Ronnie Scott, left, with Max Porter — Photo: Jon Tjhia

Max Porter's first book, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, was an astonishing work about despair, love, memory ... and Ted Hughes.

A strange and beautiful novel of poetry and prose, it told the story of a widower and his two small boys who are visited in their grief by Crow, a self-described 'sentimental bird', and a trickster presence in the household. It won the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize, the 2017 Europese Literatuurprijs and was adapted for the stage in a production starring Cillian Murphy. Critics praised the book for its ambition, sensitivity and originality.

Porter's new book, Lanny follows up in the same experimental vein, again imbuing domestic dramas with magical elements and looming mythical, malevolent figures. It's a novel about childhood and creativity, filled with suspense, dread and hope.

In conversation with Ronnie Scott for our 2019 Mayhem series, Porter discusses fiction, fabulism, literary heroes and literary risks.

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