Saturday 26 April 2014

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Reading a novel by Marquez is a joy and a journey. In classes where time is limited I read his short stories. They give a flavour of his work and sometimes prompt people to read more. His language is dense with meaning and he uses punctuation in his own inimitable way so reading his stories aloud has to be made as easy as possible to get the point across. Two stories I use time and time again because of their brevity are The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World  and The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship

I can't recommend them enough. If you've read Marquez they act as a small reminder. If you haven't then they are a treasure to come. They are easily available on line to read. Try one of them and immediately after write a story afterwards, bearing in mind the magical and vivid style of Marquez.

Write about 
a journey on a boat 
a remote village 
a stranger
treasure

use an idea of your own


See what you get. Don't edit as you go along just write in a stream of consciousness. You can always edit later if you want to. 

Read a bit about the man and his life and upbringing. It will inspire you. His gifts to this world are his novels and what they say. The greedy amongst us might hope there is a manuscript stashed in a drawer soon to be released to commemorate his passing. 

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