The literary case for Britain to stay in the EU
There is nothing in the founding documents of the European Union about ever closer literary union. But if there were, even if that were the only kind of union proposed, … Continue reading
Based on a story by…
If Shakespeare were alive now he would have been obliged to advertise his new play as being based on a story by Robert Greene. He would also have needed Greene’s … Continue reading
Listening to Samuel Beckett
All That Fall was the first of the six short plays that Samuel Beckett wrote for radio. It was commissioned by the BBC and was first broadcast on the Third … Continue reading
How Walt Whitman invented the movies
The model for Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself is Solomon’s Song of Songs. 1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. 2 As the lily … Continue reading
John Donne, Elizabethan poet
Our appreciation of John Donne’s poetry has been spoiled by teachers who tell us that he was one of ‘the metaphysicals’. This goes back to something John Dryden wrote about … Continue reading
Italo Calvino
British novelist, Jeanette Winterson, on the back cover of the Penguin edition of Invisible Cities by Italian novelist, Italo Calvino, calls it ‘the book I would choose as pillow and … Continue reading
When is a play not a play?
The American writer, John Steinbeck (1902-1968), invented a new literary form which he called ‘the play novelette’. He described it as ‘a play that is easy to read or a … Continue reading
The ambiguity of Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an almost exact contemporary of Tennyson. Their writing lives began and ended, more or less, with the reign of Queen Victoria. But only one of them was … Continue reading
Going to hell with Chester Himes
The hero of Lonely Crusade, the last of the realist novels Chester Himes wrote before he created his own brand of surreal crime fiction, is not a hero until the … Continue reading
No book has ever changed my life
The claim that ‘this book will change your life’ is often made but rarely questioned. It seems to be generally accepted nowadays that reading is a ‘life-changing’ activity. I would … Continue reading
