I have just read this aloud to my son since your description of Carlo fits him perfectly. Silent for a moment, he said “that is the first authentic piece of writing I have heard in so long. (‘In so long’ emphasised).) We must buy his book.” We will.
I hope you continue forever. I smile whenever I see you in my inbox. But I realise - and hope - you will develop other interests and priorities. However, Hanif (and collaborators!) - keep writing! In any form. For us and for you.
Watching Glastonbury as I read this - Keane was on and I like him. (Somewhere only we know) - you are a new man whichever way you look at it - you have in a sense been reborn. And that Hanif is the full extent of my poverty stricken thought for this evening. Caught between Glasto footie strange summer weather and being able to respond to this comment but unable to ‘ask you anything’ (my circumstances just now - who knows what will happen next) you sound so well and this is great to read - lots of good wishes and hope you are voting the bastards out next Thursday big love Maddi nowhere village North Yorkshire x
Oh yes, you need to tell your story! How fortuitous that you've developed this fruitful creative partnership with your sons, particularly Carlo. It speaks to your overall loving family relationship that you've been able to collaborate so productively.
Immobilised physically but mentally and emotionally ever mobile, flexible and in essence yourself and more. I too always look forward to reading my Kureshi Chronicles and love your extraordinary collaborative writing with your beloved sons… thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep going! ♥️
You are so brilliant at being honest. I’m learning that being honest is not a simple thing, it takes courage. You had courage from the beginning and it does not fail you now.
I’m glad you have raised children who have the courage to challenge your ideas. That’s quite some thing to challenge a revered writer. Father or not.
Great post. Really interesting that these collaborations with your sons incorporate you, them and also the third element of the dynamic between you, flowing and shifting as you create together. Thank you Kier! Hope Carlo and Sachin are having a brilliant time at Glasto. The sometimes rocky dynamic you described in the collaborations with RM led to gorgeous films. xx
I love that you talked about ‘ a sense of urgency’. These are the times when we feel most vital within ourselves , where the mundane is distant , and the profound is near . And yes , if a criticism bites , it means something .
Your new way of working manifests how effectively you have adapted around a situation that could have defeated many psychologically; and shows that you have created such a strong, loving and creative family able to support your writing projects and contribute to the process. It’s inspiring to see this positive image of a family emerging through the project as well as to read the regular postings on Substack. Often if I feel a bit melancholy for any reason I find the posts here to be uplifting because I find a template for overcoming adversity and staying strong together with many thoughtful reflections.
Maybe it was the mention of Glastonbury, but something occurred to me as I read this blog: You were a solo artist. Now you're in a band, and whatever physical impairments you have suffered, creatively it has rejuvenated you.
Family bands have a chequered history. I don't think the Kureishis can lay claim to the mantle of the literary Osmonds or even The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. (The latter wrote songs based on collections of old photographs that they purchased at yard sales.) You are not The Kinks or The Everly Brothers, perpetually at each other's throats, to the extent that you have to be pulled apart on stage; at least not yet.
What you remind me of are those bands whose limited resources set constraints on their recordings. It is those constraints that breathed energy and life into their songs, even after they were nailed down on tape. You can listen to them 20, 30, 40 years after they were recorded and it's like a desert that hasn't seen rain in decades blossoming into flower at the first sign of water.
It's Bad Brains recording demos at Inner Ear Studios – at the time a tiny basement in a private residence – with the drummer in the closet, other band members upstairs in the kitchen, and HR laying down his vocals in the backyard to the sound of crickets. Would those songs have the same energy under more conventional circumstances? I doubt it.
Or, it's the end of the Door-sy keyboard solo of 'Even If,' by the Screaming Trees, where it seems like someone's entered the studio and started talking, and you can hear other people going “Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!”, and instead of ruining the song it only adds to the tension and grounds it forever in the moment. If money had flowed a little more freely from the purse of SST records, then the band might have cut it out or re-recorded the song and it wouldn't have been half as good.
A few days ago, I was listening to See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens – an early album by The Walkabouts. The band went on to record with far more finesse, both lyrically and in terms of arrangements, but I don't think they ever caught that same energy again. There is a strange melancholy in their garage band run through 'John Reilly' and I can't fathom how they managed it. No other recording of the song comes near it.
