Winter had bitten. Mitchell walked to work across the frost. In the deep cold of early mornings it was stubborn and pervasive, singeing glass and metal with its creeping whiteness. He became fascinated by the larger patterns it created over the wide surfaces of the Court— the window panes of the swimming pool, the metal of … Continue reading Whiteness
Author: Daniel Bennett
I'm a writer and poet. My first novel, All the Dogs, appeared in 2008, and was described by Niall Griffiths as 'a stirring debut, a compellingly written tract on the importance of finding a place on the earth.' My fiction has appeared in London Noir, Crimewave, Black Static and 3AM. I live in London, where, amongst other things, I teach Creative Writing for the Open University. https://absenceclub.com
Fires and Insanities
Dreaming, dreaming. Orr walked without goal, following one street and then another; he was exhausted, so that he sometimes wanted to lie down there on the pavement and rest for a while, yet he kept going. He was approaching a business section now, coming closer to the river. The city, half wrecked and half transformed, … Continue reading Fires and Insanities
Elephant
Prompted by Hannah, Axl told Mitchell about his school for entertainers, which he ran out of a squat in Stockwell. "All I ask is your time and your enthusiasm. Be you banker or Prime Minister, I will turn you into a clown!' This gave way to stories of his time as part of theatre troupes … Continue reading Elephant
Watching
It took a week before he walked the coast. Until then, he stayed mostly inside the apartment. From his place at the window, he learned the timing of the tide, the subtle changes it inflicted on the area throughout the day. He sat up by the window, looking out at the view. He couldn't remember … Continue reading Watching
Elsewhere
Elsewhere are currently hosting my film-poem 'Landscape With Man and High-Vis Jacket and Alpaca.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOd_7UzoRfE For the last ten years, I've made the same train journey through the Hampshire countryside, from London out towards the coast. The landscape has become a familiar companion during this time, although remaining remote and elusive, trapped beyond glass. One night, on … Continue reading Elsewhere
Ice Floe Sky
Later, the three of them had walked out along the beach. The plan had been vague and impetuous. Dragan wanted to swim in the sea, Krista told him it would be too cold, they began squabbling, chasing one another out towards the edge of the water. From somewhere they'd acquired a bottle of brandy, a … Continue reading Ice Floe Sky
Footballer
He met the footballer not long after. Another resident had called down to the cabin to complain about a ball being kicked from the roof, and Mitchell had gone up to investigate. He had assumed that it was children, either those from the Belgian family or even a group from the town. But as he … Continue reading Footballer
Thieves
She hunched down, resting upon her folded arms, and she stared at him. 'I think you were in prison.' 'Well,' he said. 'I'm right aren't I?' She must have seen the reaction in his eyes. 'Yes,' he said. 'You're right.' She seemed to expect him to congratulate her, or at least acknowledge the way she … Continue reading Thieves
Good Man
One night, while Mitchell had been trying to sleep in his car, the woman from the flat upstairs had passed him on the street. She went in through her front door, but after five minutes she returned, knocking upon the passenger's side window. 'There's no room for you to stay, but at least I can … Continue reading Good Man
Shoes
Only when Mitchell had walked down the stone steps did he realise that the whole bay was covered with shoes, thousands and thousands of shoes. One of the policeman stood on the sands at the bottom of the steps, ordering the prisoners to collect as many as possible before the tide turned. No word about … Continue reading Shoes
