Writing – Page 4 – John B Ledger

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why? Three books that have had an impact on me. 1. FEED – M.T Anderson. For me, this partly satirical novel from our near-past (2002) painted one of the most prophetic visions of what would come to be. FEED’s target audience was a teenage/young adultContinue reading

Spectres of Hitler

In the wake of the collapse of ‘really existing’ socialism, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and then the greater Soviet Union between the late 80’s and early 90’s, a state of triumphalism emanated from the Western nations who had been locked in an ideological battle with the aforementioned for almost the best partContinue reading “Spectres of Hitler”

Do you remember life before the internet? Yes, but I largely recall it in anticipation for the thing in question. The internet, prior to its full realisation, prior even to the MySpace generation, was seen as ‘stand in’ for the future writ-large. It stood in for all things better, and thus was a conduit forContinue reading

I actually think some form of national service would be good. But it would be the opposite of this right wing wet dream

The reason I’m writing this isn’t an expected one.. Basically I’m pretty much at rock bottom. The life I have led for all my adult life has become increasingly untenable and intolerable, no matter how many times I’ve tried and tried afresh. This life I’ve led has been flakey from the start, but the idealContinue reading “I actually think some form of national service would be good. But it would be the opposite of this right wing wet dream”

No more apologies

No more apologies for any perceived erroneous move from a continual striving for respect. This has been the longest spell of depression I have ever experienced. And I no longer know what I have left that is worth its weight going forward. What has made it so sustained is that previously, and partly down toContinue reading “No more apologies”

The war against yourself

“Other people do it. Other people manage, Other people can, Other people can’t!!” My biggest dream is to go somewhere where nobody knows my name, where I have no friends, no memories, no hooks back into the person I am. What this means is my biggest dream is to be able to escape my ownContinue reading “The war against yourself”

What does freedom mean to you? The freedom to be needs to be matched by the freedom from having to be. You can’t be forced to be yourself, otherwise freedom itself becomes the tyranny.

Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life. Garry Sykes. Who passed away earlier this year. He taught me on my Bachelors degree in art at Barnsley College. Although it was a Bachelors degree, this wasn’t a university education. Barnsley is a post-industrial town, and certainly not a university town.Continue reading

Self-hate

I can’t explain how much self-hate I experience towards myself on a daily basis, without wanting to punch you, kill you, expose myself to you – anything to prove what a piece of worthless wank I am, so as to justify my non-existence. It’s been a driver in my mental make-up for most my adultContinue reading “Self-hate”

A Uk bank holiday in 2024

HEAD HELD DOWN Negativity isn’t a perception of a world outside, it’s a projection of that world inside: how you feel about yourself, as you continually manoeuvre the inner furniture, trying to feel at home. This reminder gives you rest-bite from the habit of being hard on yourself. But it splutters and withers as youContinue reading “A Uk bank holiday in 2024”