It is hard to put yourself in Putin’s mind. But how hard ? Is it impossible ? Maybe not. He looks out at the world and is much concerned with maintaining control and his own footing and security there. Consequently, he has always been pre-occupied with strengthening and extending borders, creating safe distance between him and Other ; and he… continue reading
Category The brain
Four New Poems
1/ ‘In the Cathedral‘ is in 5 short parts. 2/ ‘Word-Finding‘ is in 5 short parts. 3/ ‘Dancing in a Daze’ is of 1 part, but there are ‘notes’ overleaf. 4/ ‘Rowing‘ is of one part. I seem to have stopped spluttering helplessly and hopelessly in prose, in response to present-day developments within… continue reading
Here in the UK, knowing that it’s National Poetry Day today, I have just written the poem above. Things seem to happen faster in old age. The name Danby in the poem’s text refers to John F. Danby, a literary critic who wrote a rather wonderful book called ‘Shakespeare’s Doctrine of Nature – A Study of King Lear.’ The book’s… continue reading
September 6th was, of course, the date on which Mr Johnson stood down as prime minister of the UK. On the other hand, the poem (in its two parts) might be described as a celebration of adolescence, a developmental stage in which the growing human being discovers and explores self, its wonders, its powers and its boundaries.
But human society… continue reading
