Frank Ormsby a Northern Irish poet who has Parkinson’s Disease, experiences, like others with the same diagnosis, presences near to him that are usually ‘silent and unthreatening’, like, for example: “… Who is that girl / I sense at my shoulder?”[1] Ben Alderson-Day (2023) ‘Presence: The strange science and true stories of the unseen other’.

December 28, 2023

Frank Ormsby a Northern Irish poet who has Parkinson’s Disease, experiences, like others with the same diagnosis, presences near to him that are usually ‘silent and unthreatening’. He writes about them in his poem Side Effects 1, thus for example: “… Who is that girl / I sense at my shoulder?”[1] This is a blog … More Frank Ormsby a Northern Irish poet who has Parkinson’s Disease, experiences, like others with the same diagnosis, presences near to him that are usually ‘silent and unthreatening’, like, for example: “… Who is that girl / I sense at my shoulder?”[1] Ben Alderson-Day (2023) ‘Presence: The strange science and true stories of the unseen other’.

How have your political views changed over time? This question demands a story or two in answer?Forever RED in the UK or Just Nostalgic for a RED past?

December 26, 2023

I recently  blogged on the work of the brilliant Matt Colquhoun as it touches upon and works with the thought of his no less brilliant deceased mentor, Mark Fisher (see it as this link). I summarised the view they both promote and which Matt is consciously developing apace now, that the left of UK politics: … More How have your political views changed over time? This question demands a story or two in answer?Forever RED in the UK or Just Nostalgic for a RED past?

‘Ida played her wonderhorn / to rock the baby still – but never watched’. This is a blog on why Maurice Sendak’s art embraces stillness and yet still ensures that its audience carefully watch for the good or ill in the causes of human behaviour.

December 25, 2023

‘Ida played her wonderhorn / to rock the baby still – but never watched‘. This is a blog on why Maurice Sendak’s art embraces stillness and yet still ensures that its audience carefully watch for the good or ill in the causes of human behaviour. In Outsider Over There, Maurice Sendak portrays a girl, who … More ‘Ida played her wonderhorn / to rock the baby still – but never watched’. This is a blog on why Maurice Sendak’s art embraces stillness and yet still ensures that its audience carefully watch for the good or ill in the causes of human behaviour.

The skills and lessons that assist us are usually old ones we later ‘learn’ to disregard or fail to respect: recently, via a blog I am preparing about the artistry of Maurice Sendak, I have begun to relearn the value of reading looks using, let’s call it, ‘primal vision’.

December 23, 2023

What skills or lessons have you learned recently? When I taught literature at the Roehampton Institute, I once composed a lecture on Jane Austen’s Persuasion, my favourite of her novels, about the agency of ‘looks’ in that story. It matters because it is a novel of total concern with both how you look (the vanity … More The skills and lessons that assist us are usually old ones we later ‘learn’ to disregard or fail to respect: recently, via a blog I am preparing about the artistry of Maurice Sendak, I have begun to relearn the value of reading looks using, let’s call it, ‘primal vision’.

Wake me up when it’s yesterday. Nostalgia revisited because tomorrow should not WAIT.

December 22, 2023

Below is a starter on our nostalgia trip. This is a brilliant photo-collage showing triggers to possible nostalgia and I suppose it is things like these pictures or the objects in them that this question looks for us to name – and what is amazing is that they all, as photographs at least, sort of … More Wake me up when it’s yesterday. Nostalgia revisited because tomorrow should not WAIT.

Can horror-genre films really ever ‘say some serious things about mental illness’? This blog uses as a test case, the cult horror film ‘Daniel Isn’t Real’.

December 21, 2023

Can horror-genre films really ever ‘say some serious things about mental illness’? This blog uses as a test case, the cult horror film Daniel Isn’t Real (directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer 2019 and written by Mortimer & Brian DeLeeuw, using Brian’s original story from the novel In This Way I was Saved. It is in … More Can horror-genre films really ever ‘say some serious things about mental illness’? This blog uses as a test case, the cult horror film ‘Daniel Isn’t Real’.

Can a novel really deal with stories that dive deep into a consciousness of things that likens its progress to motion in “a mazed labyrinth, devoid of pattern or meaning”? This is a blog on John Williams’ (1948) debut ‘Nothing But The Night’.

December 20, 2023

Can a novel really deal with stories that dive deep into a consciousness of things that likens its progress to motion in “a mazed labyrinth, devoid of pattern or meaning”? This is a blog on John Williams’ (1948) debut Nothing But The Night. The edition used was published in 2016 by New York Review Books, … More Can a novel really deal with stories that dive deep into a consciousness of things that likens its progress to motion in “a mazed labyrinth, devoid of pattern or meaning”? This is a blog on John Williams’ (1948) debut ‘Nothing But The Night’.

If the city that promised you love has closed its gates on you, is there any other city to which you can go: My heart in longing for some Jerusalem the Golden.

December 18, 2023

What cities do you want to visit? Jerusalem the Golden by Avram Graicer – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36291082 An earlier prompt question and my response helps me to situate myself in relation to this question. The old question was: ‘Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?’ I wrote … More If the city that promised you love has closed its gates on you, is there any other city to which you can go: My heart in longing for some Jerusalem the Golden.

“Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again”. (‘King Lear’ Act 1, Scene 1, line 99).

December 17, 2023

What we create from all creation comes, No something from some nothing comes at all And brightest lights still travelling from suns Long after their death, engendered fall. Though we do not see that act of making It depends upon those many at work To make it; source material faking Its absence and worker’s struggle … More “Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again”. (‘King Lear’ Act 1, Scene 1, line 99).