Debora Levy

Ever since reading Deborah Levy’s novella Swimming Home I’ve been interested in her writing which had somehow passed me by before.
Last week I read Things I Don’t Want to Know – her powerful mix of memoir and reflections on a writing life – touching, honest and entirely brilliant! And I’ve now just bought her short story collection Black Vodka as I’m quite sure I will both enjoy it as a reader but also find it inspirational in my own work.

If you have a spare half hour, or better still make a spare half hour, listen to Deborah Levy talking about writing short stories HERE: scroll down for episode 6
I’m  particularly interested in  the way she talks about the unfolding of fiction and the slow reveal – the unraveling of things, the way we can enjoy the enigma at the outset of a story where we ask: Where am I? Who are these people? What’s happening? Something to think about for the writers among us. In fact there’s a great deal of food for thought here as Levy unravels her own story Placing A Call
I notice too when she reads the story (approx. 600 words) how so much of what she does is simply the naming of things/objects – which is something I’ve heard children’s writer David Almond say about writing many times. I’ve posted about it before HERE

Listening to Debora Levy certainly made me think of a short story I’d written some long time ago and how I could make it so much better – inspirational or what? Enjoy.

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