Twitter Fiction Festival - yay or nay?

Later on today sees the launch of a new 'Twitter Fiction Festival', as announced on the official Twitter Blog from the 18th October. The microblogging giant has been recruiting both professional and amateur writers to collaborate on a number of projects taking place today. For the curious, they've set up a dedicated page: https://twitter.com/hashtag/twitterfiction - so log on and have a look!
Among these online events are TwitMashes hosted by South African writer Lauren Beaukes, and author Jennifer Wilson is inviting followers to help her generate stories from a series of photographs of graves.

Twitter seems to be gaining in popularity with writers; frequent literary tweeters include Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman (all worth a follow!) There's no denying that it's a great platform for writers: any promotional work for an audience of millions is a positive thing at a time when the financial climate is as tough as it it. But aside from promotion and contact with readers, is Twitter an appropriate medium for literature itself?

In the early 90s and turn of the millenium, the possibilities for harnessing the power of the internet for writing seemed endless. Hypertext author Shelley Jackson notablly spawned many of her projects via her website, integrating writing with visuals and hyperlink - her most famous work 'Patchwork Girl' is a great example of this hybrid form, and well worth a read.

My own problem with Twitter is that although it's great for collaboration and immediacy, it's also hugely limiting. From my own point of view, I feel that literature needs space for possibility; although I can appreciate that it also forces the kind of constraints that can make great literature. After all, some of the greatest short stories ever written are under two pages long; and of course the Haiku form is one of the most culturally pervasive of all poetical forms.

What is your take on this Twitter festival? Is it possible to create something great in 150 characters? For now, I'll reserve judgement. Tweet tweet.

(You can follow me on Twitter @JessicaEOliver. I promise not to tweet any bad poetry.)

Review: 'Housekeeping' by Marilynne Robinson

I can't believe it's late November already...I'm living in a very cold and blustery Oxford with some very chapped lips and hands! At this time every year, in the seasonal slump where the golden autumn comes to an end for a starker chill, I like to find a book to match this transitional mood. My mum came up trumps with this recommendation: Marilynne Robinson's debut novel Housekeeping, much lauded on its publication in 1980.

Set in a fictional Northwest town in the mountain called Fingerbone, the novel tells the tale of two lonely sisters, passed from generation to generation of their female relatives following their mother's suicide. It's a novel that is crystalline in it's beauty of language: every sentence runs as deep as the lake that forms the centre of the sister's physical and emotional landscape. Friends are few and far between; it's a lonely world. The title mirrors the falsities and pretences of each domestic setup: whether it's their frail grandma or their fragilely-minded aunt Sylvie, the girls cannot overcome the deep sense of transience and loneliness.

If this sounds negative, it's not meant to be: this is a beautiful and resonant book, that treats life and human relationships with a sacred seriousness. It's quite astonishing - you get such a whole and sustained vision of Ruth and Lucille's narrow, bleak yet compelling world. 
This book reminds me a great deal of Margaret Atwood's novella 'Surfacing', with its aqueous prose and probings into female power and relationships. I'm quite sure that the makers of the film Winter's Bone have read and loved this novel - it shares a rural toughness, and a reliance on strong female presence with the film that make both works astonishing. 

If you haven't read this, I would highly recommend it. I'm going on a hunt for some more Marilynne Robinson. I think I may have found my new favourite author that everyone has been one step ahead about. Cheers Mum.  

Blogs to follow!

Thought I'd share a little blog love with you all....

Soapbox Press: http://soapboxpress.wordpress.com/

Started by students at Winchester School of Art, this features book reviews, interview and lovely things about the art and fashion worlds. It's beautifully laid out (as you'd expect!), and currently seeking submissions. I predict a big following!

Life in Publishing :http://lifeinpublishing.tumblr.com/

For anyone in publishing or looking to get in, this is essentially a summary of daily life in the industry in meme form. Sent to me by a colleague, it's made me chuckle at my desk a lot.

Little Words: http://littlewordsreview.wordpress.com/

I love browsing this blog - she's a fellow books blogger, and she's recently posted some great theatre reviews with lots of pictures.

The Flaneur - http://flaneur.me.uk/

I write for this blog myself - check the link in the left-hand pane. It's a really fascinating melting pot of free-for-all writing with pretty much everything your heart could desire from independent arts writing. There are many posts a day, and you're sure to find something great: from film reviews to artists interviewing themselves.

Happy reading!

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