Burrito and Kate

I have a story Burrito and Kate published in 3:am magazine, and I'm chuffed to bits. Have a read here: http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/burrito-kate/

New Website

I've a new website showcasing my writing and teaching. You can find it here: http://www.gerardmckeown.co.uk.

Also check here for what I still think is the funniest blog on the internet.

Northern Irish Assembly Elections 2011

It's less than a month away! Who will you be voting for? Any of this lot?


Sammy Wilson?


Nelson McCausland?


Or Peter Robinson?

Unemployment in Northern Ireland

I'm here to bring a message of despair. Let's all scream before we become like this:



That fucker George Osbourne wants us all like this. Tell him to get fucked.

The Donkey Punch

I'm back again, within the space of a week. Don't get your hopes up, unless something else happens I want to comment about. I put a video up on youtube this week for my poem The Donkey Punch. I think the visuals compliment it rather than explain it. I always saw it as a companion piece to another poem of mine Farmer (see elsewhere in blog for this).

Hope you enjoy it.

Wordlegs

I know I've pretty much abandoned this blog but I'm stopping by briefly to tell you to check out the latest issue of Wordlegs, because I have a story in it. Check it out here.

2nd Person Narrative

As some of you may know I'm currently doing an MA in creative writing. One of my ambitions when starting it was to put a few more colours in my palate (this is a metaphor, I can't paint. Crayons are more my style). I was hoaking through some hands outs recently when I came across so pages from Jay McInerney's novel. Bright Lights Big City. Now if you follow that link it'll take you to the DVD but you being smart can find the book from there. You will also notice that you're now reading second person narrative. Yeow! The book is famous for being written in second person narrative. In my experience as a writer I've only ever used first and third. And even when I've taught creative writing I've only ever covered first and third. I've now loaned the book out of my local library. Yay me and yay the library for having it. It has a much less embarrassing cover than the DVD so I can take it out when I'm out for a coffee and be an interesting bookworm and not look like I'm reading a Dawson's Creek - The College Years style page turner.

I hope that reading the book might make me want to try my own second person narrative, we'll see. I hope it does. I wonder have any of my readers read or written second person narrative. The only fiction I've came across before in second person is the find your own adventure books I used to read as a kid. The second person worked because of how they involved you in the plot. You made choices for the characters and thus shaped the plot. I'm wondering how this will affect my reading of Bright Lights Big City, I'll soon find out.

BTW - Please don't put any spoilers in the comments section if you have read it. This is what dickheads do.