I will synthesise my thoughts on the Altermodern exhibition that was the main reason I've been down in London the last couple of days, but as a sort of prelude, I'll list a few thoughts I had concerning the physical space of London and the adjustments needed when arriving there.
- The size of flats. Chris and Wilz's flat was possibly a fifth of the size of our Glasgow one. To adjust to that is not just a physical issue, it's psychical too. A word such as "living room" signifies something completely different, especially when there's a "kitchen" in it too.
- Distances travelled. As has been pointed out before, ad nauseum, London is pretty big, and encompasses an area that in other contexts would be considered too large to travel in an afternoon, say, or a day.
- The time it takes to travel those distances. Not only giving yourself more time to get places because London's bigger and the tube might be busy, it's rush-hour etc etc, but actually giving yourself too much time for that very reason. Thinking "oh it's London so I'd better give myself an hour to get there", you end up getting there in half an hour.
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Me
- Mark
- I am writing a PhD at the University of Glasgow entitled "The Poetics of Time in Contemporary Literature". My writing has been published in Type Review, Dancehall, Puffin Review and TheState. I review books for Gutter and The List. I am also an editor and reviewer at the Glasgow Review of Books.
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