“Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea.” ~ Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1861 “Large terminals, operational buildings, offices, roads and car parks will interrupt the broad open scale of the marsh landscape… The network of ditches and creeks running through the marshes will … Continue reading The Marsh Country
Author: julianhoffman
I'm a writer living beside the Prespa Lakes in northern Greece.
The Small Heart of Things Book Trailer
With the end of summer, migrating birds make landfall along the shore of the lake. The dense thickets of alders and willows that have sprouted within reach of the water teem with tiny, flitting forms. Whinchats, warblers and flycatchers rustle through the silvered leaves or snare insects on the wing, taking enough from summer's rich … Continue reading The Small Heart of Things Book Trailer
Where the River Meets the Sea
The lone and level sands stretch far away. - Percy Bysshe Shelley, from ‘Ozymandias’ Only the evening before, a friend had warned me about the shifting sands of the estuary should I try to get close to the stone, confessing her own driven desire to seek out the totems and talismans of the landscape as … Continue reading Where the River Meets the Sea
The Small Heart of Things Cover Design
I’m extremely excited to have received the cover art for The Small Heart of Things, and I’m deeply grateful to the University of Georgia Press for creating such an elegant and attractive design from my photo of a fire salamander taken here in Prespa. The tale of this particular salamander walking off into snow is one of the stories told in the book, so it’s especially pleasing … Continue reading The Small Heart of Things Cover Design
To the Island
I’ve looked at the island from the first day we arrived here, set like a dark stone in a band of glittering blue water. It seems to float within reasonable reach, catching the eye with ease when you walk along the shore, but it’s remained steadfastly remote all that time. The island of Golem Grad … Continue reading To the Island
Julian Hoffman 