Hello people. A full month on from the publication of Little Hands Clapping, Rhodes is still being kept busy. We’ve tracked down a couple of recent interviews – this first one, with Colin Waters at the Scottish Review of Books, is a monster [UPDATE - it's now a monster behind a paywall]. We’ve never read a longer interview with anyone. Rhodes is notoriously irascible, and here he excels himself, so much so that his legal team have sent us a strongly-worded letter insisting we point out that while the bulk of this interview was taking place he was suffering from acquired torticollis, a.k.a. wry neck. He was only able to look in one direction (downwards and to the left), and any movement would result in a searing blast of agony. We suppose we too would be pretty grumpy under these circumstances. But it’s not all bad news – he gives us a mention, and even ‘applauds’ us, possibly heralding a thawing in relations. Maybe one day he’ll even stop trying to get us closed down.
[We've hacked into Rhodes' medical records and can confirm that his neck has since recovered, but he is currently bandaged up, having sliced open the back of his hand in a bizarre gardening accident. The show will go on though - the wound will be on public display at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow at 7.30 this Friday, 12th March. Why not go along and have a look at it?]
Another interview, a Q&A with The List, lives here. At this point Rhodes was going through a rare phase of good health, so he has no excuse for his bad temper and foul mouth. But at least he leavens things with a joke about a pillow, adapted from his 1977 Muppets annual.
On to other news. Rhodes has announced a string of appearances in Oxford on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th March. His slots are at 3.30 and 7.30 sharp on the Saturday and 1.30 on the Sunday. They’re happening in a tent near the Book Festival’s ticket office and book shop – the tent has something to do with Canongate Books and Highland Park whisky (nice – keep your fingers crossed for a free tasting), and will be easy to spot. Rhodes will be reading different stuff each time, and it’s free – just turn up. Other authors involved include Geoff Dyer and Mari Strachan. This booking means that Rhodes will have visited Oxford twice in his life, bringing the city level with Cambridge in the Oxford and Cambridge Rhodes Race. 2-2, and everything to play for.
Details of this and other events (Glasgow, Laugharne, Aberdeen, more to follow) live over at our Readings page.
And finally… we are delighted to announce that Little Hands Clapping is spending an unprecedented fifth consecutive week in Heat magazine’s Top 10, together with its five star review. What a run.
Happy reading.
