E. J. Saleby
E. J. Saleby started writing poetry and stories as a small child and then became distracted by playing and listening to music, which was fun while it lasted. He started writing again after a new year’s resolution to try a creative writing course at City Lit three years ago. He is currently working hard, still, on his first novel. You can listen to his music at https://ejsmusic1.bandcamp.com and https://soundcloud.com/frozenoutonbattery.
Q: If you could travel back in time, which of the great writers would you like to meet and why?
A: J. K. Rowling using her plotting grid in a café in Edinburgh, before the dice were rolled. I’d also love to meet and talk at length with Denis Johnson, about how he planned his novels, how he wrote them, and how he rewrote them in order to craft such incredible sentences and poetry… I have a feeling he’d have some good advice.
Q: Do you have a favourite quote? (From a book, film, song, speech…)
A: ‘Nothing will come of nothing’ from King Lear seems particularly apt with writing.
Q: Is there a book that you keep going back to, and if so, how many times have you read it?
A: Calvin and Hobbes: The Revenge of the Baby-Sat. On a more dignified note, any books by Hemingway and Gabriel García Márquez repay repeated reading in their simplicity and depth.
Q: Who is your personal inspiration?
A: Barnett Newman, painter, teacher, never gave up.
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