‘There is a great deal of losing and forgetting about Ravenna as well as physical dismantling, which is also a form of forgetting.’[1] Reflecting on the ways and means of history as a form of remembering the lost body of the past’s being. Judith Herrin’s (2020) ‘Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe’ London, Allen … More ‘There is a great deal of losing and forgetting about Ravenna as well as physical dismantling, which is also a form of forgetting.’[1] Reflecting on the ways and means of history as a form of remembering the lost body of the past’s being. Judith Herrin’s (2020) ‘Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe’

 ‘“You poor man – … . We must seem like the characters in one of those novels about mad people in country houses.” She laughed again, …’.[1] Reflecting on John Banville’s ‘Snow’ London, Faber. This is a novel like no other by John Banville, in that it’s status vis-à-vis the role and status of the … More ‘“You poor man – … . We must seem like the characters in one of those novels about mad people in country houses.” She laughed again, …’. Reflecting on John Banville’s ‘Snow’.

Art Deco By the Sea: Reflecting on class, sex and the arts of the shaped environment. A blog on an exhibition (seen at Laing Gallery Newcastle) & catalogue: Ghislaine Wood (ed.) (2020) Art Deco By The Sea Norwich, Sainsbury’s Centre for Visual Arts. Exhibitions like this one make an important contribution to how we understand … More ‘Art Deco By the Sea’: Reflecting on class, sex and the arts of the shaped environment. A blog on an exhibition (seen at Laing Gallery Newcastle) & catalogue: Ghislaine Wood (ed.) (2020)

Some reflections on ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ Director:  Ciro Guerra. Writers:  J.M. Coetzee (based on the novel by), J.M. Coetzee (screenplay by). Stars:  Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson  … – if I had gone on a hunting trip … , and come back. and without reading it, or after skimming over it with an incurious eye, put my seal … More Some reflections on ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ Director: Ciro Guerra. Writers: J.M. Coetzee. Stars: Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson

‘… he saw, trailing behind him, the great mistake that had been his belief in himself … ’.[1] Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain (2020) London, Chatto & Windus. Let’s start with the personal context of a reflexive reader. There are some facts that matter in determining to yourself how you read novels. I am … More ‘… he saw, trailing behind him, the great mistake that had been his belief in himself … ’.[1] ‘Islands of Mercy’ by Rose Tremain (2020) [Self-mount to Twitter].

‘We are all queer. If you say you are not you are outed’. Volume 2 of a life of Lucian Freud: William Feaver (2020) The Lives Of Lucian Freud: Fame London, Bloomsbury. Note on Volume 1 appears in: https://stevebamlett.home.blog/2019/09/16/first-reading-of-william-feavers-2019-the-lives-of-lucian-freud-youth/ In commenting on Volume 1 of this biography I tried to define the way in which … More ‘We are all queer. If you say you are not you are outed’. Volume 2 of a life of Lucian Freud: William Feaver (2020) ‘The Lives Of Lucian Freud: Fame’

‘Writing is routinely described as ‘creative’ – this has never struck me as the correct word. … To plant a bulb (I imagine, I’ve never done it) is to participate in some small way in the cyclic miracle of creation. Writing is control’.[1] ‘Intimations: Six Essays’ (2020): Zadie Smith. London, Penguin. How refreshing it is … More ‘Writing is routinely described as ‘creative’ – this has never struck me as the correct word. … To plant a bulb (I imagine, I’ve never done it) is to participate in some small way in the cyclic miracle of creation. Writing is control’. ‘Intimations: Six Essays’ (2020): Zadie Smith. London, Penguin.

‘The cold renunciatory beauty’ (1933): A poem by David Gascoyne The cold renunciatory beauty of those who would die to hide their love from scornful fingers of the drab is not that which glistens like wing or leaf in eyes of erotic statues standing breast to chest on high and open mountainside. Complex draws tighter … More ‘The cold renunciatory beauty’ (1933): A poem by David Gascoyne

This is a verbatim review summary of a paper I peer reviewed. Details withheld because confidential (author unknown to me anyway). But I felt the matters I covered showed where I stood on some things. chemo-sex is the use of disinhibiting and pleasure enhancing drugs such as G. See https://www.thejournal.ie/chemsex-ireland-4205588-Sep2018/ __________________________________________ This paper reads well, … More Considerations in queer research in mental health & social work

‘The water was cold but it soon warms up when the boys are made of sunshine.[1]  How queer is the love of heterosexual boys?: Andrew O’Hagan (2020) Mayflies London, Faber. Mayflies falls into two parts, the first set in Summer 1986 and the second in Autumn 2017. It tells the story of an interrupted relationship … More ‘The water was cold but it soon warms up when the boys are made of sunshine’. How queer is the love of heterosexual boys?: Andrew O’Hagan (2020) ‘Mayflies’.

‘What people see shapes how they treat you, Ma said again and again’.[1] ‘Sister, one is named, and the other, Brother. Sam swings in, then out, of the trading post’.[2]   Booker 2020 Longlist Selection no. 4: C. Pam Zhang (2020) How Much of These Hills Is Gold London, Virago. It is difficult to write … More ‘What people see shapes how they treat you, Ma said again and again’. Booker 2020 Longlist Selection no. 4: C. Pam Zhang (2020) ‘How Much of These Hills Is Gold’ London, Virago.

Do see this great film! Reflecting on Jane Austen’s Emma after seeing a recent magnificent screen version of Jane Austen’s novel: A film directed by Autumn de Wilde with screenplay by Eleanor Catton. I studied Jane Austen’s novel, published in 1815/16, Emma for A level in the 1960s. It opened my eyes to the link … More Do see this great film! Reflecting on Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ after seeing a recent magnificent screen version of Jane Austen’s novel.