Writer Yazmin Bradley touches on the pressure on authors under the commercialisation of Bookstagram – how can we reclaim the creative process from capitalism? She also explores working with her grandmother on her memoir and the possibilities of Substack for creativity.
I’m currently travelling and working in the south of France (a temporary digital nomad, i guess). I based myself in Autignac, in the the département de l’Hérault en région Occitanie, for July… swimming, walking, eating (not filmed: markets, canoeing, cinemas). Bless this place, it’s really special.
I moved to France a year ago and this summer, in between living situations, I decided to stay in the south of France before finding a new home (thanks to Airbnb monthly discounts equalling rent payments!). In month two, I lived in Avignon, Provence. The city walls trapped in the 40-degree heat in a pretty stifling way. But there’s something about giving way to feeling hot and sweaty after months of grey cold. I love living a season (of the year and of live) in-between like this. Life is a house of cards, but nothing has collapsed by temporarily removing myself from the thick of life (read: busyness, opportunity, happenings) for something a little simpler, just for a little while.
It’s my third month travelling and working in the south of France for summer. After some time in Provence, I returned to Hérault for Sète, a marine town characterised by sparkly canals and overly accessible seafood. Je mangeais des huîtres au déjeuner tous les jours.
Writer Suzanne Claridge talks about ephemeral approaches to working with language and their belief that good arts writing should not lose sight of its purpose: the reader and experiencing art.
Plurality is borne in Kollektiv Collective Pia Zeitzen and Sasha Shevchenko’s shows and texts via losses in translation. Here’s their thoughts on writing within (and outside) the constraints of language dualities.