I know what ‘gives pleasure’ can never be simple. Let’s consider how we react to the effect of words working together to evoke vision, sound, sensation and tangled meanings.

May 13, 2026

I met a poet in my favourite left bookshop yesterday, The People’s Bookshop in Durham City, and bought his book, Blooming Us. I was searching for more books by Bryher and he knew, as might be expected in someone intensely interested in the poetic movement called Imagism, of Bryher’s sometime lover, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle). I … More I know what ‘gives pleasure’ can never be simple. Let’s consider how we react to the effect of words working together to evoke vision, sound, sensation and tangled meanings.

‘People stared at the narrow limits in front of them, until they neither saw nor heard the rumours at their own border’. Historical novels invent our interest in underrated lives; the likes of which might once have been lived by someone now forgotten, nevertheless. Is Bryher a neglected novelist in part for that reason? A case study based on their novel ‘Roman Wall’ (1955) and the borders of the ‘historical’ novel.

May 12, 2026

‘People stared at the narrow limits in front of them, until they neither saw nor heard the rumours at their own border’.[1] Historical novels invent our interest in underrated lives; the likes of which might once have been lived by someone now forgotten, nevertheless. Is Bryher a neglected novelist in part for that reason? A … More ‘People stared at the narrow limits in front of them, until they neither saw nor heard the rumours at their own border’. Historical novels invent our interest in underrated lives; the likes of which might once have been lived by someone now forgotten, nevertheless. Is Bryher a neglected novelist in part for that reason? A case study based on their novel ‘Roman Wall’ (1955) and the borders of the ‘historical’ novel.

That moment you realise that though a pit seemed to open up in your path, you had other paths to choose.

May 11, 2026

Shadowed by woods, I noticed too latethe fractures in the path we’d trod so long,still thinking I was held upright by themwho claim that in their thoughts you would feel strong.The breaking foundations of that dark pathsoon gapes so wide that a crack becomes the wallof some dark  hole, like coal-black pits God’s wrathOpens for … More That moment you realise that though a pit seemed to open up in your path, you had other paths to choose.

What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’? Selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means?

May 10, 2026

What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’: selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means? Probably Wordsworth is the primary poet who turned his back as an individual artistic sensibility, and he, of course, was called the Egoistical Sublime by Keats,  on global trends, … More What is ‘local’ and what is ‘custom’? Selecting for preservation is the practice of dominance not community. But who selects and who interprets what it means?

I doubt I would I be the ‘playboy’? This blog is my preparation to see the National Theatre streamed version of the play at the Reel Cinema, Bishop Auckland on Thursday 28th May.

May 9, 2026

I doubt I would I be the ‘playboy’? At the end of John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, the so-styled playboy, Christy Mahon, realises that he has been transformed into an incarnated idea destined forever to represent a life of constant playtime and being the object of ‘game’ and joy in the … More I doubt I would I be the ‘playboy’? This blog is my preparation to see the National Theatre streamed version of the play at the Reel Cinema, Bishop Auckland on Thursday 28th May.

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

May 8, 2026

Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) Love Lane London, Tinder Press. I have long been a reader and fan of Patrick Gale, though I have only written a blog on one of his novels, Mother’s Boy, a fictional biography of Charles … More Relieving a man’s ‘urgent need’ on ‘Love Lane’:  This is a blog about that ‘surprising book’ by Patrick Gale (2026) ‘Love Lane’ London, Tinder Press.

The joys of getting in first: literary research and its purpose. More information turns up in the recent issue of ‘Gay & Lesbian Revue’ on James Baldwin and the direction of the play ‘Düşenin Dostu’ (‘Friend of the Fallen’ in English), the Turkish version of John Herbert’s ‘Fortune and Men’s Eyes’ played in Istanbul.

May 7, 2026

The joys of getting in first: literary research and its purpose. More information turns up in the recent issue of Gay & Lesbian Revue on James Baldwin and the direction of the play ‘Düşenin Dostu’ (‘Friend of the Fallen’ in English), the Turkish version of John Herbert’s ‘Fortune and Men’s Eyes’ played in Istanbul. A … More The joys of getting in first: literary research and its purpose. More information turns up in the recent issue of ‘Gay & Lesbian Revue’ on James Baldwin and the direction of the play ‘Düşenin Dostu’ (‘Friend of the Fallen’ in English), the Turkish version of John Herbert’s ‘Fortune and Men’s Eyes’ played in Istanbul.

Superpower: the power to disallow others from having power over you ever again. In the end, it’s a paltry power but somehow it’s all we want and admire. A case study from seeing the Metropolitan Opera production of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’.

May 6, 2026

Superpower: the power to disallow others from having power over you ever again. In the end, it’s a paltry power but somehow it’s all we want and admire. A case study from seeing the Metropolitan Opera production of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’. First of all, since I have twice blogged on preparations to see the present … More Superpower: the power to disallow others from having power over you ever again. In the end, it’s a paltry power but somehow it’s all we want and admire. A case study from seeing the Metropolitan Opera production of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’.

We have to learn how to accept loss in our life or live with distortion, for (as E.M. Forster tried to show his beloved hero, Maurice) ‘letters distort even more quickly than silence’?

May 5, 2026

It must have seemed a mystery to me, else why did I write it so carefully on the front endpaper of my copy of Maurice (written in 1914 but first published in 1971, and mine was a first edition), at the age of 20 to consider why it seemed to matter so much to me … More We have to learn how to accept loss in our life or live with distortion, for (as E.M. Forster tried to show his beloved hero, Maurice) ‘letters distort even more quickly than silence’?

Perhaps the answer is ‘ a moment of anticipation’! This blog reflects on Eugene O’Neill (1956) ‘A Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ in anticipation of seeing a production revived by Elysium Theatre Company at the Gala Theatre Durham on 19th May 2026.

May 4, 2026

Perhaps the answer is ‘ a moment of anticipation’! A young man and his father are lost to the consumption of hoarded whiskey until the woman, who is their mother and wife respectively, enters pale as a ghost carrying her ancient wedding dress. At this point the youth’s ‘head jerks and his eyes open’, though … More Perhaps the answer is ‘ a moment of anticipation’! This blog reflects on Eugene O’Neill (1956) ‘A Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ in anticipation of seeing a production revived by Elysium Theatre Company at the Gala Theatre Durham on 19th May 2026.

The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! ‘The Guardian’ today is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now that this ideology has created the least electable party of modern voting history. Is voting in political elections ever a matter of principle in politics?

May 2, 2026

The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! The Guardian today, with the gloomy collage below, is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now … More The question should be why would or should you vote in political elections! ‘The Guardian’ today is predicting unprecedented losses for the Labour Party. Yet the current Labour Leader won power in his party by saying no party should promote any policy that would make it ‘unelectable’. It seems now that this ideology has created the least electable party of modern voting history. Is voting in political elections ever a matter of principle in politics?