The Gist
This summer, Arvon is excited to be co-publishing The Gist: A Celebration of the Imagination, a collection of essays, poems and reflections on the act of writing, and the nature of inspiration.
Edited by Lindsay Clarke, and created in honour of Arvon's founder John Moat, the book takes its title from the opening essay, The Gist of Arvon, in which John reflects with characteristic humanity, vigour and wit on the wider implications of the original vision and sense of purpose, which he shared with his close friend, the late John Fairfax, when they set up the Arvon Foundation together more than forty years ago.
John's piece is followed by those of the contributing authors, who approach the issues from a stimulating variety of perspectives. Thus, amongst other lively contributions, Seamus Heaney writes about the inspirational nature of haunting encounters, Alice Oswald reveals a poets imagination in full flight across pages from her work-book, Carol Ann Duffy contributes poems she wrote while tutoring at Arvon Centres, and there are freshly written pieces by novelists such as Andrew Miller, Adam Thorpe and Maggie Gee, while Jules Cashford, Linda Proud and Patrick Harpur offer mythological and philosophical insights on the books themes.
The Gist was published on 30 June.
