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Andrew Macdonald Powney
Andrew Macdonald Powney

13 Followers

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Pinned

No-one sees it coming

In his book The Yellow Wind, David Grossman told of the dreams of Palestinian children. He told of Israeli children’s dreams as well. None dreamed of peace. An Israeli child dreamed that Arab children had entered his house; the Arab father had him in his grip: the Israeli child accepted…

Gaza

3 min read

No-one sees it coming
No-one sees it coming
Gaza

3 min read


Pinned

Twittermobs were as yet undreamt of

In 1994, when this book came out, its author Sven Birketts was reflecting on answerphones and CD-Roms, thinking about renting a video, and using an IBM Selector to type. Yet he managed to predict many of our present ills. Writing at a time when people hoped to fine-tune printed books…

Digital

2 min read

Twittermobs were as yet undreamt of
Twittermobs were as yet undreamt of
Digital

2 min read


Oct 15

Trying to explain Palestine

A young member of the family asked how the recent horrors had come about. This was my best shot. I made four points. Ottomans Under the Ottoman empire before the First World War, Jews and Arabs lived side by side in Palestine without too much trouble. The Ottoman empire came…

Palestine

6 min read

Trying to explain Palestine
Trying to explain Palestine
Palestine

6 min read


Sep 27

Why My Life Makes Little Sense

My life makes little sense because mine is a liminal generation. The point when I should have launched into flourishing was a point when the world changed. Like all great changes, it has been recognised only backwards and too late. We came unprepared. …

Reading

6 min read

Why My Life Makes Little Sense
Why My Life Makes Little Sense
Reading

6 min read


Aug 31

Cultural Capital Doesn’t Mean What They Say

‘Cultural Capital’ is a buzzword in some schools, but no-one in schools seems to know what it means. They tell you that Pierre Bourdieu came up with the phrase, but they use his phrase to mean the opposite. They think ‘cultural capital’ can set people free; that it can be…

Pierre Bourdieu

4 min read

Pierre Bourdieu

4 min read


Aug 12

Good grief

Teaching children about death: not everyone’s idea of a really great gig. An Anglican bishop wants schools to do it. There are supposed to be lessons on grief. …

Pshe

4 min read

Good grief
Good grief
Pshe

4 min read


Aug 7

Do you read as directed? Are you open to your book?

Once there was a book, Inside UFO 54–40. It was one of those ‘Choose Your Own Adventure Books’. Books like that, in the 1970s and 1980s, gave readers an option about what would happen next. At points in the narrative it was the reader who would choose whether to turn…

History Of Print

3 min read

Do you read as directed? Are you open to your book?
Do you read as directed? Are you open to your book?
History Of Print

3 min read


Jul 28

The opium of the people is pink

If you enjoyed the repetitive didacticism of The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, you will love the Barbie movie. Robert Tressell’s once famous novel dealt with the realities of class, but Barbie presents the more important reality of feelings. Time was when ‘pink’ had been a way to describe the left-of-centre, politically. In…

Barbie

5 min read

The opium of the people is pink
The opium of the people is pink
Barbie

5 min read


Jul 19

Looking Smart

The novelists I like most do not write as they should. They write in every way that I was told not to. W.G. Sebald can take a page to finish one sentence. László Krasznahorkai’s sentences are multiply parenthentical, full of complexes. He can write a novella in a sentence. …

Hemingway

3 min read

Looking Smart
Looking Smart
Hemingway

3 min read


Jul 7

AI, God, fish, bicycle

It used to be said that a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. Fish and bicycles have absolutely nothing to do with one another. Yet they have more in common, than AI has with God. So I was pretty cast down by a conversation recently. “Artificial…

Artificial Intelligence

5 min read

Artificial Intelligence

5 min read

Andrew Macdonald Powney

Andrew Macdonald Powney

13 Followers

Proofreader, editor, writer — in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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