The difference between you and these bands is that the aforementioned recordings were made when they were young and starting out. You are at the other end of life and yet your accident, which has deprived you of so much, has in a way turned you into a teenager again. It's hit the restart button on your creativity. You can't do it the way you were doing it. You have to go about it a different way. It's brought back the rawness and the energy that gets worn down by time and circumstance. It's youth and experience flowing from the same vessel. Now that the memoir has been put to bed, I am interested in what you will do next.
Your current writing (which I feel “whole”, something I find very interesting after reading your words on how collaborative it has become) constantly invites me to reflect not only on your process both as a human and as a writer, but also on Human Condition. That esence which we all share and is our most solid ground however we tend to forget.
I treasure the pieces you generously dictate and make available to us through this platform (new to me as well), since the allow us to experience multiple versions of your own reality—as well as that of your family.
Always remember we are as eager to read you as you state that are eager to dictate, and one way or another will share what comes to us after your last sentence.
This post in particular, makes me feel connected to your praise to collaborative work among humans; while the outside keeps on reflecting, debating and delimiting whatever relates to Artificial Intelligence.
It is both an honor and a pleasure to know that thanks to tech we can send our best wishes, healing energy, and thoughts straight to your inbox.
Thank you, now and always, for staying true to yourself!
So interesting that your situation has inspired you to write again, and to write well, even if you are doing it in your mind. From your mind to the keys of your son's computer. I applaud your passion and commitment.
I always do my best writing in my mind but then no one gets to write it down for me. Once I write it down it isn't so good any more. Unlike you, your writing is extraordinary.
Congratulations on what will surely be a marvellous book.
That unit of support, your family, is tremendously important. I find I can't write if all is not well with my near and dear, but when all is well and we're getting on, then the 'true groove' opens up. The heart dictates and the head obeys - eventually. So heartened by your growth and continuation.
I have just read this aloud to my son since your description of Carlo fits him perfectly. Silent for a moment, he said “that is the first authentic piece of writing I have heard in so long. (‘In so long’ emphasised).) We must buy his book.” We will.
I hope you continue forever. I smile whenever I see you in my inbox. But I realise - and hope - you will develop other interests and priorities. However, Hanif (and collaborators!) - keep writing! In any form. For us and for you.
Watching Glastonbury as I read this - Keane was on and I like him. (Somewhere only we know) - you are a new man whichever way you look at it - you have in a sense been reborn. And that Hanif is the full extent of my poverty stricken thought for this evening. Caught between Glasto footie strange summer weather and being able to respond to this comment but unable to ‘ask you anything’ (my circumstances just now - who knows what will happen next) you sound so well and this is great to read - lots of good wishes and hope you are voting the bastards out next Thursday big love Maddi nowhere village North Yorkshire x
Oh yes, you need to tell your story! How fortuitous that you've developed this fruitful creative partnership with your sons, particularly Carlo. It speaks to your overall loving family relationship that you've been able to collaborate so productively.
Immobilised physically but mentally and emotionally ever mobile, flexible and in essence yourself and more. I too always look forward to reading my Kureshi Chronicles and love your extraordinary collaborative writing with your beloved sons… thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep going! ♥️
You are so brilliant at being honest. I’m learning that being honest is not a simple thing, it takes courage. You had courage from the beginning and it does not fail you now.
I’m glad you have raised children who have the courage to challenge your ideas. That’s quite some thing to challenge a revered writer. Father or not.
Great post. Really interesting that these collaborations with your sons incorporate you, them and also the third element of the dynamic between you, flowing and shifting as you create together. Thank you Kier! Hope Carlo and Sachin are having a brilliant time at Glasto. The sometimes rocky dynamic you described in the collaborations with RM led to gorgeous films. xx
I love that you talked about ‘ a sense of urgency’. These are the times when we feel most vital within ourselves , where the mundane is distant , and the profound is near . And yes , if a criticism bites , it means something .
