Author Archives: Beth Wren
A Weekend in Weimar
Having studied Goethe intensively for a year at university, Weimar had long since been on my list of places to visit in Germany. Finally realising a trip to the famous city was somewhat of a dream for me, especially finally visiting Goethe’s house after having watched a detailed video tour of it last year in class. […]
Poetry Corner: Let’s Talk About the Fear
Ok, it’s time to admit something which I think is probably fairly obvious, but nevertheless important to express: I’m terrified of sharing my words. I set up this little Poetry Corner section of my blog with the intention of regularly publishing the poems which I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Somewhat naively, […]
Review: the Miniaturist, Jessie Burton
On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later […]
Lost in Leipzig
Hello, my name’s Beth and I’m terrible with directions. With this in mind, and with the knowledge that I had really done very little preparation in terms of looking at maps and other important things like where to go, I arrived in Leipzig on Saturday with nothing more than an unnecessarily overfilled backpack, and a lot […]
5 Problems All Writers Will Know
Or, at least, I hope I’m not the only one. When you think about it, writing creatively is one of the strangest things that you can do. Of course, it’s in equal parts terrifying, fulfilling and life-changing, but that transition from mind to paper can be a little tricky, can’t it? Here are the problems […]
Review: Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
I’m starting to become quite the Hardy fan now, having read and loved The Return of the Native and Tess of the D’Urbervilles in the last year or so. I’m going to pretend, however, that my desire to read this particular book wasn’t fuelled by a certain upcoming film adaptation starring Carey Mulligan, and a particular penchant for all […]
24 Hours in Bamberg
Last weekend I was given the opportunity to spontaneously visit the beautiful city of Bamberg in Bavaria. And when I say spontaneously, I mean like 4-5 days notice because for me that is very spontaneous. I seized the chance with both hands and enjoyed a wonderful, jam-packed stay in the UNESCO world heritage site, exploring the […]
We Are All Losing Our Attention Spans
Or is it just me? In a world where the way in which we view media is becoming more and more compacted, it only makes sense that our attention spans are shortening as we look at the things around us through increasingly smaller windows. For me the change was obvious, the very way in which […]
My New Year’s Resolutions 2015
The new year is always a funny time. You don’t have far to look to find people left right and centre making the most ridiculously improbable vows, the kind which make you wonder that if they had followed their own advice sooner the world would already be a much better place. And then you get the disbelievers. The […]
Poetry Corner | Poem #2: The Buzz
Just a quick one this week, a 1am iPhone note poem about that annoying thing you have to live with: your mind. Sending festive greetings and good tidings for this time of year, and all the best as we welcome in 2015.
Bethany Wren 