Memoir
Renewal
We present an extract from RC Birchley’s Portsmouth-focused walks book Jagged Edges: A Search for Space in an Island City. Here Birchley focuses on walking in late winter, when new signs of life are starting [… read more ]
Literature
Fiction
Body Image
By Jane Andreoli Body image is a curious thing, thought Clara as she adjusted her weight in the chair. She could classify herself an anorexic, because whenever she looked at herself in a mirror, she [… read more ]
Culture
BookFest Interview with Loree Westron, author of Missing Words
Christine Lawrence interviews Loree Westron about her novella Missing Words, set in Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight. Christine Lawrence (CL): When did you come up with the idea of writing about this era [… read more ]
Culture
Portsmouth Bookfest Interview with Christine Lawrence, Author of Don’t Step on the Cracks
Helen Salsbury interviews author and S&C regular contributor Christine Lawrence about her latest novel, a psychological thriller set in the homeless community in Fareham. Helen Salsbury (HS): Why did you write Don’t Step on the [… read more ]
Culture
Portsmouth Bookfest Interview with Helen Salsbury, author of Sometimes When I Sleep
Loree Westron interviews author and S&C Community Reporter Helen Salsbury about her debut novel, a contemporary coming-of-age story influenced by Victorian Gothic literature. Loree Westron (LW): I’ve known you for a number of years, Helen, [… read more ]
Culture
Coming out as an Author: Why Portsmouth’s Writing Community Rocks!
Helen Salsbury, whose debut novel Sometimes When I Sleep was recently launched, reflects on the publication journey and the joy of friends. I’m an introvert. These days, you’re allowed to stand up and say it [… read more ]
Poetry
Shades of You
By Philip Wilson Pencil sharpness Creates a likeness Of you, not by its pointed tip But by its story it brings to our lips Profile pictures Are now accepted fixtures In society They give [… read more ]
Culture
Portsmouth Writers’ Season: Review of Plague by Sue Spiers
S&C‘s Paul Valentine finds much to appreciate in Portsmouth poet Sue Spier’s new book of haikus. Like many, I have tried haiku and then left its comforting warmth. But I have a tremendous respect both [… read more ]
Culture
Students and Staff Protest Cuts to University’s English Literature Department
Beatrice Ashton-Lelliott, PhD Student, shares her thoughts on the University of Portsmouth’s proposal to reduce the number of staff in the English Literature Department and what we can do to help support the staff and [… read more ]
Events
Portsmouth DarkFest 2018: Something For Everyone’s Dark Side
Portsmouth’s annual festival of the macabre, DarkFest, has just kicked off and it features a number of S&C regulars including Christine Lawrence, Matt Wingett, William Sutton, Tom Sykes and Richard Peirce. Georgina Monk looks forward [… read more ]