From 18 January 2006
I've only ever read one Kurt Vonnegut novel - Slaughter House 5. I didn't find it very memorable, but that's probably because I was made to study it during a period of my life when I got drunk on gin and tango and pretended I was Debbie Harry every night. What I do remember is that is that it's about war and bombs and soldiers and ... stuff.
This weekend The Guardian Review printed an extract from his memoir. He had this advice for would-be writers. "Do not use semi-colons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you went to college"
I tell you all this to prove that he is not a sentimental old fool and therefore we can pretend that the following is not a load of ropey old codswallop.
"Practising an art, no matter how well or how badly, is a way to make your soul grow. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."
Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
