‘We are so many, ….  Every single one of those people … bound to different destinations at which each will find themselves, as ever, the protagonist of the story. Every single one the centre of the world, around whom others revolve and events assemble. … So much necessarily lost, skated over, ignored, when the mind … More ‘We are so many, …. Every single one the centre of the world, around whom others revolve and events assemble. … So much necessarily lost, skated over, ignored, when the mind does its usual trick of aggregating our faces’.[1] Reflections on Francis Spufford (2021) Light Perpetual London, Faber & Faber.

Two poets go ‘hybrid’ in response to the art of Francis Bacon: Yves Peyré [& English translation by David Watson] (2020) Francis Bacon or The Measure of Excess Woodbridge, Suffolk, ACC Art Books & Max Porter (2021a.) The Death of Francis Bacon London, Faber & Faber. In a chapter that bears the same title as … More Two poets go ‘hybrid’ in response to the art of Francis Bacon: Yves Peyré (2020) ‘Francis Bacon or The Measure of Excess’ & Max Porter (2021a.) ‘The Death of Francis Bacon’.

‘Bacon never publicly concealed his homosexuality. … Bacon did not flaunt his homosexuality in his painting, either, though he made no deliberate effort to conceal it. Homosexuality per se was rarely his subject’.[1] The problem of categorising queer sexuality for the writer who must ‘not appear homosexual’ and possibly is not.[2] A problem in an … More ‘Homosexuality per se was rarely his subject’. The problem of categorising queer sexuality for the writer who must ‘not appear homosexual’ and possibly is not.[2] A problem in an otherwise great biography: Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan (2021) ‘Francis Bacon: Revelations’ London, William Collins

 ‘Me, Lovely, in full hair and makeup, … . / The country is not knowing her yet, this new superstar. but me, I am knowing her’.[1] ‘He wonders whether they know who he is or whether they salute anybody who turns up in a government-issue white Ambassador’.[2] ‘I might have studied literature and I might … More In praise of an engaged literature. Reflections on the price of being known as you might wish to be known in Megha Majumdar (2021) ‘A Burning’, London, New York, Sydney, Toronto, New Delhi, Scribner.

‘This was the burden of the soft ones: to suffer in all but silence because the whimpering that slipped through the lips was inevitable. … he cussed the heart that knew not how to protect itself from the rift’.[1] Redeeming the ‘soft ones’ from the hard and fractured history of oppression and resistance. Notes on … More ‘This was the burden of the soft ones: … he cussed the heart that knew not how to protect itself from the rift’.[1] Redeeming the ‘soft ones’ from the hard and fractured history of oppression and resistance. Notes on Robert Jones Jr. (2021) ‘The Prophets’

Liberating resistance to the maintenance of the ‘very fragile fucking structure’ of accumulated culture and its oppressions.[1] A preliminary set of comments based on a first reading of Jenni Fagan’s (2021) Luckenbooth Richmond, London, William Heinemann/Penguin Random House. CONTAINS SPOILERS Dot turns as a splitting sound ricochets over the sky – the skeletal wooden beams … More Liberating resistance to the maintenance of the ‘very fragile fucking structure’ of accumulated culture and its oppressions.[1] A preliminary set of comments based on a first reading of Jenni Fagan’s (2021) ‘Luckenbooth’.

‘It’s not a good thing, Ron, to be queer. …/(…)/(…) After a time you’ll find the right girl. (…) But you must look. You are a normal person who has been infected. You must get it out of your system. Being queer’s no good for you. It cost Julian his life’ (published 1953).[1] Rodney Garland’s … More ‘It’s not a good thing, Ron, to be queer. … After a time you’ll find the right girl. … But you must look. You are a normal person who has been infected. … Being queer’s no good for you. It cost Julian his life’ (published 1953).[1] Rodney Garland’s ‘The Heart In Exile’

‘The club world is a shifting one. A club has its moment, and fades; people pass by or pass on; … Muriel is the exception – she continues’.[1] Learning about the passage of time and persons in Darren Coffield’s (2020) Tales from the Colony Room: London’s Lost Bohemia London, Unbound. This blog was a piece … More ‘The club world is a shifting one. A club has its moment, and fades; people pass by or pass on; … Muriel is the exception – she continues’. Learning about the passage of time and persons in Darren Coffield’s (2020) ‘Tales from the Colony Room: London’s Lost Bohemia’

On Paul Cartledge’s (2020) Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece London, Picador. Reflecting again on why and how and to what effect certain versions of cultural history get lost or dispersed. The cover A little time ago I became fascinated by Judith Herrin’s 2020 book on the Italian city of Ravenna. I wrote a … More On Paul Cartledge’s (2020) ‘Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece’. Reflecting again on why and how and to what effect certain versions of cultural history get lost or dispersed.

Reflecting on art, masculinity, pornography and sexual violence. Can these ideas be separated? Examining Sebastian Munôz’s film The Prince (El Principe).  Note that this film is rated suitable only for people over the age of 18 because it contains sexual violence, strong sex, nudity and ‘gory injury details’. Do not read this if you are … More Reflecting on art, masculinity, pornography and sexual violence. Can these ideas be separated? Examining Sebastian Munôz’s film The Prince (El Principe). Do not read this if you are offended by references to sexual or violent content in films.

Photography of Faces: What does ‘fame’ look like in 1960? L. Fritz Gruber (ed.) (1960) FAME: Famous Portraits of Famous People by Famous Photographers London and New York, The Focal Press. First of all: this blog speaks of a select gallery of images from a book I found in Oxfam at Darlington that largely attempt … More Photography of Faces: What does ‘fame’ look like in 1960? L. Fritz Gruber (ed.) (1960) ‘FAME: Famous Portraits of Famous People by Famous Photographers’ London and New York, The Focal Press.

A personal but critical reflection on Wendy Hitchmough’s The Bloomsbury Look New Haven, CT & London, Yale University Press. Some thoughts, based also on having left an OU History of Art MA, about why the History of Art fails to justify itself as a distinct academic discipline? I found this book on an independent bookshop’s … More A personal but critical reflection on Wendy Hitchmough’s ‘The Bloomsbury Look’ New Haven, CT & London, Yale University Press.