluated in print but when it’s written by Andrew Gallix it’s an honour like no other. This book is essential reading: its scope is astonishing. If you think seriously about the potential of literature and writing then this wonderful collection of essays is a must.”

 

Making Silence Speak

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Jon Fosse, The Observer, interview by Chris Power, 28 October 2023

Playwriting allowed Fosse to employ silence in a way he couldn’t in prose. ‘I could use the word “pause” a lot, and “he or she breaks off”, and somehow make the silence speak and establish a second silent language behind the spoken language.’ …’I think basically writing resembles drinking to me. When you drink you become someone a bit different, and you get rid of your normal self. And to me writing … it’s not to express myself, it’s to get rid of myself.’