CURRENT MISSION

Taking the next step

ABOUT ME

I'm 22 and I've just spent 6 months working at a European radio station, in Nantes, France, presenting a cultural show in English. Before that I studied English literature and French, and before that I was in Nantes the first time as a teaching assistant, which was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Before, during, and since all of these things, I was a writer (or at least, trying to be.) You can read some of my stuff on my website: www.richardtobrien.com

PHILOSOPHY

A slightly creepy 40-year-old Dutch hippie once told me I needed to 'drown myself with my passion'. As unappealing as that sounds, I think it's still a message to live by.

Failing that:
"Invited to a barbecue
I found refuge in the kitchen
Discussing post-war US literature
With a girl whose upper arm read “fiction”
Like it might have been typewritten

I asked her its significance
She said she sometimes took reminding
What she wanted to be doing
Whether reading it or writing
I admitted admiration
For both typeface and intent
And said more softly — sotto voce —
I knew too well what she meant
She just smiled
And in a while she went"

- Fiction, by The Lucksmiths

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The first time I Couchsurfed, I met Boyz II Men in the Nova Scotia Casino.

Interests

Literature, music, theatre, art, museums, cities, foods both sweet and savoury.

• arts
• writing
• literature
• bbq
• reading
• music
• guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

Too much coffee and too many books and too many films just to keep me hooked.

My favourite writer is Graham Greene, but I'll probably be a better guest than he was. Philip Larkin, Jean Rhys, Kingsley Amis, Leonard Cohen, Joe Orton, John Donne and Frank O'Hara do it for me. As do Michel Houellebecq, Maurice Fombeure, Alain Robbe-Grillet, and les autres.

Music: the Mountain Goats, Jake Thackray, Momus, Georges Brassens, Thomas Fersen... I worked as a radio DJ for six months so if you want to test me on contemporary European independent music from 2012-13, you are more than welcome to try.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once met Leonard Cohen and asked him to sign a notebook for me. He wrote 'Fill this up'.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you four chords on an acoustic guitar, play you a song, write you a sonnet, and help you to write your own.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United Kingdom