Julia Darling

I first learned about the poet/novelist Julia Darling in early 2005, when she was instructing a Guardian Poetry Workshop, and something about her voice, even the prose in her instruction was so compelling, that I became interested in her work. Only a few months later Darling died of breast cancer at the age of 48, and the remembrances on her personal website (as well as her own blog) are a testament to her spirit, to the power of her writing.

I'm now reading her novel Crocodile Soup, which I picked up in a booksale ages ago. Oh, it's such a pleasure. Hard and funny, reminiscent of Kate Atkinson-- always a good thing. I'm just getting into it, but I expect to be recommending it wholeheartedly very soon.