‘… I heard the wings of something enormous shuddering on the air. /…/ … The difference between this and the normal embodying of staged emotion was basically, I think, one of degree and duration. My fear was like a child’s play-fear, it had that prolonged innocent intensity, blending the unreal with the real . The … More ‘… I heard the wings of something enormous shuddering on the air. … The way the body rehearses for danger. I was having the flight reaction I would have once had, a long time ago, to shadows in a bedroom. Now I was both the child and the shadows’. This is a blog to show that ‘acting’, whatever we mean by that word, occurs on the cusp of what is outside and inside the body and the state in which it lives. This blog examines the phenomenology of a great novel:  Isabella Hammad (2023) ‘Enter Ghost’.

‘But  they seem to work, accompanied by an ensemble of silence’, says Simon Armitage in the ‘INTRO’ to his new collected versions of the song lyric.[1] This blog reflects on the published song lyric as part of the ‘repertoire’ of an oral poet. It focuses on Simon Armitage (2023) ‘Never Good with Horses: Assembled Lyrics’ … More ‘But  they seem to work, accompanied by an ensemble of silence’. This blog reflects on the published song lyric as part of the ‘repertoire’ of an oral poet. It focuses on Simon Armitage (2023) ‘Never Good with Horses: Assembled Lyrics’. and on seeing him read, with @JustinCurley4 at The Queens Hall.

An update after viewing ‘Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle’ at The Barbican Centre Gallery, London, with reference to the beautiful innovate catalogue: Will Gompertz & Eleanor Nairne (2023) Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle  Munich, London & New York, Prestel-Verlag. An update of part of the blog that can be found at this link: https://stevebamlett.home.blog/2023/02/25/new-events-to-a-preview-of-the-highlights-on-my-visit-with-justin-to-london-from-monday-17th-wednesday-19th-april-2023-alice-neel-hot-off-the-griddle-at-the-barbican-19th-april-1100/ The … More An update after viewing ‘Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle’ at The Barbican Centre Gallery, London.

An update on ‘Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, Tues. 18th April. 3.45 p.m. This is an update of relevant text in past blog: Visiting London: A Preview of the Highlights on my visit with Justin from Monday 17th – Wednesday 19th April 2023! Available at: https://stevebamlett.home.blog/2023/02/18/visiting-london-a-preview-of-the-highlights-on-my-visit-with-justin-from-monday-17th-wednesday-19th-april-2023/ Justin took this picture on … More An update on ‘Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, Tues. 18th April. 3.45 p.m.

An update on ‘David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)’ a light show involving the artist’s own collaborative input at Lightroom in Kings Cross (the launch show for this venue). Thurs. 18th April. 11.30 a.m. Updates part of a blog to be found at: https://stevebamlett.home.blog/2023/02/18/visiting-london-a-preview-of-the-highlights-on-my-visit-with-justin-from-monday-17th-wednesday-19th-april-2023/ LIGHTROOM is a new venture. A beautiful … More An update on ‘David Hockney: ‘Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)’ a light show involving the artist’s own collaborative input at Lightroom in Kings Cross (the launch show for this venue). 18th April. 11.30 a.m.

An update blog on seeing Good by C.P. Taylor on Thursday 20th April 2023 7.00 p.m. A post viewing update on ‘C.P. Taylor’s Good livestreamed from London’s Harold Pinter Theatre to The Gala Theatre, Durham (and nationwide various venues) with reference to text: C.P. Taylor Good (2022, first produced by the RSC in 1981) London, New York, New Delhi … More An update blog on seeing ‘Good’ by C.P. Taylor on Thursday 20th April 2023 7.00 p.m.

An update blog on seeing Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel on Monday 17th April 2023 7.30 p.m. This is an update of relevant text in past bog: Visiting London: A Preview of the Highlights on my visit with Justin from Monday 17th – Wednesday 19th April 2023! See: https://stevebamlett.home.blog/2023/02/18/visiting-london-a-preview-of-the-highlights-on-my-visit-with-justin-from-monday-17th-wednesday-19th-april-2023/ In my preview blog I said that … More An update blog on seeing ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ by Brian Friel on Monday 17th April 2023 7.30 p.m.

Alan Bennet’s play Allelujah, a fable on the institutionalisation (and misgovernance) of love, death, and the NHS, as captured on film deserves more than to be called ‘sweet but slight’.[1]: A blog on Allelujah (2022) with screenplay by Heidi Thomas and directed by Richard Eyre. The film poster It may be unfair to pick out Peter … More Alan Bennet’s play ‘Allelujah’, a fable on the institutionalisation (and misgovernance) of love, death, and the NHS, as captured on film deserves more than to be called ‘sweet but slight’: A blog on ‘Allelujah’ (2022) with screenplay by Heidi Thomas and directed by Richard Eyre.

Max Porter’s Shy has its ‘eyes closed, / waiting for another day’[1]: A blog on Max Porter (2023) Shy London, Faber & Faber. Book cover I was looking forward so much to the new Max Porter work, even more so from the enthusiastic ‘blurb’ commentaries that many writers give to the work, praising its ‘visceral authenticity’ and claiming that … More Max Porter’s Shy has its ‘eyes closed, / waiting for another day’: A blog on Max Porter (2023) ‘Shy’.

‘The leaves of the plane trees were turning, and made faint dry rustling sounds when a breeze passed through them. Strafford found himself longing for the dense, drooping heaviness of summer foliage‘.[1] Reflecting on John Banville’s (2023) ‘The Lock-Up’ London, Faber. Book Cover When novelists you like start writing novels in a serial form, it takes … More ‘The leaves of the plane trees were turning, and made faint dry rustling sounds when a breeze passed through them. Strafford found himself longing for the dense, drooping heaviness of summer foliage‘. Reflecting on John Banville’s (2023) ‘The Lock-Up’.

‘I myself dislike to be dictated to by anybody and am inclined, like Thucydides and others of his time, to be an anarch, or “agin the government” and the lust for, and abuse of, power which invariably goes with it’.[1] Man-made mythic men: the queer case of the ‘rebel without a cause’: an irreverent (and … More ‘I myself dislike to be dictated to by anybody and am inclined, like Thucydides and others of his time, to be an anarch, or “agin the government” and the lust for, and abuse of, power which invariably goes with it’. Man-made mythic men: the queer case of the ‘rebel without a cause’: an irreverent (and possibly scurrilous) case study of Augustus John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) .

The joy of collecting books is the chance find that opens doors that that were  not even left ajar in expectation of those unknown  treasures. This blog reflects on finding a catalogue for an exhibition of  Patrick Procktor’s paintings from 1989. In the light of an earlier blog on Ian Massey’s (2010) fine biography entitled … More The joy of collecting books is the chance find that opens doors that that were  not even left ajar in expectation of those unknown  treasures. This blog reflects on finding a catalogue for an exhibition of  Patrick Procktor’s paintings from 1989. In the light of an earlier blog on Ian Massey’s (2010) fine biography entitled ‘Patrick Procktor: Art and Life’ I reflect on Michael Nixon’s (1989) ‘Patrick Procktor Paintings 1959 – 1989’.