Steve_Bamlett_blog

‘I see him. Thomas Müntzer! And he is no longer the little Thomas of before, … the son of the dead man, no longer even an object of study’ he is a man, any fleeting life’.[1] What or whom is the subject of Éric Vuillard’s The War of the Poor? Reflection on Éric Vuillard [trans. … More ‘I see him. Thomas Müntzer! And he is no longer the little Thomas of before, … the son of the dead man, no longer even an object of study’ he is a man, any fleeting life’. What or whom is the subject of Éric Vuillard’s ‘The War of the Poor’? Reflection on Éric Vuillard [trans. by Mark Polizotti] (2021) ‘The War of the Poor’

Supporting a child who is undergoing institutionalised healthcare will involve, of course, a primary attention to the most appropriate and correct research on the physical, mental and social experience of the illness. Treatment still needs to be fast and efficient and focused if it is not to be counterproductive. This will involve some primary engagement … More Write 350-500 words on “Children’s illness – how to support them”. Assignment 1 University of Cape Town MOOC on ‘Health and the Humanities’ via Futurelearn.

‘ All those patently depraved, noxious, flaccid, gross, womanish beings, perverted and imperfect in moral nature and in even their bodily tissues. Those homosexual legions that are the straw-chaff of society; …’.[1]: Sex/Gender politics and the enforcement of  oppression from within. The horrible roots of the LGB Alliance in the early ‘gay’ novel – reflecting … More ‘ All those patently depraved, noxious, flaccid, gross, womanish beings, perverted and imperfect in moral nature and in even their bodily tissues. Those homosexual legions that are the straw-chaff of society; …’: Sex/Gender politics and the enforcement of  oppression from within. The horrible roots of the LGB Alliance in the early ‘gay’ novel – reflecting on Edward Prime-Stevenson’s [ed. James J. Gifford] (2003) ‘Imre: A Memorandum’ (first published 1906 in Naples)

Giving to my husband all he deserves Every nerve would strain. All those nerves Operating in concert are not enough For the rich symphony of fine stuff, Failure to avoid: no option I’d say As a celebration of this birthday. Time passes my dearest at such a pace Each year of our marriage I’d again … More To Geoff, my husband, 80 today. With love, Steve.

‘ “Will you walk a little straighter?” said a clergyman I knew’.[1]: On Stephen “Tommy” Tomlin and why sexual categories can be so confusing when used to summarise a life! Reflecting on : The Bloomsbury Stud: The Life of Stephen ‘Tommy’ Tomlin by Michael Bloch & Susan Fox (2020) London, M.A.B. Available direct from publishers … More ‘ “Will you walk a little straighter?” said a clergyman I knew’.[1]: On Stephen “Tommy” Tomlin and why sexual categories can be so confusing when used to summarise a life! Reflecting on : ‘The Bloomsbury Stud: The Life of Stephen ‘Tommy’ Tomlin’ by Michael Bloch & Susan Fox (2020).

Justice demands that your birthday be sung Under Princely order, it must be done. So let the royal name give way to one That shows that artists over monarchs shone. In this light your birthday glitters pure  joy.  No-one may sing like him, but this! our Boy. This verse is not strong, not enough to … More To Justin on his birthday.

When the Sea Pinks fade will white boys fear the heat of the Sun. Identity Markers, and Arrested Male Development: reflecting on the Cicely Robinson’s [Ed.] (2021) Henry Scott Tuke. New Haven, CT., Yale University Press (in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art). Images of Georgie Fouracre, aged 14. Cropped … More When the Sea Pinks fade will white boys fear the heat of the Sun. Identity Markers, and Arrested Male Development: reflecting on the Cicely Robinson’s [Ed.] (2021) ‘Henry Scott Tuke’.

‘I heard the words …/ “… a ridiculous farrago supposedly linking various allegedly important moments of homosexual history of the past century. Period. …”’.[1] ‘… hardly  what my shy new friend Andrew Holleran … called “Big Girl Stuff” … but lately, whenever people of importance in the gay world were mentioned, my name always seemed … More ‘“… a ridiculous farrago supposedly linking various allegedly important moments of homosexual history of the past century. Period. …”’. ‘… , whenever people of importance in the gay world were mentioned, my name always seemed to come up. … ’. Writing up a name in queer history: reflecting on the gay epic in a time of AIDS in Felice Picano’s (1995) ‘Like People In History’.

‘… half in love with the male camaraderie of the regiment’. Reflecting on the contribution to queer history as a side-effect of Chris Bryant’s (2020) The Glamour Boys: The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler, London, Bloomsbury Publishing. Chris Bryant MP is described on the flyleaf of his new … More ‘… half in love with the male camaraderie of the regiment’. Reflecting on the contribution to queer history as a side-effect of Chris Bryant’s (2020) ‘The Glamour Boys: The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler’.

Reflecting on the Gay Bathhouse (not – let it be noted! – that I have ever been to one). A note on The Savoy Baths, 97, Jermyn Street, London and the compatibility of Artistic Mimesis with Surreal Invention in Christopher Wood’s Art. As usual I want to do too much in this blog. My initial … More Reflecting on the Gay Bathhouse (not – let it be noted! – that I have ever been to one). A note on The Savoy Baths, 97, Jermyn Street, London and the compatibility of Artistic Mimesis with Surreal Invention in Christopher Wood’s Art.

‘Sargent, like James, was fascinated by the world of appearances, by the pose, by the gaze. … in the concealed self, the arranged presence, the surface elements used to hide and reveal, as though painting and sitting were a game, a way of handling and handing over power’.[1] As I see it, Colm Tóibín’s essay … More ‘Sargent, like James, was fascinated by the world of appearances, by the pose, by the gaze. … in the concealed self, …’. Colm Tóibín’s essay implicitly challenges the history of art as a discipline with a plea for a nuanced social history of appearances and disappearances in both graphic and literary art. Reflecting on the significance of Colm Tóibín’s (2020) ‘Secrets and Sensuality: The Private Lives of John Singer Sargent and Henry James’ in Nathaniel Silver (Ed.) ‘Boston’s Apollo: Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent’