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Hanif Kureishi, a transfer and a translation
We’re a bit beyond saying “Happy New Year” at this point, though it would have been an easy way to start the newsletter. January is speeding on.
Dear followers, I should like you to know that on Boxing Day, in Rome, after taking a comfortable walk to the Piazza del Popolo, followed by a stroll through the Villa Borghese, and then back to the apartment, I had a fall.
So begins a Twitter thread by author Hanif Kureishi, written on January 6 (and which, at the time of writing, has had 2mn views). The novelist was tweeting from a hospital in Rome, where he had undergone spinal surgery after waking up in a pool of his own blood, paralysed.
Hanif Kureishi is the FT’s Person in the News this week, written by me and which you can read here.
As I say in the piece, there’s something inspiring in how Kureishi, again and again, turns to the pull of the sentence from his hospital bed. I hope people continue to follow what he has to say.
little scratch news
The play of my novel is transferring to New Diorama theatre from 12 April, running until 13 May. Tickets are on sale now, with £3 tickets available for those who are unemployed or on strike.
The show was originally on at Hampstead Theatre near the end of 2021. I am so excited that it’s coming back — with the same amazing collaboration of Katie Mitchell directing, Melanie Wilson’s sound score and Miriam Battye’s adaptation.
little scratch is also being published in Spain next month. Rasguño is translated by Elia Maqueda, and would you look at that cover? This is the whole spread, designed by artist Seleka Muñoz.
That’s all for now, I think.
Bye!