The Guardian/ Observer have come up with a post-advent calendar full of literary treats.
We may be half way through the month already, but there is still plenty to whet the appetite.
“The fun of an adventure like this is the way that one genre melts into another, sending ripples across time and space” says creator, Claire Armitstead.
Entries span the last 120 years and include short stories, essays, podcasts and letters.
“Many entries in the calendar are picked on this basis: as small, easy portals into something wide and various which will reward further investment of time and money” she adds.
Not that you need to order a pile of books to take part in the experience. So far, I’ve been able to find everything online for free.
I now have a whole new appreciation of YouTube and I’ve been delighted to discover the Monobox, Talking Pictures TV and the Poetry Archive.
Just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get with the literary calendar.
One day it’s Richard Burton narrating the 1954 recording of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and the next day it could be the music video for Kate Bush’s Sensual World.
With the bite-sized entries, I feel like I’ve educated myself in just a few minutes but I also like the discipline of dedicating a couple of hours to a film or an essay that I might otherwise dismiss.
Having seen the movie Shirley at the virtual London Film Festival last year and then realising that the short story Afternoon in Linen was by the film’s subject felt like I was connecting the dots in my literary education.
Claire says “this calendar very nearly didn’t happen because I kept disappearing down rabbit-holes so deep and fascinating that, had I been the white rabbit himself, someone would have had to drag me out by the ears.”
Once I’ve completed my current board, I’ll be burrowing into the BFI’s 100 great films to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime, as recommended by Claire.
I love it when something like this opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
