
Marianne Francis is the pseudonym of Patricia Borlenghi who has an MA in Creative Writing. She particularly enjoyed studying Oulipian Practice (OULIPO = Ouvroir de littérature potentielle, an informal group of French-speaking writers and mathematicians using constrained writing techniques). She spends a lot of time in East Anglia and enjoys travelling. Clarisse is her first contemporary novel.
Note on Clarisse:
Clarisse is not a conventional plot-driven novel but more an episodic exploration of how a woman tackles the problems life has thrown at her. The novel is set in England, France and New Zealand and apart from the towns and cities mentioned in New Zealand, many of the place names are fictitious. Clarisse encounters many people but as in real life, they appear and disappear, so not all are fully-developed characters.
At the outset, Clarisse is the driving force of the narrative. She is in control but by the end of the novel, she is disintegrating, both physically and mentally. As the author, I wanted to create doubt and uncertainty and abandon the convention of a finite ending.
Dolores – a book of poems
An eclectic poetry collection about women, places, philosophy and feelings.
Musselling on Wrabness beach
Musselling on Wrabness beach
On a Saturday in July.
An early morning treat
Savouring the
Empty pure calm,
Bright salty warm,
Sun glistening view
Of sea craft and distant docks.
Wading in wellies
Through the sinking seaweed mud
Heading slowly to the water’s edge
At the changing tide.
Soft jingling of dinghies and
Yachts turning downriver
Towards Harwich,
Sighting Suffolk on the other side.
Perfect in every way –
Many juicy mussels to be found
Clinging to stones and bladder wrack
Filling up two buckets
And then further inland
Foraging for samphire and
Sea spinach and vibrant green leaves.
But all the recumbent oysters
Left in their beds for later
When the months include an ‘R’.