Short Cuts: Moonlight

Years ago, I had a very dry, very corporate job, and it wore me down. I felt like if I didn't explore my creative side I'd die of boredom. So I enrolled onto a creative writing course at City Lit. I went for a few weeks and mostly loved it, but you had to read your work out. Mine was never very good, and I'd always get the shakes and the sweats having to read my gumpf out in front of a room full of talented writers. After a few weeks, work got busy and I found myself struggling to write. I'd turn up empty handed to classes and couldn't decide if I was more embarrassed reading the drivel I'd lovingly produced when the course started, or sheepishly saying "I didn't get chance this week". Eventually, I quit. But I always remembered my teacher, Courttia Newland, who remained admirably enthusiastic and encouraging in the face of this particular talent abyss.

So when his latest novel, A River Called Time was released, I was excited. It is an expansive work of speculative fiction that imagines a world where slavery and colonialism never happened and where, through trade and cultural exchange rather than subjugation and exploitation, a blend of traditional world beliefs have come to underpin the workings of every day life. I got thoroughly lost in the alternate worlds within it, and I highly recommend it! This piece, co-produced with Phoebe McIndoe, explores Courttia's experiences with astral projection and the place of traditional spirituality in life and the literary world.

Huge thanks to Eleanor McDowell at Falling Tree for commissioning this for Short Cuts.