Journalists, don’t forget to do some creative writing in your free time. It doesn’t matter if you don’t share it. The idea is to keep your mind open to possibility, nuance, and imagination.
At times, I find myself thinking that Bluesky might be a more fitting platform for my posts. Yet, I can't help but be drawn to the dynamic, unpredictable energy that Twitter (X) offers.
Pook has now crossed the Atlantic more times than some diplomats I’ve interviewed. Sweden to the U.S. and back again. Unbothered, impeccably composed, as if global mobility were simply part of his remit. A true world traveller, who just happens to tolerate me as his chaperone.
I once lent my mother a copy of The Old Drift. She read it like a dossier, leaving underlines and questions in the margins. She returned it less as a thing and more as a conversation.
When I read her annotations, the book came alive again: her doubts sharpened scenes I’d skimmed, her questions rerouted my sympathy, her notes charged the pages, and I experienced the book anew through her eyes.
There’s something quietly perfect about this; good food, a strong narrative, and the small act of choosing both at once. The Last Time I Wore a Dress isn’t a book you just pass time with; it asks for your attention, then rewards it.
An evening well spent, I’d say equal parts appetite and inquiry.