Getting 2 Know Barry Mathias

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Barry Mathias: For me it is the excitement of the process. I sit at a blank screen, or sometimes (still) an empty sheet of paper, and a thought or a memory unfolds. Slowly, and often after a number of rewrites, a relatively lucid piece of writing is achieved. When writing my trilogy, I would reread the previous day’s work, and without much, or any, idea as to how the story might unfold, I would allow the thoughts to emerge, often with surprising outcomes. With short stories, the whole tale would unfold in a single sitting, and would be mercilessly altered the next day. Poems are the same, although on some blissful occasions, the Muse would take over and the poem is complete. It’s all very exciting.

What are books for?

Barry Mathias: In this age of instant reaction, it is a sheer pleasure to relax with a book I can hold, turn the pages, and savour its contents. Kindles, and similar machines, may hold dozens of stories/opinions etc. but to use them is like watching a television program on gardening, rather than experiencing the actual event. For me, a self-professed Luddite, the reading of a novel or non-fiction publication on a screen is a clinical experience, and lacks the warmth and ownership of holding a book.

Many predicted that television would kill the cinema, it didn’t, as people like to share experiences. When I read a good book, I like to lend it to a friend to share and increase the enjoyment. For me, books are a cornerstone of civilized living.