Writing seems to be a problem of some kind. It isn't as if most people can just sit down and start to write brilliantly, get up from the desk, so something else all day, and then, next morning start again without any conflict or anxiety. To begin to write - to attempt to do anything creative, for that matter - is to ask many other questions, not only about the craft itself, but of oneself, and of life. The blank empty page is a representation of this helplessness. Who am I? it asks. How should I live? Who do I want to be?

Dreaming and Scheming collects some of the very best of the non-fiction writings by Hanif Kureishi. These include political essays; diaries; accounts of his collaborations in film and television, and above all, exploration of how the life of the mind expresses itself in creative endeavours. Kureishi's energies and insights make this collection essential for admirers of his work, and for anyone who aspires to be a writer.