Ending, beginning

    Sad news today of the death of Sir Frank Kermode*. I had the pleasure of hearing him talk on Shakespeare a few years ago; his scholarship was as impressive as you might expect while he delivered his thoughts with an unassuming warmth and a still just discernible Manx accent. You can see a short clip of him here.

    Towards the end of that piece, Sir Frank is asked about how we writes and whether he requires music or silence, and so on. Writing 'conditions' are a fascinating subject, and here's a good article on just that, with the emphasis on making do with what you have. I was interested to see that the author quotes a memorable passage from Wallace Stegner's marvellous novel Crossing to Safety (which the CBG read last year) - that may strike a chord with many of us.

    Lastly for now, books as art: have a look at these literary classics as word posters!  

*Edited to add: there is an obituary here, the second last paragraph of which will doubtless make you gasp as it did me.

Comments

[Nan]

Isn't that just awful. It did indeed make me gasp with horror. Oh...

[Tom C]

Sad news indeed - a great scholar.

Writing conditions? I can't abide music playing while I write!

Postertext - what fun. It makes me want to dream up some of my own

[Claire]

Doesn't bear thinking about. You're right - I gasped! Poor man.

[GeraniumCat]

How sad - I really admired him for entering into a discourse with the modernists while still treating the author as someone who might just possibly have something to say. I found his writing accessible and illuminating (this may be because it confirmed my own prejudices, of course!) He's a real loss to the world of literature.