adultery and desertion. He wasn't about to desert her. So she deserted him. That meant, of course, that Ossie [Spark] would get custody of Robin, though the boy would end up being raised by Muriel [Spark]'s parents. In 1944, Spark managed to return to Britain, and went to work in the Foreign Office. After the war, she worked in London, usually as a secretary. Publisher Peter Owen called her "the best bloody secretary" he ever had. But she was steadily writing, mostly poetry and criticism. She was appointed general secretary of the Poetry Society in 1947, but was sacked the following year.
She had, so far, written no prose fiction. Then, in 1951, the Observer announced a contest for a Christmas story. The prize was 250 pounds. There were nearly 7,000 entries. Spark's "The Seraph and the Zambezi" won.
from Frank Wilson: The Philadelphia Inquirer: A brilliant, difficult woman in sharp focus
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Vosburg haiku . . .
Raindrops striking leaves.
from Frank Wilson: Books Inq.--The Epilogue: Vosburg haiku . . .
also Frank Wilson: Books Inq.--The Epilogue: Vosburg haiku . . .
also Frank Wilson: Books Inq.--The Epilogue: Vosburg haiku . . .
also Frank Wilson: Books Inq.--The Epilogue: Vosburg haiku . . .
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[Basho] certainly reminds us that truth is something to be encountered, not figured out.
We imagine that if the sort of encounter Basho hints at over and over could happen to us we could make our way through life serene and content, unperturbed by its slings and arrows, pitfalls and pain. In other words, our pursuit of enlightenment is another subset in our pursuit of pleasure. We do not want to know the truth for its own sake, no matter what. We want to know it because we think it will make us feel good.
from Frank Wilson: When Falls the Coliseum: That's What He Said: You have to make the pilgramage to truth yourself
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