Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor is an author, poet, lecturer and critic. His books include the novel "Entertaining Strangers" (Salt, 2012), the memoir "Take Me Home: Parkinson's, My Father, Myself" (Granta Books, 2007), the poetry collection "Musicolepsy" (Shoestring, 2013), and the short-story collection "Kontakte and Other Stories" (Roman Books, 2013 and 2014). He is editor of the award-winning anthology "Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud" (Salt, 2012). He is Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, and co-director of arts organisation and small publisher Crystal Clear Creators. His website is www.jonathanptaylor.co.uk.

Credentials

Jonathan Taylor in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

I started writing at home, drawing pictures to illustrate stories written down by my father when I was very little.

What do you love about short stories?

I love the way in which short stories overlap with other genres, absorbing and assimilating their strengths - for example, poetic language from poetry, storytelling from oral tales, performativity from theatre, vocality from radio drama, psychological sophistication from novels, and so on.

Do you write in other forms?

Novels, memoirs, creative non-fiction, academic writing, literary criticism, reviews, radio drama, poetry.

What distracts you from writing?

Teaching - though, in the end, it also feeds into it.

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

Music, especially classical.

What is your favourite book?

Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle.

Who are your favourite writers?

Dickens, Poe and Wordsworth.

Where is your dream location?

Home.

What one item would you put into Room 101?

Most governments.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Perform your work! Whether you're a poet or a fiction writer or, indeed, a non-fiction writer, it's the best (and most natural) way of having a direct relationship with an audience.