In 2010, I picked my copy of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov from my bookshelf. I had made a few attempts at it, but with life’s interruptions, the eight hundred pages were daunting. I now felt guilty that I had not read a book that was influential to so many writers and readers. A quick read…
Author: Jim McCrory
What’s the Japanese Word Kawaii ( 可愛い) All About?
Kawaii (Japanese) Meaning; Cute Romantic. Whilst Sir Walter Scott took a trip to Stratford Upon Avon, Li, a Business Studies student at Glasgow University was having a road trip with friends to see The Glenfinnan Viaduct. That same year, Kioko, a middle-aged widow was on a flight from Tokyo to Canada. Her mother several years…
The Pied Pipers of the Enlightenment
I had a dream. I saw the “wise” of the age crossing over the plains like a herd of wildebeests playing pipe tunes. I said to the young man at the rear, “Pray tell me child, where are you going?” “I am following the wise, they play a fine melody to my ears.” “And pray…
There Are Two Plots to Every Story
I believe it was John Gardner who said something like there being two plots to every story, Someone goes on a journey, and a stranger comes to town. Now let us see. Once upon a time, there was this bloke who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was travelling with…
What I Saw in a Field Between Bogany Farm and Canada Hill
With the lamp suppressed The universe enters in The child gapes with awe I suppose it must have been the late summer. I had been spending the month on the idyllic Island of Bute on Scotland’s west coast. We had a cabin with no running water or electricity. My job was to go and fill…