Speaking of an early short story in an interview with Deborah Triesman of The New Yorker in 2018, Taymour Soomro says: ‘Power is such a traditional expression of masculinity, which is why the power dynamics in relationships between men fascinate me’.[1] This blog examines a great new novel, and heir to Turgenev, that examines the … More Speaking of an early short story, Taymour Soomro says: ‘Power is such a traditional expression of masculinity, which is why the power dynamics in relationships between men fascinate me’. This blog examines Taymour Soomro’s (2022) ‘Other Names for Love’. SPOILERS WITHIN WARNING.

Are either or both a gay Lorca and a queer Lorca what Alan Contreras might mean by ‘Unreachable Lorca’ in his review [in Gay and Lesbian Review] of a new book on Lorca?[1] This blog examines the troubling and resistible voice in Lorca’s monologue about what makes the love of men by male poets acceptable … More Are either or both a gay Lorca and a queer Lorca what Alan Contreras might mean by ‘Unreachable Lorca’ in his review [in ‘Gay and Lesbian Review’] of a new book on Lorca? This blog examines the troubling and resistible voice in Lorca’s monologue about what makes the love of men by male poets acceptable in his ‘Oda a Walt Whitman’ [‘Ode to Walt Whitman’]?  Along the way, Steven, the queer-identified blogger, queries his own ‘dark (or obscure) love’ for Lorca and why he still needs to understand what ‘amor oscuro’ means to him, even if it is not necessarily the same as what it meant to Lorca. This blog reflects on Valis’ readings of the poet in a queer light (with reference to Noël Valis (2022) ‘Lorca After Life’.

How do we re-discover the ‘fraught private life’ of a man ‘fond of sitting back and obscuring himself in the fog of his endless cigarettes’?[1] Paul Fisher makes an unanswerable case for abandoning the labelling of complicated multidimensional traits in the life of this artist in favour of liberating the ‘opulent complexities, which transcend simplistic … More Paul Fisher makes an unanswerable case for abandoning the labelling of complicated multidimensional traits in the life of this artist in favour of liberating the ‘opulent complexities, which transcend simplistic categories and remain fused with his lived experiences’. This blog reflects on Paul Fisher (2022) ‘The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World’.

‘…: it’s a catastrophe happening here, sure – an annihilation, an extinction – but there’s also, ultra-paradoxically, a counter-movement of formation, of emergence, going on as well, a sense of something edging its way, through all the chaos, to the threshold of the visible, the comprehensible …’. [1]  Postmodern experimental writing might be described as … More ‘…: it’s a catastrophe happening here, sure – an annihilation, an extinction – but there’s also, ultra-paradoxically, a counter-movement of formation, of emergence, going on as well, a sense of something edging its way, through all the chaos, to the threshold of the visible, the comprehensible …’. Postmodern experimental writing might be described as a kind of  ‘catastrophe’ and ‘chaos’ out of which black hole a reader willing to endure it might edge towards finding ‘the threshold of the visible, the comprehensible’. This blog reflects on Tom McCarthy (2021) ‘The Making of Incarnation’.

A blog on my second lecture to a Human Growth and Development Course in Social Work (Sample Lecture 2). Attachment Theory & understanding how humans develop & grow relationships over the lifespan: Perspectives on Human Growth and Development for Social Workers.  [Social workers and their interactions with complex relationships in families and other psychosocial networks. … More A blog on my second lecture to a Human Growth and Development Course in Social Work (Sample Lecture 2). ‘Attachment Theory & understanding how humans develop & grow relationships over the lifespan: Perspectives on Human Growth and Development for Social Workers’.

A blog on my introductory lecture to a Human Growth and Development Course in Social Work (Sample Lecture 1). PERSPECTIVES on HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT: SECTION A: THEORIES & MODELS; (a) The Perils and Pitfalls of Developmental Theories, Models & Life Patterns. (b) An introduction to Neurobiological Models and Developmental Predictors. [An introduction to some … More A blog on my introductory lecture to a Human Growth and Development Course in Social Work (Sample Lecture 1). PERSPECTIVES on HUMAN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT: SECTION A: THEORIES & MODELS

The narrator, of James Kelman’s 2022 novel, God’s Teeth and Other Phenomena, Jack Proctor, a writer who identifies as working class, says of his experience as a resident writer in ‘The House of Art and Aesthetics’ in the USA: ‘I had a glorified view not just of art departments but colleges and universities, as intellectual … More The narrator, of James Kelman’s 2022 novel, ‘God’s Teeth and Other Phenomena’, Jack Proctor, a writer who identifies as working class, says of his experience as a resident writer in ‘The House of Art and Aesthetics’ in the USA: ‘I had a glorified view not just of art departments but colleges and universities, as intellectual hotbeds. When I discovered the truth the disappointment of that stayed with me and it’s with me right now’.[1] A great author summarises his disappointment with the notion of elite culture and the pretence of knowing what art is without working hard to do it.

Joseph Ortiz makes a brilliant case in his new biography of Gordon Merrick for describing the artist’s achievement as the invention of the Great American Queer Novel. This blog ponders on whether Merrick was a better model for our own era of the potential of an open sexual diversity in Merrick’s own, despite the claims … More Joseph Ortiz makes a brilliant case in his new biography of Gordon Merrick for describing the artist’s achievement as the invention of the Great American Queer Novel.  The blog is based on reading the Charlie & Peter Trilogy and Joseph M. Ortiz (2022) biography ‘Gordon Merrick and the Great American Gay Novel’

Comparing the Incommensurable: Concerning the Art, Politics & Culture of the Incomplete in Golden Age ‘Spain’: This is a reflective blog on a wonderful book by Jeremy Robbins (2022), Incomparable Realms: Spain During The Golden Age, 1500-1700 London, Reaktion Books Ltd: ‘… incomparability enfolds much that we encounter: at the heart of this lies incommensurability, … More Comparing the Incommensurable: Concerning the Art, Politics & Culture of the Incomplete in Golden Age ‘Spain’: This is a reflective blog on a wonderful book by Jeremy Robbins (2022), ‘Incomparable Realms: Spain During The Golden Age, 1500-1700’.

A lecture on the why and how we need to address the issue of sexualities and sex/gender difference in social work. To be given at New College Durham on 13th December 2022. This lecture is intended for the second year of a degree in Social Work at New College Durham. It addresses sex/gender diversity, the … More A lecture on the why and how we need to address the issue of sexualities and sex/gender difference in social work. To be given at New College Durham on 13th December 2022.

This week I returned to teaching. My first assignment is to teach Safeguarding as part of a Law for Social Worker’s course. Since I come in without knowledge of the group, though I have met them once, this workshop / lecture is tro introduce basic issues in the interpretation of the law for application by … More A Lecture to Year 1 BA (Hons.) students at New College Durham on Adult Safeguarding.

On seeing the Tate Modern EY Cézanne exhibition  on the 29th November 2022 and the salutary effect of being much more puzzled about this artist by seeing their pictures as they were painted. An addendum to the blog done ‘prior to visiting the exhibition’. Link to original blog (from September 30th) just above opening paragraph … More On seeing the Tate Modern EY Cézanne exhibition  on the 29th November 2022 and the salutary effect of being much more puzzled about this artist by seeing their pictures as they were painted. An addendum to the blog done ‘prior to visiting the exhibition’. Link to original blog (from September 30th) just above opening paragraph of this new one.