it’s been too long drinking beneath the castle the Kiso, drifting That’s right, my first poetry collection, Fractures, is out in the world. If you’ve already ordered one it should be in the post by now, if you haven’t ordered yet and want it in time for Christmas, you can get them direct from theContinue reading “Fractures is out now!”
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Best of 2016
I was humbled and delighted to learn that The Waves Burn Bright has been included in two end of year lists. Scots Whay Hae named it in the ‘10 Best Books of 2016‘ and the Scottish Book Trust thought it was one of the ‘30 Excellent Books of 2016‘. In a year of so many great books, it’sContinue reading “Best of 2016”
Fractures Unleashed!
It’s official! My first poetry collection, Fractures, is on its way from Tapsalteerie Towers to the printers and you can pre-order it through the website here. It’s a collection of haiku and haiku-like poems (basically I play fast-and-loose with the official haiku ‘rules’) that stand alone but also bounce off each other to create a fragmentedContinue reading “Fractures Unleashed!”
RIP Leonard Cohen
‘Like a bird on the wire Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free’ RIP
Scots Whay Hae Reviews The Waves Burn Bright
It’s been a tough week for a number of reasons, some personal, some geopolitical, but some positivity was restored when this review of The Waves Burn Bright by Alistair Braidwood was posted on the Scots Whay Hae website. It previously appeared in print in Gutter 15, which you should subscribe to, but it’s great to have it online. EarlierContinue reading “Scots Whay Hae Reviews The Waves Burn Bright”
Review: Countdown to Pearl Harbour by Steve Twomey
This week’s review for the Japan Times is of Steve Twomey’s excellent new book, Countdown to Pearl Harbour: The Twelve Days to the Attack. It’s original both in the form it takes, focusing on the individuals involved and how their personalities and assumptions contributed to the outcome of the attack, but also in how it demolishes what manyContinue reading “Review: Countdown to Pearl Harbour by Steve Twomey”
The Waves Burn Bright: A New Review
The temperature in Japan has dropped suddenly and we’re hanging around the lobby of what looks like a very cold winter, so I was delightfully warmed up by this review of The Waves Burn Bright that appeared on the Nothing in the Rule Book site. Christmas is just around the corner so if you’re stuck for presentsContinue reading “The Waves Burn Bright: A New Review”
Review: Kunitake Kume’s Japan Rising
My latest piece in the Japan Times is on the abridged version of Kunitake Kume’s accounts of a diplomatic mission sent around the world by the Japanese government in 1871. It’s a fascinating read for all kinds of reasons, so check it out.
Haiku, Mythology and a new Shoreline
This week I have two pieces in the Japan Times. One is a look back at haiku master Basho’s classic work The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the other is a review of the final part in Lian Hearn’s The Tale of Shikanoko quadrilogy, The Tengu’s Game of Go. I’ve already reviewed parts 1, 2 and 3. Both BashoContinue reading “Haiku, Mythology and a new Shoreline”
The Waves Burn Bright – Gutter Review
I was delighted this morning to discover a review of The Waves Burn Bright in the latest issue of Gutter (issue 15). I hadn’t had a chance to open my copy since getting back to Japan and had a flick through while taking a break from editing and was not only surprised but really quite movedContinue reading “The Waves Burn Bright – Gutter Review”
Iain Maloney 