Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology & Carolyne Larrington's The Norse Myths

I've reviewed Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, and The Norse Myths by Carolyne Larrington for The Times Literary Supplement - read it here (behind a paywall).

In Memoriam: Jeremy Lewis

I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Jeremy Lewis, publisher, journalist and biographer. Jeremy was a familiar and welcoming sight on the literary circuit: at launch parties he would hove cheerily into view, canapé in the act of being eaten in one hand, second or third glass of wine in the other, anecdote at the ready.

I knew him from my time at Literary Review, when he would come into the office on occasion as our Editor-at-Large, invariably wearing his blue corduroy jacket; once he appeared rather dazzlingly in a very smart seersucker. If ever the phone rang (which, at Literary Review, was not very often) he would leap up, alarmed, and look round for assistance, to a cry of "Help!" This would extend to computers, which he regarded with mild horror: he would refer to the Microsoft Office icon as "the Henry Moore sculpture."

 He would indicate his approval of a submission with a "rather good, I thought"; his disapproval was shown with a hand to the mouth, in imitation of a yawn, and a waggling of his immense eyebrows. He was an acute observer, picking up the tiniest details of dress or habit, which made his work involving and vivid; he was a brilliant raconteur, and would hold us all mesmerised with his accounts of increasingly absurd adventures in which he, invariably and self-deprecatingly, was the butt.

Even in 2005, when I began at the magazine, he mourned the passing of the old way of publishing life: the long lunches and the bibulous evenings. Though we still managed the odd roustabout, it felt as if we were at the end of a span of time that would never be imitated. No longer would publishers tumble out of darkened restaurants at 4pm, hilarious with wine and good writing: what he called the "Perrier" world had already taken over.

Jeremy was always very kind to younger writers, offering advice and cheery goodwill: his writing was warm, humorous and tinged with a clear-sighted knowledge of human folly. We all loved him in the office, and I will miss his presence hugely.

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Latin graffiti in Cambridge: "Locus in domos loci populum"

Romani ite domum: Life of Brian

I've written about Google Translate and Latin before (see here); I never thought the day would come when the hapless machine would be used by protestors in Cambridge to get their message across. As reported by the BBC here, a series of new houses has been spraypainted with the words "Locus in domos loci populum."

Strung together, these words are meaningless. The culprit? Google Translate. If you type "local homes for local people" into the search engine, it churns out "Locus in domos loci populum."

I've been trying to think how to turn the phrase into Latin, but haven't yet been able to come up with much. It's hard to get idioms right: English into Latin translation requires some sure-footed sideways thinking.

What still remains interesting is why these protestors felt that Latin - or rather some approximation of it - might be useful as a tool of protest. Who says Latin is dead? 


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Things to Do on Holiday: Creative Workshops for Children in Cranleigh, Surrey 3rd & 4th April

I will be running some creative workshops for children at Manns of Cranleigh, Surrey, on the 3rd and 4th April, with children's author Zanna Davidson.

Book your places here: there are two groups, for 5-7s and 7-11s.

Reading at Royal Holloway Boiler House

Photo taken by Eng Soc at RH

Last night I performed a reading from my work at the Boiler House, Royal Holloway University, for their English Society. I very much enjoyed reading from The Double Axe: the first chapter, in which Stephanos kills a white hind and the curse is activated; and also a selection from The Liberators, in which Ivo Moncrieff is confronted by Julius Luther-Ross. There was enough time too to read the moment in The Other Book when Edward lays a dead raven on a tomb; and for the swan chase in The Broken King. It was a real pleasure to be able to read to the students, who asked pertinent and intelligent questions; and also to hear some of them reading out their own work afterwards.

Philip Womack opens new library at Lancing College Prep Worthing

A few weeks ago I took the train down to the South Coast from London - something which I used to do, back and forth, a lot when I was a teenager. It's always a marvel seeing Lancing College rising out of the South Downs, its Gothic spires reaching into the sky. I was very pleased to have been asked to open the new Library at Lancing College Prep, Worthing. There is a news article about it on the school's website, here.

Interview with Christopher Edge for Books for Keeps

I chatted to author Christopher Edge for Books for Keeps about his new book, The Jamie Drake Equation. Read it here.