English writers
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I’ve just watched one of the most quietly beautiful films I’ve seen: “Basil Bunting”, Peter Bell’s 1982 film portrait of the Northumbrian modernist master, which comes bundled along with the new Bloodaxe edition of Briggflatts. The tone reminded me in some ways of “Into Great Silence” for the way it concentrates the mind on the
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Yes, it was a busy weekend. After the Golden Hour kneesings-up, it was off to Glasgow on Saturday for the Merchant City Festival writing conference. I wasn’t able to catch much of the event outside of my workshop and reading, but I did hear some of the panel discussion and contribute to the ensuing lively
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It’s a good season for poetry on Radio 3. The Essay last week was deeply under the influence: five contemporary poets each on a poet who influenced them. I’d recommend in particular Michael Symmons Roberts on David Jones; WN Herbert on Edwin Morgan (don’t ask me what the picture of Eilean Donan castle is about!);
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I jumped into the car first thing yesterday morning and zipped up the road to St Andrew’s for my fix of StAnza 2008, listening to The Guardian CD of great 20th century poets on the way to get me in the mood. My first event was the masterclass in translation with Helmut Haberkamm and Fitzgerald
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On the train into Edinburgh for Polly Clark‘s reading the other night, I finally started to read Sean O’Brien‘s Forward and TS Eliot prize-winning collection The Drowned Book. Now, I might be missing something–I must be missing something, if the judges of both prizes aren’t–but I simply couldn’t get into it. It’s not that it’s
Amy Jo Philip 