Tag Archives: Anton Chekhov: A Short Life

‘Library Notes’ (5)

Anyone learning Russian surely has only to see the word for apple, yabloko, to remember it forever, because it contains three round letters that look just like rolling apples. The word is an apple! I think Russians like the word, too. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayakovsky’s pancake

It may seem surprising that I can bring myself to say anything positive about Russians at a time when their country has become, to quote Joseph Conrad again, ‘the negation of everything worth living for’. But, of course, these four … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Chekhov’s Gun’ (To be continued)

Sam2 has persuaded me to make four short videos about my recently published short biography of Chekhov and my ra-ther longer 2018 biography of George Calderon. I am completely new to the genre, therefore you should not expect a slick … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From the diary of a writer-publisher: 17

24 January 2022 I have received several emails commiserating with me over my ‘anxiety’ and ‘nightmares’ about marking examination papers. The writers clearly assume I am Dr Robinson in my story Ghoune — that the story is strictly autobiographical and … Continue reading →

Posted in Edwardian character, Edwardian literature, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From the diary of a writer-publisher: 16

17 November 2021 Today at 9.54 a.m. I emailed my 408-line poem Making Icons to the excellent Long Poem Magazine, the only organ in Britain that publishes poems at least 75 lines long. The magazine appears twice a year and November … Continue reading →

Posted in Edwardian character, Edwardian literature, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A year of promise

A very happy new year to all Calderonia’s subscribers and viewers! Thank you for staying with us through 2021, which was our eighth calendar year, and I can promise you at least another year of  posts from me and my … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments