Category: Education, Art & Writing

‘Dorian’ by Andrew McMillan Proper Job Theatre at Hexham Queen’s Hall 26th Oct. 2019

October 27, 2019

Dorian by Andrew McMillan Proper Job Theatre at Hexham Queen’s Hall Sometimes one feels for theatre companies with the obvious commitment of Proper Job. When their presentation of Andrew McMillan’s play took place in Hexham, the theatre was surrounded by one of the noisiest fairs I have ever heard and seen, the showpiece of Hexham’s … More ‘Dorian’ by Andrew McMillan Proper Job Theatre at Hexham Queen’s Hall 26th Oct. 2019

Reviewing ‘An Introduction to Zurbaran’ @aucklandproject 24th October 2019

October 25, 2019

Reviewing ‘An Introduction to Zurbaran’ @aucklandproject This event is hopefully the first of a series of talks growing out of the Bishop Auckland Project and the transformation of this town into a capital of culture. This one was an introduction to the life and work of Francisco de Zurbaran. We were also introduced to a … More Reviewing ‘An Introduction to Zurbaran’ @aucklandproject 24th October 2019

An extract from writing on vorticism & crowds.

October 21, 2019

For Bomberg being ‘Partizan’ took the self-identifying form of the masses representing the Jewish diaspora. Bomberg’s criss-cross-patterns ‘over the surface of a page’ represent the violence and excitement of diaspora Whitechapel as much as stylistic innovation focused upon by a Leeds City Gallery curator.[1]  Jewish Theatre (1913-14) is ‘a violent image’,[2] eschewing ‘harmony’ and ‘unity’ … More An extract from writing on vorticism & crowds.

Leila Aboulela (2019) ‘Bird Summons’ London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson

October 13, 2019

Leila Aboulela (2019) Bird Summons London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson Training to read literary fiction involves a kind of detection of the texts that constitute the conversation between genres, periods and sociocultural phenomena that is taking place in the interstices of any one single text before us – in the transitions between narrative forms and styles … More Leila Aboulela (2019) ‘Bird Summons’ London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson

Hearing/seeing Raymond Antrobus – Durham Book Festival Laureate 12th October 2019

October 12, 2019

Hearing/seeing Raymond Antrobus – Durham Book Festival Laureate 12th October 2019 This was an evening of illuminations. Did I miss a lot by following in my copy of the poems from The Perseverance (2018)? Watching the newer poems, I know I did, because here sign languages come into their own and open up  the world … More Hearing/seeing Raymond Antrobus – Durham Book Festival Laureate 12th October 2019

Bishop Auckland ‘Triumph of Pan’ exhibition Visit (2) Perrier’s Narcissus

October 9, 2019

Currently on show with Poussin Triumph of Pan, Trevor Gallery, Bishop Auckland Castle, Auckland Project: Francois B. Perrier Narcissus & Echo Thought to be near contemporary to The Triumph of Pan by Poussin, this painting is used to illustrate seventeenth century uses of mythological narratives or scenarios that illuminate Poussin’s context. For me the chief … More Bishop Auckland ‘Triumph of Pan’ exhibition Visit (2) Perrier’s Narcissus

A review for Black History Month (from a white man unfortunately) – Colson Whitehead’s ‘The Nickel Boys’ (2019) London, Fleet

October 2, 2019

A review for Black History Month (from a white man unfortunately) – Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys (2019) London, Fleet First a confession. I came to know and still, up to now, know Colson Whitehead’s novels by virtue of The Underground Railroad.  I came to that quite accidentally having read Tracy Chevalier’s 2013 novel The … More A review for Black History Month (from a white man unfortunately) – Colson Whitehead’s ‘The Nickel Boys’ (2019) London, Fleet

Introducing Homo-somatism?: The nature of ‘queer’ readings in Art.

September 28, 2019

Introducing Homo-somatism?: The nature of ‘queer’ readings in Art. Sunday, 18 Feb 2018, 14:57Visible to anyone in the world- Edited by Steve Bamlett, Sunday, 18 Feb 2018, 16:29– Edited by Steve Bamlett, Sunday, 18 Feb 2018, 15:23– Edited by Steve Bamlett, Sunday, 18 Feb 2018, 15:20 Introducing Homo-somatism?: The nature of ‘queer’ readings. How is the tolerance of … More Introducing Homo-somatism?: The nature of ‘queer’ readings in Art.

SPACES / PLACES: Assessment (submitted to MoMA course on Modern Art & ideas)

September 27, 2019

‘SPACES / PLACES’: Assessment (submitted to MoMA course on Modern Art & ideas) Friday, 2 Feb 2018, 20:26Visible to anyone in the world- Edited by Steve Bamlett, Monday, 5 Feb 2018, 09:04– Edited by Steve Bamlett, Friday, 2 Feb 2018, 20:28 I’ve always been intrigued by the terms, space’ and ‘place’. Places are spaces with other qualities, … More SPACES / PLACES: Assessment (submitted to MoMA course on Modern Art & ideas)

Reading ‘Quichotte’ Salman Rushdie (2019) London, Jonathan Cape

September 27, 2019

Reading Quichotte Salman Rushdie (2019) London, Jonathan Cape This novel ends as impressively as the stature of its author and its shortlisted status might suggest it does. There is constant reflexivity – it is a frameworking novel about the author of a novel within that novel, toying with Barthes ‘death of the author’ concept. It … More Reading ‘Quichotte’ Salman Rushdie (2019) London, Jonathan Cape

Reading Cockroach Ian McEwan (2019) London, Jonathan Cape

September 27, 2019

Reading Cockroach Ian McEwan (2019) London, Jonathan Cape With no reference to ‘actual cockroaches’, similarities to humans of the cockroaches & humans herein are open for recognition. This is the basic premise: that were cockroaches to metamorphosise (reversing the Kafka direction) into humans, they would support a cause that reduced the human world to disorder, … More Reading Cockroach Ian McEwan (2019) London, Jonathan Cape