Category: Literature
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The Poems of Evelyn De Morgan
I have been working for a little while now on the poems of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919) and am delighted that the book is now published. A few years ago I discovered that the De Morgan Foundation held manuscripts – notebooks, mostly – of the young Evelyn Pickering, which included poems, stories,…
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William Morris’s The Earthly Paradise
William Morris’s The Earthly Paradise is an irresistible text: it is rich in language, meaning, ideas, philosophy, history and also topics and themes which still resonate in the 21st century. But it is very long, and is divided into ‘books’ which correspond to months, so what better way to read it than by reading a…
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The nineteenth-century lunatic asylum
I’ve spent some time researching lunatic asylums, so I thought I’d post some of my findings here in a series. Please note I’m using the language of the time (‘lunatics’, etc)! The modern view of the nineteenth- and early-twentieth century lunatic asylum is coloured by dramatic stories of wrongful incarceration and Gothic buildings in which…
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The Night before Christmas
It’s the time of year to read A Visit from St Nicholas, or The Night before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore – although the authorship is disputed (see details here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas). The poem was first published in 1823, but the story and the great rhyme and rhythm have made sure it’s still popular. It’s credited with…
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Book Review: To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters
Since 2019 marks the bicentenary of John Ruskin’s birth, there has been an explosion of interest in the form of events, books, articles, etc. The Radio 4 In Our Time episode devoted to Ruskin in 2005 wondered if 2019 would see as much enthusiasm for him as his centenary year in 1919: i can’t compare but…
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Poetry Birmingham
The world needs poetry, now more than ever. Reading poetry may not solve anything (it might, though) but it makes you feel – feel better, feel wiser, feel confused – but feel. It’s a pleasure to be able to lose oneself in some poetry, then, and the inaugural issue of Poetry Birmingham was the perfect…