Your new way of working manifests how effectively you have adapted around a situation that could have defeated many psychologically; and shows that you have created such a strong, loving and creative family able to support your writing projects and contribute to the process. It’s inspiring to see this positive image of a family emerging through the project as well as to read the regular postings on Substack. Often if I feel a bit melancholy for any reason I find the posts here to be uplifting because I find a template for overcoming adversity and staying strong together with many thoughtful reflections.
Thank you.
IThis is my favorite of your dispatches so far, Hanif. It resonates.
This is so inspiring, thank you! You are very brave and so is your family: KEEP GOING
I just want to say: I like everything you write!
Maybe it was the mention of Glastonbury, but something occurred to me as I read this blog: You were a solo artist. Now you're in a band, and whatever physical impairments you have suffered, creatively it has rejuvenated you.
Family bands have a chequered history. I don't think the Kureishis can lay claim to the mantle of the literary Osmonds or even The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. (The latter wrote songs based on collections of old photographs that they purchased at yard sales.) You are not The Kinks or The Everly Brothers, perpetually at each other's throats, to the extent that you have to be pulled apart on stage; at least not yet.
What you remind me of are those bands whose limited resources set constraints on their recordings. It is those constraints that breathed energy and life into their songs, even after they were nailed down on tape. You can listen to them 20, 30, 40 years after they were recorded and it's like a desert that hasn't seen rain in decades blossoming into flower at the first sign of water.
It's Bad Brains recording demos at Inner Ear Studios – at the time a tiny basement in a private residence – with the drummer in the closet, other band members upstairs in the kitchen, and HR laying down his vocals in the backyard to the sound of crickets. Would those songs have the same energy under more conventional circumstances? I doubt it.
Or, it's the end of the Door-sy keyboard solo of 'Even If,' by the Screaming Trees, where it seems like someone's entered the studio and started talking, and you can hear other people going “Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!”, and instead of ruining the song it only adds to the tension and grounds it forever in the moment. If money had flowed a little more freely from the purse of SST records, then the band might have cut it out or re-recorded the song and it wouldn't have been half as good.
A few days ago, I was listening to See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens – an early album by The Walkabouts. The band went on to record with far more finesse, both lyrically and in terms of arrangements, but I don't think they ever caught that same energy again. There is a strange melancholy in their garage band run through 'John Reilly' and I can't fathom how they managed it. No other recording of the song comes near it.
The difference between you and these bands is that the aforementioned recordings were made when they were young and starting out. You are at the other end of life and yet your accident, which has deprived you of so much, has in a way turned you into a teenager again. It's hit the restart button on your creativity. You can't do it the way you were doing it. You have to go about it a different way. It's brought back the rawness and the energy that gets worn down by time and circumstance. It's youth and experience flowing from the same vessel. Now that the memoir has been put to bed, I am interested in what you will do next.
I agree!
Your current writing (which I feel “whole”, something I find very interesting after reading your words on how collaborative it has become) constantly invites me to reflect not only on your process both as a human and as a writer, but also on Human Condition. That esence which we all share and is our most solid ground however we tend to forget.
I treasure the pieces you generously dictate and make available to us through this platform (new to me as well), since the allow us to experience multiple versions of your own reality—as well as that of your family.
Always remember we are as eager to read you as you state that are eager to dictate, and one way or another will share what comes to us after your last sentence.
This post in particular, makes me feel connected to your praise to collaborative work among humans; while the outside keeps on reflecting, debating and delimiting whatever relates to Artificial Intelligence.
It is both an honor and a pleasure to know that thanks to tech we can send our best wishes, healing energy, and thoughts straight to your inbox.
Thank you, now and always, for staying true to yourself!
I love the idea of adding pictures to your posts.
Will start reading Shattered very soon :)
So interesting that your situation has inspired you to write again, and to write well, even if you are doing it in your mind. From your mind to the keys of your son's computer. I applaud your passion and commitment.
I always do my best writing in my mind but then no one gets to write it down for me. Once I write it down it isn't so good any more. Unlike you, your writing is extraordinary.
Congratulations on what will surely be a marvellous book.
That unit of support, your family, is tremendously important. I find I can't write if all is not well with my near and dear, but when all is well and we're getting on, then the 'true groove' opens up. The heart dictates and the head obeys - eventually. So heartened by your growth and continuation.