Lighthousekeeping. Jeanette Winterson

      Lighthousekeeping

      Jeanette Winterson

      

       For Deborah Warner

      ‘Remember you must die’

      MURIEL SPARK

      

      ‘Remember you must live’

      ALI SMITH

      Table of Contents

       Cover Page

       Title Page

       Epigraph

TWO ATLANTICS

My mother called me Silver. I was born part precious metal part pirate.

A beginning, a middle and an end is the proper way to tell a story. But I have difficulty with that method.

KNOWN POINT IN THE DARKNESS

As an apprentice to lighthousekeeping my duties were as follows:

Cliff-perched, wind-cleft,

Tell me a story, Pew.

To make an end of it Dark had decided to marry.

       TENANT OF THE SUN

       The moon shone the night white.

       The door was his body.

       Tell me the story, Pew.

       GREAT EXHIBITION

       This way to the Cobra. Wonders of the East!

       Pew – why didn’t my mother marry my father?

       A stranger in his own life,

       How were you born, Pew?

       The mystery of Pew was a mercury of fact.

       That day in the lighthouse

       Eyes like a faraway ship, Pew was sleeping.

       Tell me a story, Pew.

       A PLACE BEFORE THE FLOOD

       Dark was walking his dog along the cliff path

       It was our last day as ourselves.

       A place before the Flood.

       Tell me a story, Silver.

       NEW PLANET

       This is not a love story, but love is in it. That is, love is just outside it, looking for a way to break in.

       Dark was looking at the moon.

       I sometimes think of myself, up at Am Parbh.

       TALKING BIRD

       Two facts about Silver: It reflects 95% of its own light. It is one of the few precious metals that can be safely eaten in small quantities.

       The seahorse was in his pocket.

       1859

       Tell me a story, Silver.

       SOME WOUNDS

       Some wounds never heal.

       The pot of Full Strength Samson was finished.

       Tell me a story, Silver.

       Love is an unarmed intruder.

       Pew

       THE HUT

       This is a love story.

       His heart was beating like light.

       Tell me a story, Silver.

       Part broken part whole, you begin again.

       P.S.

       About the author

       From Innocence to Experience

       LIFE AT A GLANCE

       WRITING LIVES

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