Author: stevendouglasblog

Born in 1954. Chequered career including Lecturer in English, Social Worker and Lecturer in Social Work. Had breaks related to mental health that also meant I worked in social care. Now retired.

When I was five … The problem of being 5 is that no one, and least of all one’s reflective elder self, can read what might have been there. This is dark fantasy, therefore.

April 7, 2024

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up? The problem of being 5 is that no one, and least of all one’s reflective elder self, can read what might have been there. This is dark fantasy, therefore. When I was five, the moon was green cream-cheese. Freud thought I … More When I was five … The problem of being 5 is that no one, and least of all one’s reflective elder self, can read what might have been there. This is dark fantasy, therefore.

What are the limits of responsibility to mitigate a massive continuing death toll in Gaza? I reflect on an essay by Pankaj Mishra.

April 5, 2024

What are the limits of responsibility to mitigate a massive continuing death toll in Gaza? Where, if anywhere, does my responsibility lie for the actions of people with whom I share a characteristic linked to my identity or is it, as of course it is, everyone’s responsibility (though more so of those with power of … More What are the limits of responsibility to mitigate a massive continuing death toll in Gaza? I reflect on an essay by Pankaj Mishra.

To know someone or something is an illusion of the moment, to ‘understand’ is to accept that you must live in or amongst every facet of their very life or ‘spirit’.

April 4, 2024

What’s something most people don’t understand? Lots and lots of energy are expended on meanings and how they touch upon lives, or even bludgeon some peoples lives into submission, like the words that are taken to infer not only a meaning but also a social status, and these are legion. Queer was once such a … More To know someone or something is an illusion of the moment, to ‘understand’ is to accept that you must live in or amongst every facet of their very life or ‘spirit’.

Stevieism: a belief that though truth is a complicated thing, the duty to be open to it is ‘peremptory and absolute’.

April 3, 2024

If you could have something named after you, what would it be? I, the Stevie in question, was just about to start the process of registering my patent in this belief system when I realised yet again there is nothing new under the sun, and the best things have been said many times. The words … More Stevieism: a belief that though truth is a complicated thing, the duty to be open to it is ‘peremptory and absolute’.

‘… he stands, weak in the knees, a fake, a copy, a boy playing dress up… To be or not to be (what you would be or feel to be) depends on it’. The Pretendian in Tommy Orange’s ‘There There’.

April 2, 2024

What Tommy Orange actually writes about his character Orvil Red Feather in his 2018 novel There There is: ‘… he stands, weak in the knees, a fake, a copy, a boy playing dress up… It is important that he dress like an Indian, dance like an Indian, even if it is an act, even if … More ‘… he stands, weak in the knees, a fake, a copy, a boy playing dress up… To be or not to be (what you would be or feel to be) depends on it’. The Pretendian in Tommy Orange’s ‘There There’.

Can poets improve community? The example of Simon Armitage in ‘Blossomise’ is what NOT to do.

April 1, 2024

I have no standing in any community I suppose. I am the worst for it. What is it that prompts people to write poetry or to call themselves poets? Is that fervour for community improvement? Simon Armitage’s latest poetry ‘project’ in community politics is published in his 2024 volume Blossomise. I began to be concerned … More Can poets improve community? The example of Simon Armitage in ‘Blossomise’ is what NOT to do.

This is a blog about preparing for and visiting York on Saturday 30th March 2023 to see Lemn Sissay read at The Grand Opera House: Lemn Sissay (2023) ‘let the light pour in: Morning Poems’.

March 30, 2024

In explaining why (his name is ‘Why’ remember) he dives ‘into words’ to find ‘under the surface the right ones and emerge’ and then lays ‘them out in a quatrain and press send’, Lemn Sissay  concludes: “So, taking the pressure of time as an opportunity, why not try to squeeze a lifetime into four lines? … More This is a blog about preparing for and visiting York on Saturday 30th March 2023 to see Lemn Sissay read at The Grand Opera House: Lemn Sissay (2023) ‘let the light pour in: Morning Poems’.

Helena Kennedy in her review of Atef Abu Saif (2023) ‘Don’t Look Left: A diary of Genocide’  says rightly ‘we have to be capable of holding two truths in our hearts’. This blog reflects on that & the book.

March 29, 2024

Helena Kennedy in her review of Atef Abu Saif (2023) ‘Don’t Look Left: A diary of Genocide’ (Comma Press) says rightly: ‘The people of Southern Israel undoubtedly suffered terrible atrocities on 7 October 2023 at the hands of Hamas. However, we have be capable of holding two truths in our hearts’.[1] Though I agree, I … More Helena Kennedy in her review of Atef Abu Saif (2023) ‘Don’t Look Left: A diary of Genocide’  says rightly ‘we have to be capable of holding two truths in our hearts’. This blog reflects on that & the book.

‘No-one is an island, entire to itself’, as John Donne might have preached, had he wished to touch the diversity of people.

March 28, 2024

As a preacher of sermons, one almost thinks that John Donne was as alive to the need to generate memorable phrases that would outlive knowledge of his work as to teach the religious lessons of human and spiritual concern. Written in 1624, possibly in response to an illness that nearly killed him, the devotional piece … More ‘No-one is an island, entire to itself’, as John Donne might have preached, had he wished to touch the diversity of people.